Hey there, horror fiends! Sugar here, with a horror movie double feature review just for you! ❤ My husband and I finally decided to catch up on the two latest installments in the Scream franchise. We got our popcorn ready, snuggled up with our fuzzy little minions and settled in with no expectations (we learned our lesson the hard way after the recent Halloween movies!)

So, let’s get started with the fifth movie, shall we? Released under the somewhat confusing title of just “Scream“, Scream 5 (2022) was honestly a bit of a mixed bag for us.

SYNOPSIS: Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, California, a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

Scream (2022) brought all the meta self-awareness that we’ve come to love (and to expect) from the franchise. It’s been a huge element of the movies since the very beginning, so we were definitely interested to see what direction they went with for this go around. If you’re like us, you were probably wondering how were they going to keep things fresh and interesting? Well, without delving too deep into spoiler territory, I think they did a really good job with that, especially with much of the focus being on an all-new set of characters. They tied the new cast into the older cast in a smart way, giving us our Legacy characters while introducing us to their younger, more modern counterparts through entertaining familial ties. A shining example of this being Randy’s niece, the horror-obsessed Mindy, played perfectly by Jasmin Savoy Brown.

Where we both felt things fell apart was the lack of believability. Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to keep us grounded in a way where things felt real or even possible at times. Characters deciding to put themselves into dangerous situations when it was in no way necessary, or locations that should (and would) have been PACKED with people being absolutely barren so stabby-slashy hijinks can ensue uninterrupted. It’s the kind of thing that takes you right out of the movie and makes you yell at your television. This honestly ended up happening a LOT in this movie. There was a lot of potential, and some really good (and brutal) slasher shenanigans, but overall, we just couldn’t get into it because of the plot holes.

Now, let’s see if Scream 6 fairs any better!

SYNOPSIS: Four survivors of the Ghostface murders leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. However, they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when a new killer embarks on a bloody rampage.

This installment brings the same carnage and horror rules we hoped for, but with it being set in NYC, there is a fresh and somewhat foreign feel to things that makes it seem less predictable. With new hunting grounds, this Ghostface isn’t afforded that smalltown privacy Woodsboro provided, and quickly resorts to showing us that no place is off-limits, and that safety in numbers is a comfort they can no longer rely on.

We both agreed this was a stronger movie than the fifth. There were still a couple moments that irked us, but the plot holes were more holes this time around than the gaping chasms they were last time, which made it easier to enjoy the movie without getting distracted.

All in all, this double feature made for a fun movie night, but would we watch these ones again? No, probably not. That said, you can never go wrong with re-watching the original. 🙂

Have you seen these movies? What did you think? And, of course, we just have one more thing to ask…