Scream 5 (2022)

Disclaimer: The Scream (2022) review was originally posted April 29, 2022 and updated July 25, 2025.

The revival of the Scream franchise 11 years after the last installment feels like a confirmation that a new era of horror has arrived and solidified itself into the horror ecosystem. Modern horror tropes take center stage as a new group of teens in Woodsboro face a new Ghostface copycat killer. The 5th installment simply titled Scream (2022) is the first in the series not directed by Wes Craven who passed away in 2015. The last Scream film he directed, Scream 4 (2011) was not well received at the time but cashed in despite feeling like a knock off version of Scream. Costing about $15 million less (over $40 million compared to $24 million budgets) the 2022 installment raked in buckets at the box office, coming in at just under $140 million total. Scream 5 can be watched now on Hulu by clicking here or Paramount+ by clicking here.

Rather than rely on Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) connections Scream 5 opts to follow an entirely new thread and introduces Billy Loomis’ daughter he never met, Sam Carpenter portrayed by Melissa Barrera, and her little sister, Tara Carpenter portrayed by Jenna Ortega, and Tara’s high school friend group. Sam is a loner who’s only non familial connection shown is her boyfriend and coworker, Richie Kirsch portrayed by Jack Quaid, who accompanies her back to Woodsboro following Tara being attacked by a Ghostface mask wearing killer. Tara’s brush with the killer is the phone call that opens the film and establishes that these kids are fans of modern horror like The Babadook and It Follows but find slashers like Scream, or Stab in their universe, corny and dated. Tara is clear she prefers horror with depth that has something to say, similar to my own take on the genre, but this perspective is challenged by the killer.

Spoilers for Scream 5 (2022) past this point

Sam rushes to the hospital to be by Tara’s side despite the 2 being estranged in part due to Sam’s drug use and focus on rehabilitation. Tara’s friends are by her side when Sam and Richie arrive including Wes Hicks portrayed by Dylan Minnette, Amber Freeman portrayed by Mikey Madison, Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin portrayed by Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding respectively. They reunite with Sam, noting she used to babysit them when they were all younger and Amber in particular establishes an overprotective role in Tara’s life, which extends to Sam. Separately that night Vince Schneider, portrayed by Kyle Gallner, is killed by Ghostface and is the official first kill. The Ghostface killer or killers then show up at the hospital to try and finish off Tara.

When Sam and Tara are alone she confesses to Tara that she’s Loomis’ secret baby and that she found that out the day their father left, being the reason that he left after their mother lied to him that Sam was his child. Tara doesn’t take this well however and isn’t interested in accepting Sam’s apology for having distanced herself from Tara due to her lineage. Sam and Richie then make their way out of town to find someone who can help them stop the Ghostface killer, the former Sheriff Dewey Riley portrayed by David Arquette. He is hesitant to help them due to the danger but ultimately he agrees and informs Gale Weathers, his ex-wife portrayed by Courtney Cox, and Sidney that the killer has returned and to be on high alert. Sidney is shown running alongside the ocean on a path with a stroller and sounds in high spirits when Dewey calls, confirming she won’t be returning to Woodsboro anytime soon but stays strapped.

The group of friends, Sam, Richie, and Dewey all meet at Mindy and Chad’s house who happen to be Randy Meeks’ niece and nephew, Randy portrayed by Jamie Kennedy in the first Scream. Their mother is Martha Meeks portrayed by Heather Matarazzo and her reuniting with Dewey in her living room with Randy’s portrait and accolades behind them is a full circle franchise moment. Not only is Randy’s niece Mindy a horror expert like her uncle but they’ve all gathered so she can give them the low down and the rules of the slasher they have found themselves in. Based on the circumstances of the scenario and who the targets have been thus far Mindy argues they’re in a “requel” which differs from a sequel in that it revisits the same material but isn’t a remake and isn’t a continuation of the plots from previous movies.

The requel type of movie has become more and more common as old franchises and beloved titles are revamped but not entirely remade or the same stories continued onward (examples: Halloween 2018, Jurassic World movies, Star Wars: The Force Awakens trilogy, and Matrix Resurrections 2021). Mindy explains to the group that the killer is likely using Sam’s connection to Loomis to target Tara’s friend group as the new generation, all of them pointing fingers at one another once they realize this. Everyone gives reasons for and against it being themselves or other people in the group and ultimately it’s more up in air who the killers are than before the meeting. The new Ghostface killer then targets Sheriff Judy Hicks, portrayed by Marley Shelton, and her son Wes in their home, causing the media to congregate outside of their home. In this media crowd is Gale, returned because of Dewey’s message.

Back at the hospital Tara and Richie are attacked by the killer and a battle between Dewey and Sam against Ghostface ensues. Tara, Sam, and Richie get on an elevator ride away from the killer they believe they’re vanquished but Dewey stays back, arguing that they need to shoot the slasher in the head for the killings to truly be over. When he does go back he’s killed by the Ghostface killer, stabbed viciously and ultimately the killer escapes to slash another day while the franchise says goodbye to one of the legends. Going into this movie it felt certain that a legacy character would die to up the stakes and establish the legitimacy of this new Ghostface but it didn’t hurt any less. After Dewey’s death Sidney does return to Woodsboro and reunites with Gale, asking Sam to help them like a squad of bad ass final girls uniting to take down a Ghostface duo as wicked as the first.

Rather than join up Sam decides to leave town with Richie and Tara, hoping they can get out of dodge and stay safe. Sidney and Gale follow them and arrive at Amber’s house which is revealed to be Stu’s former house and the location of the original Woodsboro massacre. A party to honor Wes ensues that causes more fake outs of potential killers being unmasked but going into the 3rd act no one has been confirmed or ruled out. Screaming at one another around a table, Liv’s hands bloody from Chad’s body outside but denying being the killer is shot in the head by Amber, who reveals herself to be one of the Ghostface killers. Amber battles them around the house but Richie reveals himself to be the other killer and her accomplice, easily capturing Sam and Tara in the kitchen to hear their grand scheme.

Sidney and Gale are also witnesses to the bizarre reasoning of the crazed killers. They reveal they were fans of the Stab films and met online, connecting over their disappointment in the direction of the most recent installment, Stab 8. Wanting to inspire a new movie they decided to start a killing spree, hoping that it will lead to the new film being created. The couple plans to frame Sam as the killer, knowing about her relationship to Billy Loomis because her mother spread it around town on drunken outings. The battle and struggle culminates in Amber being shot and set on fire, Richie being stabbed countless times then shot repeatedly for good measure, and the badass squad is fine aside from some minor injuries and stab wounds. Tara shoots Amber when she jumps up and comes at the group with a raised knife, badly burned and mangled from the fire.

All of the act 3 action takes place in the same house from the first movie, Stu’s, where Sidney confronts the then Ghostface killers, Stu Macher portrayed by Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis. Once the authorities have taken over Gale tells the sisters and Sidney she doesn’t plan to write about these murders so that Amber and Richie die unknown and without notoriety. The twins are still alive and taken to the hospital to return in the 6th installment, leaving a decent number of characters to survive through to the next installment that had been confirmed and planned at the time of Scream 5’s release.

Conclusion

I had low expectations for this movie going into it mostly because it’s the fifth installment in a series after over ten years of no movies being released. I finished the movie pleasantly surprised that all of the tried and true tropes of the Scream franchise popped up in the plot. From exposition on what the rules are for the movie the characters find themselves in, to the killer(s) coming back when they’re believed to be dead, no nod went un-nodded.

I will also give the movie props for making the duo seem like possible suspects but then proceeding to make sure that viewers are thrown off of that track through the actions and decisions of Richie and Amber. It was good to see the franchise get a new start that didn’t abandon the things that made it great to begin with, including the original cast. The newer cast members are talented and interesting with creatively set up connections to the franchise that add intrigue to them without much effort being made on the part of the script. The 6th installment of the franchise released the following year in 2023 and I found it to be creative and expanding, taking place in the expansive setting of New York City and including more past characters. I think Scream 6 is well worth a more run of the mill Scream 5 that established the pretenses for 6 to occur. The 6th installment can be watched on Paramount+ or on Amazon Prime with a Paramount+ subscription by clicking here.