Latest ‘Scream’ a nostalgic, albeit grisly, romp

When a film franchise passes the 20-year mark, it is typically time for a self-referential entry.

This usually includes callbacks to previous films, the return of iconic characters and general fan service. The latest addition to the long-running “Scream” franchise hits all those beats and is a legacy sequel that mostly gets it right.

In 2018, the “Halloween” franchise did a “soft reboot” with the release of “Halloween.” It asked viewers to forget every movie that came after the original 1978 masterpiece. With last year’s disappointing “Halloween Kills,” director David Gordon Green is closer to completing his vision with a trilogy of sequels.

Rather than use “Scream 5” for the title, the 2022 release is simply “Scream.” Like the recent “Halloween” films, this may be an attempt to restart the franchise. Both bring back as many surviving characters as possible to connect the past to the present. The younger characters are necessarily privy to the history of carnage surrounding their respective hometowns. Whereas “Halloween Kills” changes a few too many things about its central villain for my liking, there is little different about Ghostface in 2022’s “Scream.”

Under the mask

Ghostface has always been just a regular human in a mask and black cape. Whoever is underneath the mask feels wronged by the protagonist(s) in some way and has a need to exact justice. Rather than make the motives clear right away, Ghostface spends the bulk of the movie killing off characters and giving everyone else time to guess who the killer really is. In a good “Scream” film, this is the most entertaining part. Watching “Scream (2022),” I felt genuinely surprised and engaged when the various superfluous characters met their often-grisly demises.

The absolute greatest part of the film is the reappearance of the franchise’s three main characters, Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) and former Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette). Much like their real-life counterparts, these three have gone through a lot since 1996.

Their presence is what drives the recent deluge of legacy sequels and reboots. It’s nostalgic because the first appearance of these enduring characters was during a defining point in our lives. Often, these characters are shoe-horned in, but “Scream (2022)” does a respectable job of bringing them in organically.

Sydney Prescott will never be rid of Ghostface, much like c. There are worse things to have as your claim to fame. B

Take a look at ‘Watcher’

I’ve always wanted to go to the Sundance Film Festival. So many fantastic movies have debuted there.

For the second year in a row, it is an online-only affair. This year, I decided to rent a few of the films in the program. My favorite of the ones I watched is sort of a reverse “Rear Window” film titled “Watcher.”

Maika Monroe (“It Follows”) stars as Julia. After following her husband to his new job in his native Romania, Julia quickly runs out of things to do. She must not have a Netflix account as she only bothers watching Romanian shows.

During her boredom, she notices a creepy neighbor (Burn Gorman) looking out his window at her. She sees him watching at all times of the day. She feels him following her around on the street, to the movies, to the market. First-time director Chloe Okuno proficiently captures the claustrophobia of Julia’s situation.

Her husband and the police do not believe her. Julia begins to accept their suggestion that it might all be in her head. Okuno wants Julia to represent unheard women everywhere: “Believe us when we tell you something is wrong.”

Gorman does a superb job keeping his creepiness close to the vest. Is he a stalker? Or just a misunderstood loner? Taut direction and some explosive scenes make this one to put on your watchlist. B+

TV recommendations

“Landscapers” (HBO): David Thewlis and an unrecognizable Olivia Colman play a married couple hiding from a crime in their past. Darkly comedic, this mini-series employs an extremely clever flashback device to marry the past to the present. Highly recommended.

“Narcos: Mexico” (Netflix): In the 6th season of the “Narcos” franchise, things have progressed into the mid-1990s and the Mexican cartels are in shambles. After multiple failures last season, DEA agent Walt Breslin (the always great Scoot McNairy) is finally closing in on some of the major players. It’s amazing how great writing and acting can make you care about the plight of drug dealers.