Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a terrifying new killer resurrects the Ghostface mask. As the deaths mount, Woodsboro’s new targets must seek help from the survivors of the original Ghostface attacks. Now, only Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), former sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) can find a way to stop the killer when everyone is a suspect. The film also stars Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, and Marley Shelton.
For in-depth thoughts on Scream (2022), please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Scream (2022) offers an incredible presentation, but the lack of an accompanying Blu-Ray makes it difficult to judge the level of improvement over the Blu-Ray. Skin tones appear natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as pores. The increased range of the color spectrum is stunning to behold. The Dolby Vision enriches the colors from already impressive to out of this world when it comes to vibrancy. The daytime portions of the narrative with the natural world pop off the screen with the green of the foliage and blue of the sky. The highlights in the film are more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. Elements in the various interiors are more vivid and finely delineated. Most importantly, the black levels are especially strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail. This 4K UHD presentation really delivers on all fronts including strong gains in clarity and color. Paramount has delivered another fantastic transfer on this latest 4K release.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts a DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio presentation that packs one hell of a punch. This is a film that has certainly put the utmost thought into sound design and this disc executes everything perfectly. When the film gets active, this disc brings these terrifying moments right into your living room with a depth and clarity of sound that is staggering. Every minor bump in the darkness is given the appropriate weight to the thematic scenario. Various environmental sounds flow out of your side and rear speakers. Each sound is precisely placed with perfect spatial awareness. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of confrontations that really make you feel like you are right beside the characters. There is an surprising amount of activity in the low-end which will keep you on edge when it comes time for things to hit the fan. Dialogue comes through clearly without getting muddied by the score or any sound effects. Paramount knocked it out of the park with this track, so those with a good surround sound setup should have fun with this one.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, and Executive Producer Chad Villella provide a very lively and informative commentary track in which they discuss trivia about the production companies, their approach to tackling this iconic franchise, working with the returning cast and introducing new faces, secrets behind how they executed certain kills, production woes and more.
- Deleted Scenes: Three minutes of unused material including Dewey getting into a bar fight, Dewey talking to Judy, Sam putting some pieces together at a crucial moment and more.
- New Blood: An eight-minute piece in which the cast discuss the impact of the original film before delving into how they connected it to this new feature, the new faces that are along for the ride, and how the two eras of the cast bonded on set.
- Bloodlines: A nearly nine-minute piece in which the original cast members discuss their characters and why they decided to return for this new entry in the franchise.
- In The Shadow Of The Master: A seven-minute featurette which takes a look at the legacy of the late Wes Craven, their memories with him, his impact on the genre and more.
- Scream 1996 Trailer: A minute-and-a-half trailer for Scream (1996) is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Scream (2022) tackles the familiar nature of the franchise reboot and does what it does best as a franchise: brings a fresh perspective. Filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett take what we love about the series and apply a point-of-view that aligns with the times. The resulting film is wickedly clever, satisfyingly violent and palpable in its thrills. The film balances reverence for the past with the new generation extremely well. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that sports a fabulous A/V presentation and a decent selection of supplemental features. If you are a fan of the franchise, you should be thrilled by the way it is being handled. Recommended
Scream (2022) will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray and DVD on April 5, 2022. It is currently available to purchase on Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
