(https://i.imgur.com/r4sdMBP.png)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: 9/22/2026
Rating: R
Film Grade: C-
The Story: More than two decades have passed since Ghostface terrorized Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks. Now, their children are threatened as the killer returns to victimize a new generation.
My Take: I haven’t kept up with this franchise, but it’s gone through a number of changes. For this entry, various members of the Wayans family have returned after splitting with the producers after the second film. Given that 25 years have passed since that last effort, one might be worried that they’ve lost touch with the characters, but not that much has changed.
The narrative is thin as can be, with the movie serving as more of a lose assembly of skits spoofing the Scream series along with other horror films and their tired tropes. Self-referential humor abounds and the fourth wall is broken. The horror elements here never come close to scary, and the few gross out moments are handled for laughs.
Some scenes just end without completely resolving the conflicts, lasting just long enough to get some chuckles, but destroying any sense of continuity.
But audiences aren’t watching this to be frightened or to follow a solid plot, their watching for the comedy. One’s satisfaction with this movie will be dependent on what kind of humor you like. There are some genuinely clever moments when the film is parodying other recent movies, like Final Destination: Bloodlines, Weapons, Sinners, and even John Wick. Others are thrown in with little connection to the plot, like Longlegs. Some of this may be attributed to the five writers that are credited for it. This adds to the disjointed feel of the movie, and could have been handled better following the anthology nature of the V/H/S series, rather than try to force them into the story.
The humor itself can be genuinely witty, but is predominated by the crude and vulgar, with plenty of drug and sexual references. There were a number of physical comedy and sight gags that had me laughing out loud. There’s a fun anatomy poster, a Christmas scene set in Gacy’s department store, a city population sign that counts deaths, and a hospital banner promoting liposuction for tubby infants, all of which work surprisingly well.
On the other hand, I’m not particularly amused by the lowbrow comedy that makes up the vast majority of the film. Many of those jokes are not just crass but also obvious, the kinds of things that the average teenage boy would find hilarious (if they’re watching with friends and not their parents). There’s zero concern about being politically correct, which is highly unusual these days and kind of refreshing for those not easily offended.
There are a ton of actors in the movie and performances are all over the board. I’m imagining that Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans, and Regina Hall are all intentionally overacting, but that got old rather quickly. The new cast members follow suit, which indicates that’s what the director was going for. Some of the guest appearances are surprisingly fun and effective. Much like with the plot, this is of secondary concern to the comedy, there’s not much point in judging it too harshly.
Visuals: Video quality is surprisingly good. Starting with the opening scene there’s good contrast, strong black levels, and bold colors. Skin tones look natural. There are some digital effects that work better than others, but the overall look of the movie is solid for a comedy.
Audio: The disc comes with an Atmos mix. Just like the video quality, audio is above average for a comedy. I didn’t find any scenes for my usual bird test, but there was a helicopter flying overhead early on. The extra speakers are mostly used for music but every once in a while, they’ll add some emphasis to the action. Subs are primarily used for the music and don’t otherwise distinguish themselves. Dialog is clear for the most part.
The score Haim Mazar is played completely straight and actually pretty good as horror. It has the right underlying tone to fit the genre and pairs off well with the humor.
Special Features: The four shorts are only about 20 total minutes and features the talent in front of and behind the camera. Special emphasis is made on the first two films, with little to nothing on the other sequels. They do seem to have had a lot of fun making the movie. It’s a good watch for anyone looking for a dose of nostalgia.
- Scream Together
- Fresh Meat
- Wayans World
- Scene Dissection
Final Verdict: If you’ve liked the previous installments, enjoy extremely crude jokes, and want to see some horror parodies this is worth your time, so knock the grade up a level or two. On the other hand, if you’re easily offended by expletives, rude language, politically incorrect themes, or drug humor, stay away. My wife was not amused and gave it a D. I’d have preferred more clever comedy that really pokes at film conventions, and less of the boring “edgy” stuff.
Watching the trailer doesn’t give that much away and will give you a good idea of how you’ll react to it. It was a big hit at this summer’s box office, so there’s wide audience appeal. If you do watch, stay through the credits for a couple of bonus bits.
Unexpected Quote: "They gentrified The Jeffersons?"
WARNING: Trailer contains expletives, NSFW
https://youtu.be/cGgWAHXuTKc
This review was written by a human without the use of AI.
My Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup