Scream 5 Underutilizes Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox & David Arquette

WARNING: SPOILERS!

Let me preface this article by saying I really dug the new Scream flick. No, it doesn’t raise the bar in any way and, aside from an uptick in brutality and a more somber tone, mostly follows the established formula set in the previous four films. Even so, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, of Ready or Not fame, pump the latest chapter with enough fresh blood and surprising twists to make the pic worth your while.

My one gripe with the fifth-quel, however, is the way the pic wastes its legacy characters, namely Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, played by Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, respectively. The marketing places the iconic trio front and center but, in what can be seen as something of a bait-and-switch, Scream 2022 ultimately gives them nothing to do with their limited screen time — a recurring problem among the current trend of “requels” that bring back the original crew all so they can stand around and watch a new cast reenact scenes from previous films.

In that regard, Scream 2022 makes the same mistakes as Scream 4, a film that likewise wanted to go in a different direction but was too afraid of severing the umbilical attached to past success to take that much-needed first step into uncharted territory.

For those unaware, Scream 4’s killer turns out to be Sidney’s cousin Jill (Emma Roberts), a teenager who desires the same media attention doled upon her aunt as a result of the violent encounters she endured in the original trilogy. Jill manages to kill everyone — including, presumably, Sidney — during the climax and stages the scene to make herself look like a Ghostface survivor. There’s a wicked shot of the young girl lying on a stretcher staring up into media lights, her face beaming with a look of triumph, as reporters clamor about, anxious to get the inside scoop on this “fallen hero.” Had the film ended there, Scream 4 might’ve been regarded as more than just another chapter in the slasher franchise.

Alas, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson tack on a final scene that allows Sidney to emerge victorious over her cousin and live to star in more sequels. The problem is that, since Sidney doesn’t go through any sort of character arc or growth in her fourth outing, Scream 4 feels relatively pointless and more than a little redundant.

(As an aside, can you imagine a fifth Scream with Jill as the new Sidney, forced to endure another iteration of Ghostface as a consequence of her own actions? You could even bring Sidney back in an American Werewolf-styled cameo where she appears as Jill’s conscious. Oh, the possibilities of that franchise!)

Anyways, Scream 4 effectively killed off the beloved slasher series for good … or, at least, for another decade.

Now, Scream 2022 does indeed try something different, introducing troubled sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter (played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega), who are lured into the deadly game of a violent killer when the latter is attacked in her home. Along the way, we learn that Sam’s father is none other than Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), one of the killers from the original 1996 film. As such, Sam worries that her father’s propensity for murder might be hereditary, especially when Billy starts popping up as a vision inside her head to offer killer advice, if you catch my drift.

As it turns out, Sam is quite efficient at murder, revealing as much when she hacks the holy bejesus out of Jack Quaid’s Ghostface at the film’s end — a victory that can also be seen as something of a moral defeat since it leaves the young girl questioning her own sanity.

Good stuff, right?

Sam is certainly an interesting character whose inner conflict presents a fascinating change of pace for the typical slasher heroine, and definitely an individual worth exploring in future films. Will she eventually succumb to Billy’s taunts and become the bad guy? Will she make amends with her sister? Will her victory lure other psychotic killers from afar? Suffice to say, I’m excited to see where this storyline goes.

Oh yeah, at some point, Sidney, now a mother, returns to Woodsboro and helps Gale take down the second killer (Mikey Madison).

No, really, that’s all Sidney does in Scream 2022 — and she doesn’t even do it that effectively. Sidney ends up stabbed, again, and only manages to make it out of her predicament because the killer behaves like a moron. After four films, you’d think Sidney, Gale, and Dewey would’ve, I don’t know, become better at this sort of thing, or progressed beyond their slasher character troupes. Instead, Sidney nearly dies, Gale ends up with another bullet wound, and Dewey (shockingly) bites the dust.

Here’s the thing: as fun as it is to see the original Scream trio pop up in these sequels, their presence distracts from the actual narrative. Whatever investment we have in Sam and Tara (or the other characters) takes a backseat when Sidney appears in the third act because we have so much more invested in her. What’s she been up to these past ten years? Where does she work? Who did she marry? How many kids does she have? Does she train like Jamie Lee Curtis in her backyard for moments when Ghostface pops up every decade or so? Why doesn’t she ever call Gale or Dewey in-between films?

These thoughts raced through my brain during the pivotal third act, which is probably not what the filmmakers intended.

So, here’s the big question: does Scream need Sidney Prescott? Or can the franchise function on its own without her? I’m not trying to dismiss the appeal of Campbell, but it’s a fair question to ask because the studios producing these films seem terrified at the prospect of moving on without the character. If the answer is yes, every Scream chapter must feature Sidney, then give her something more to do. This is the second time she serves more as a bystander than a necessary character in her own franchise. If the answer is no, then move the hell on.

It’s that simple. Are they saving Sidney for a bigger role down the line? Are Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett following in the footsteps of the latest batch of Star Wars films and giving each legacy character their own chance to go out with a bang — Scream 2022 was Dewey’s last hurrah, which means Gale will likely die next followed by Sidney?

I’m actually cool with that.

Just please don’t waste our legacy characters on glorified cameos. They deserve more than that.