When the first Scream movie had landed in 1997 slasher movies had been firmly established; and enjoyed by many. Scream was the movie that came to define the sub-genre and give it a new lease of life. While making a huge $173-million at the box office, Scream still managed to poke fun at horror clichés and platitudes while throwing in an abundance of such during their own movie. Perhaps this was what made this iconic horror so successful; either way, the bar was set for all slashers to come. With Scream 5 slashing its way towards our screens, I thought I would take a look at what’s to come in 2022.
Faces of Old will make a Return in Scream 5…
With the franchise having been rumored to make a return since the last movie, Scream 4, the majority of questions on the minds of fans have revolved around the widely talented cast of the other movies. Well, the great news is that there will be a number of old characters making a return. Confirmed cast members to be coming back are Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette. If like me, you haven’t seen a Scream movie for quite some time, these are screen favorites; Sidney Prescot, Gail Weathers, and Office Dewey, respectively. Sadly, Matthew Lillard is not yet confirmed.
..And a Few New Ones
My research in to Scream 5 also dug up a little interesting information on some fresh faces set to join the Scream cast. 13 Reason’s Why’s Dylan Minnette will be making an appearance as Wes Hicks. This name alone tells us a little more about what is to transpire in the upcoming movie. The forename is likely to be a tribute to the franchise director Wes Craven; meaning there’s very little chance that Wes will be an unlikeable character or be killed off. Furthermore, the surname tells us that Wes has some connection with Scream 4’s Deputy Judy Hicks. If we guess at him being her son the timeline of the movie would mean that the child was around six or seven-years-old during the last movie. With absolutely no traces of Hicks being a mother in the Scream 4; this would certainly be one they have kept well under wraps.
Stand-up comedian Reggie Conquest will also be stepping into the murderous world of the Scream franchise as Deputy Farney. While this seemingly tells us very little about what is to come, it does tell us one thing; Judy Hicks is no longer a deputy.
Scream 5 will be a Sequel
With so many of the original big names from the cast of the other four Scream movies, it’s fair to say that Scream 5 will be a follow-on from the previous four movies. This will come as great news to original fans that are wanting loose ends tied up and boxed off. The story was never overly complex but it will still be nice to -hopefully- get a little closure on a few things; for one, is Jill still alive?
Summary
From the above trailer and the information we have been able to gather about Scream 5, it looks like it Craven has done the right thing and not strayed from the franchise’s grassroots. With the first four movies reaching cult status; to deter from the storyline would have been nothing short of a felony. The Scream movies have always been so good at what they do as barebones, teen-slashers. It’s a tried and tested format of days gone and it’s satisfying to see Scream is still going to be setting the bar as the sub-genre’s flagship.
In many movies, clichés and tropes are cringe-inducing and almost laughable. Scream, however, famously takes all those that try and shows them just how it’s supposed to be done. Scream 5 is out on January 14th 2022 and we can not wait.
More screens and updates are available on the Scream fansite.
