I’ll take movies with 6 unnecessary sequels, Alex. It looks like we’re all going to have to keep answering the Ghostface Killer’s scary movie questions. After the surprising success of “Scream” (2022), or as I call it “Scream 5: Reboot It” which grossed over $100 million at the box office, the studios behind the shockingly long franchise announced they will be moving forward with yet another sequel.
This announcement of yet another “Scream” movie shouldn’t come as too much of surprise. We all know money talks and nostalgia is currently driving the industry. So a beloved and somewhat subversive horror franchise that continues to perform at the box office regardless of whether or not fans really want more is clearly a cash grab ticket for studios. I’m a little disheartened that something so revolutionary at the time of its release has now fallen victim to the “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” franchise treatment. It’s not that the sequels are necessarily bad, and I think there is something enjoyable that can be taken from every entry so far.
But I don’t know that anyone watched the original “Scream” and thought this should be a longstanding, decades-long horror franchise (including a 3-season tv series!). But that’s the folly of the genre; introduce a unique killer meant to be some kind of thematic representation of something else that had no intention of being a franchise, make a boatload of money, and churn out sequels until no one cares anymore. THEN, you make a new entry that erase or alter sequels that didn’t do as well, rinse and repeat.
“Scream 6” is set to go into production this summer. No release date has been set, but you can bet confidently that another entry is coming sooner rather than later.
So I guess all that’s left to do is ask: What’s your favorite scary movie?
