Movies

Published on April 14th, 2022 | by Dan Nicholls

0

Scream 4K Home Video Release Review

Scream sees its home video release! Er…the new Scream, not the old Scream. Or any of the sequel Screams. ANYWAY… Dan’s review of the 4K release!

In a world gone mad with sequels, reboots, remakes, and prequels it makes sense that Wes Craven’s classic Scream would be next in line for the requel treatment (series continuity meets fresh new cast). The filmmaking team of Radio Silence (directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and executive producer Chad Villella) takes over with reverence from the dearly departed master and the trio behind Ready or Not have the comedy/horror chops to pull off a daunting feat.

When a new Ghostface attack brings Sam (Melissa Barrera) back to the town of Woodsboro it opens up old wounds and reveals buried secrets connected to the characters and events of the original Scream (which was turned into a movie itself, Stab, in the Scream universe). It’s a 2022 take on an old favorite with a diverse and excellent supporting cast of possible suspects and victims that includes Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega and Jasmin Savoy Brown. And of course, it wouldn’t be a real Woodsboro reunion if the core trio of David Arquette, Neve Campbell, and Courtney Cox weren’t sucked back into the action. Without delving into spoilers, the film is funny, genuinely scary in parts, but maybe just a bit too self-referential for its own well-being. It delivers the goods that you expect from a Scream movie in the tradition of the Wes Craven classic.

The biggest downside to Scream is that its title makes it very hard to talk about. Everything relates back to the original Scream in this Scream but the title could’ve changed. I guess “The 2022 Scream” gets the point across but you shouldn’t have to do so much work to just differentiate between different motion pictures. They even talk about this in one of the extremely meta chunks of dialogue that are peppered throughout the entire screenplay. Scream could’ve stood to do with fewer references to Scream, but Scream is such a classic that Scream’s overwhelming nostalgia is kind of warranted.

Scream hit theaters this January with some robust numbers, a rare course correction for a series five titles in after the box office disappointment of Scream 4 a full 11 years ago. The success immediately resulted in a greenlit sequel and Scream 6 will be coming to us next year, mirroring the single-year gaps between the first and second films. But now the film is available in every format you can imagine for home viewing but this release has raised an interesting question: What does it mean to truly own a movie?

I’d like to think that at the worst times in the future, even after the Armageddon and the world is a hellscape, that I could still find solace in my offline collection of films. But what if the only resource available is a DVD player? Or a regular-ass 1080p HD machine? Most home releases tend to come with a generation of backwards-compatibility, like a Blu-ray + DVD combo or a 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo. Scream’s 4K UHD release comes with just a single disc and a digital code (does anyone ever really redeem those things?). I used to think, how many instances in our present lives do we really have the need for multiple copies of one movie? Holding on to a single format to preserve your cinematic favorites now is fine but when the apocalypse halts all streaming will DVDs and CDs reign supreme? Perhaps in the land of limited power resources the person with the old CRT tube TV with built-in VHS and DVD player will rule them all.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of the franchise then I’d definitely recommend adding Scream to your collection. It’s a welcome readjustment to a franchise that has weathered worse storms and appears headed for brighter horizons with an announced 6th film in the series aiming for release next year. The callbacks, winks, and nostalgia-driven plot might be at the apex with our current Scream, but one has the feeling the Radio Silence filmmaking team has what it takes to subvert expectations at least one more time.

As you’d expect from a major studio contemporary release the sound and picture of Scream’s 4K UHD home video release come in with top marks. It looks great and sounds great plus the bonus features on the 4K release bulk up the package to make it more attractive on the “must own” shelf. Though the deleted scenes are brief and wisely excised from the movie and the featurettes a little repetitive, it’s still a solid package for fans.

Filmmaker Commentary — The directors, writers and filmmakers reveal the unwritten rules for surviving this genre-busting horror movie. 

Bloodlines (featurette)— Catch up with Scream stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette for a deep dive into their characters and why they came back for a fresh stab at their favorite horror franchise. 

New Blood (featurette) — Meet the new generation of Woodsboro victims and potential killers! 

In the Shadow of the Master (featurette) — The cast honor movie maestro Wes Craven and look back on his incredible legacy as the director who redefined horror. 

Deleted Scenes — Look out! They’re back from the dead: see the scenes slashed from the movie.

Scream (1996) Original Trailer

Scream is available to own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.

Tags: ,


About the Author

Avatar photo

is a Vancouver-based, lifelong movie geek who's been a projectionist, critic, director, (accidental) actor, and writer in the industry since E.T. phoned home. @dannicholls



Comments are closed.

Back to Top ↑

4/d325-7Lc0iXf6ND57sAcMpqERvBs.AuNPkqlzA8IbmmS0T3UFEsPcYXkxgAI