There is a seventh film in the Scream franchise. The Scream franchise has entertained audiences since 1996 by using a combination of the horror and suspense genres and adding comedic elements to the films while also featuring the Ghostface mask-wearing killer as an iconic character in horror films. Since the Scream franchise has been around for almost thirty years, every time a new Scream film is released there are very high expectations from those who saw the original films when they were younger.
The Scream franchise continues the legacy of the previous films through referencing the older films. Many fans appreciated the continued use of the past characters and the film references from the previous Scream movies. The recurring characters and references help to create a smooth storyline among all of the Scream films and proves why the Scream films from the early years remain so memorable.
Many students felt that the newest film did a good job of continuing the franchise. James Castro (12) said he liked how well the film balanced both the horror and the humor, which are two aspects that are central to the Scream franchise.
“Honestly, it was one of the better horror movies that built off of the franchise. It’s been out for many years, and yet it always makes me scream while making me laugh.”
For fans like James, the film is consistent with the formula used in the earlier Scream films. The combination of frightening moments and humorous lines keeps the film interesting and fun to watch while creating a classic Scream film experience.
Armando Krosi (12), also had a positive response to the film regarding its connection to the other films in the series.
“I thought the Scream movie was a very good movie. I liked the way that they brought back characters from past movies and tied it into the story.”
In addition to bringing back characters from previous films, this creates a more connected story. This is exciting for fans who have followed the franchise for years because it ties the new film to the timeline of the Scream franchise.
Although many viewers really enjoyed the movie, I personally did not have the same experience. The main issue I found with the film was how predictable it was. Past Scream movies were known for having unpredictable twists and turns to keep the audience guessing who the killer was at the end of the film. When I compared the older movies to the new one, it created an underwhelmed feeling. Unlike the earlier films, the new film was quite easy to predict, causing less suspense being created during the film.
The other problem with the film was that it didn’t bring a lot of new stuff to the story line of the Scream franchise as a whole. Although the film was full of references to the characters and events of the prior films, it did not create any big plot twists for the franchise. For this reason the new film just repeated some of the plots developed by the prior films.
I am not saying that the film was terrible. The acting was great and you can tell the filmmakers were trying to keep the same feel as the first Scream films. I think however the new film cannot be compared to the original Scream films that made the franchise successful.
Overall I think fans of the franchise will like the new film because they are familiar with the combination of horror and comedy that the franchise is famous for. However I don’t think viewers looking for something new or different from the originals will find much different about this new Scream film.
