A Spoiler-Filled Breakdown of the New <i>Scream</i>

Unfortunately, the new Scream’s final girl, Sam Carpenter (In The Heights’ Melissa Barrera), doesn’t realize how prophetic Dewey’s directives are until the film’s final act.Dewey’s golden rule is a direct callback to the original Scream: Never trust the love interest. This time around, Ghostface is killing off anyone with a connection to the original Woodsboro murders, which were the inspiration behind the Stab movie franchise, a running gag in the Scream series.The new Scream is neither a reboot nor a sequel; it’s a “requel” as Randy’s niece Mindy Meeks-Martin (Yellowjackets’ Jasmin Savoy Brown) tells her friends in the early days of the town’s latest tragedy—in front of a literal shrine to Randy nonetheless. Over a decade later, a narcissistic murderer willing to kill her own family for the Instagram “likes” feels ahead of its time.Like Billy, Jill’s accomplice is her movie-obsessed friend Charlie (Rory Culkin) who wanted to remake the Stab movies, but ends up becoming just another casualty. It’s always important to remember that movie obsessives don’t usually fare well in this franchise—especially when they’re trying to rewrite the series to satisfy the fans.The new Scream resists the urge to make Sam the killer, a choice that would be a cutesy callback to the original in a less confident franchise. Amber is burned alive by Gale, a bit of karma for killing her late love, but like every other killer in the Scream movies she returns hellbent on finishing her plan.When a scorched Amber makes one final attempt to kill Sidney and Sam, it’s Tara who gets to save the day while getting in the final word.