Highbrow Magazine - courtney cox https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/courtney-cox en ‘Scream’ 2022 Is Frightfully Funny https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/19327-scream-frightfully-funny <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 02/18/2022 - 15:17</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1screamfilm.jpg?itok=hc9irx4i"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1screamfilm.jpg?itok=hc9irx4i" width="480" height="201" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Horror films aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. However, the monsters, murderers, and miscreants who star in them are ingrained in pop culture. You needn’t have seen any of the <em>Halloween</em>, or <em>Friday the 13th</em> films to recognize their antagonists' distinctive masks. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The same can be said of <em>Scream’s</em> “Ghostface” mask. I had never seen a <em>Scream</em> film upon walking into the recent soft-reboot of the series.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Equipped only with my general knowledge that the <em>Scream</em> films were partially meta-satires, I came to the theater expecting a run-of-the-mill slasher flick with a slight self-aware edge. My expectations were far surpassed. <em>Scream 2022</em> is an extremely clever parody of itself and all of the other recent “not-quite-reboots” we’ve seen in recent years. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">For those familiar with <em>Scream</em>, the notion of characters trying to “follow the rules” of horror films is no new concept. Characters who are fully aware of horror tropes is a staple of the series. <em>Scream 2022,</em> however, adds a new layer to this concept: namely, its self-awareness for the tropes present in “soft-reboots,” such as 2018’s <em>Halloween;</em> its sequel <em>Halloween Kills</em>; and <em>Ghostbusters Afterlife.</em> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">There is an entire monologue where a character expounds on the rules of “Requals” as they refer to them in the film -- making jokes about how there needs to be some originality but nothing too original to irritate fans, balancing new characters and “Legacy Characters.” The monologue is delivered while “Legacy Character” Dewey sits on the couch expressing his regret for getting involved with the new protagonist.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2screamfilm.jpg" style="height:600px; width:405px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>Scream 2022’s</em> self-aware humor is not just a commentary on Hollywood, pointing out how these “requals” have formulaic elements, but also a critique of film audiences. The film jokes around with fandoms and how offended fans of franchises can be when studios produce terrible films cashing in on popular intellectual properties.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The critiques of audiences and the formulaic nature of the “requal” stings all the more when we consider the fairly high reception these types of films have received. <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/halloween_2018" target="_blank">2018’s <em>Halloween</em> is “certified fresh” on “Rotten Tomatoes”</a> with a 79% critic and 70% audience score. <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghostbusters_afterlife" target="_blank"><em>Ghostbusters Afterlife</em></a> actually dips a little lower with a 62% critic rating but an outstanding 94% audience rating. The 2016 <em>Ghostbusters</em> reboot is an interesting case because it lacks the “Legacy Character” trope <em>Scream 2022</em> attacks and has <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghostbusters_2016" target="_blank">a much lower audience rating of 49%</a>.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">While the low audience score for the 2016 <em>Ghostbusters</em> may have to do with the controversy related to rebooting the franchise with an all-female cast, this only seems to make its criticism of toxic fandom and nostalgic pandering all the more relevant.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The film revels in poking fun at the audience, whether it be its mindful dialogue or visual gags --  like the repetition of a staple horror shot being used repeatedly with no payoff. <em>Scream 2022</em> is so good at this that by the second half of the film, I stopped considering it a horror film at all. I found myself laughing more during the film than I did wincing in fear. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">This may be a turnoff for fans of slashers and horror films as when the tone clicks in, it is certainly not one of constant dread and tension. It’s also hard for me to assess how this may be received by longtime fans of the franchise -- as I stated earlier, this was my first <em>Scream</em> film. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3screamfilm.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">It's hard to ignore the hypocrisy in criticizing these kinds of cash grabs when piggybacking off of a well-known IP yourself. However, this irony seemingly isn’t lost on the filmmakers who throw some jabs in that are directed at the film itself. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">A gripe I often have with slasher films is how the violence and gore employed is so needlessly cruel, excessive, and pointless that it ceases to be scary and becomes just visually unpleasant. An example of this is <em>Halloween Kills,</em> where Michael Myers’s killing spree is more painful to watch than it is terrifying. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Gore can a powerful visual tool when employed properly. While I wouldn’t say its use of gore is great, <em>Scream 2022</em> employs its violence competently – especially, for the typical horror film.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Overall<em>, Scream 2022</em> is a fun time, and a joy for pop culture aficionados. The film isn't brilliant, but it does have wit and charm in spades, and serves as an excellent critique of a subgenre that has only just started, and is already being overdone.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Author Bio:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Garrett Hartman is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/scream-2" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Scream</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/scream-2022" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Scream 2022</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/horror-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">horror films</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/slasher-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">slasher films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/courtney-cox" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">courtney cox</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/david-arquette" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">david arquette</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/remakes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remakes</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Garrett Hartman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:17:18 +0000 tara 10940 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/19327-scream-frightfully-funny#comments