Funny / Scream (2022)

All spoilers will be unmarked. You have been warned!

• Dewey warns Gale about the new killings via text. He then immediately regrets putting in the emoticon.
  Dewey (in a text): Ghostface is back. Don't come to Woodsboro. Hope all is well. :)
  • She later makes a point to chew him out over it.
    Gale (exasperated): A text?! You tell me the killer is back with a text?!
• The Soundtrack Dissonance in Vince's death. At first, the music is coming through the radio of his car, so it naturally stops once Vince removes the key. But when Ghostface stabs him in the throat, the music resumes playing as part of the film's soundtrack.
  • There is something darkly hilarious about how matter-of-fact Ghostface is in killing him compared to the others, as if Richie and Amber know Vince is such a one-note Slimeball he isn't even worth keeping around as a Red Herring.
• Dewey initially turns down Sam's attempt to go to him for help and is clearly not doing great, but ultimately pulls himself together. When he shows up at the Meeks's house for the meta "rules" speech, Richie still isn't convinced.
  Richie: Look, just because he took a shower doesn't mean that guy should have a gun.
• Dewey meeting Martha again is sweet and a bit awkward. Martha greets Dewey and tries to give him a compliment about his looks but Martha, noticing his obvious disheveled state, cannot bring herself to say anything (to which Dewey responds “yeah”) and jumps to asking about his wife.
• When everyone is gathered at Chad and Mindy's house to discuss the motives of the killer, and Wes suspects Dewey.
  Wes: You got stabbed a billion times, got dumped by your famous wife, and crawled into a bottle. I think it's safe to say you're on the suspect list.
  (Beat)
  Dewey: Well, maybe you're the killer. Because... that cut deep.
• Some of the dialogue in the “requel” scene from above also counts. Examples include Richie asking what a “Mary Sue” is only for Wes to tell him that he “doesn’t want to know”, Mindy mentioning that she and Chad are likely next in the killer’s queue in a tone akin to this being a minor inconvenience, and Dewey voicing his regret to arriving at the Meeks-Martin residence when Mindy suggests that the killer will likely go after someone related to the original killings next.
  Wes: Jesus, my mom was a character in one of them.
  Mindy: Nobody cares about the shitty, inferior sequels, Wes. You’re safe. (looks at Chad) With Randy as our uncle, though, you and I are probably screwed.
  Chad: Wait, what?
• The Overly Long Gag after Wes gets out of the shower in which he faces a series of fake-out scares.
• Tara casually mentioning that every time she is attacked and injured by Ghostface, the hospital gives her better drugs.
• In a hilarious Call-Back to one of the most remembered moments of the original film, Tara accidentally hits Ritchie with a phone in the hospital, leading him to ask her in utter confusion "Did you just hit me with a phone?"
• When Sam tries to leave town with Tara and Richie, Sidney lets her go despite Gale’s protests. Then Sidney reveals that she put a tracker on their car and quips, “It seems like something Gale Weathers would do.”
  Gale: Take that as a compliment.
• After having an argument with Mindy, Liv angrily grabs a bag of chips out of her hands before storming out of the room.
• When Richie is clearing out Amber's house of partygoers, one can be distinctly heard whining "someone's goofy-ass dad is kicking us out." Even better, the voice of that partygoer is Jamie Kennedy!
• Mindy is on the couch watching the first Stab movie and comes upon the scene where Randy is in a similar situation watching Halloween as Ghostface approaches him from behind. Unbeknownst to her, the new Ghostface also begins stalking her from behind. The scenes differ in that, just as Ghostface is about to strike, Mindy does in fact turn around, and lets out a simple “Huh.” before making a break for it.
  • Making it even funnier is that as Mindy is shouting to “Randy” to turn around, Ghostface gives a Quizzical Tilt as if to say, “Really?”
• Amber tries fooling Sidney and Gale by feigning an injury and screaming for help, similar to Stu. However, the first response that the duo have is an immediate realization that it’s a trap.
• Amber is incredulous at the fact that Gale and Sidney used hand sanitizer to defend themselves. And it works.
• Sidney and Gale ask if Amber (like so many killers before her) is going to blame the movies for her killings. She replies, seemingly sincerely, "No, the message boards!"
  Amber: I was radicalized!
  Gale: [incredulously] By movie fans?
  Amber: Yes, they're so mad!
• This exchange:
  Richie: Sidney Prescott. You know, I'm a really big fan.
  Sidney: Go fuck yourself.
• As Sidney makes her way up the stairs, clearing doors via gunshots as a "hello," she is talking to Ghostface, who is doing his level best to taunt her. When it looks like he's about to get the last word in, Sidney hangs up on him as he tries to keep her on the line. Even Ghostface is momentarily surprised and lets out a couple of words of protest.
  Sidney: I'm bored!
  Ghostface: WAIT! [gets hung up on]
  • The fact that Sidney literally shoots first at each door while scanning Stu's old house. This is the fifth film, and she is not fucking around.
• The ridiculousness of Ghostface's motive this time around is definitely good for a few laughs, taking Evil Is Petty up to eleven even by this franchise's standards. Richie and Amber go on a killing spree because they didn't like a movie. Particularly funny is Richie insisting fandom can't be toxic after he's murdered people because of his own unhealthy obsession with the Stab franchise.
  • It gets better during Richie's Villainous Breakdown as Sam starts to fight back, where his behavior devolves to that of a bratty child.
    Richie: Stop! Fucking up! My ending!
• It turns out that the scenes of Chromeface and the flamethrower shown in the trailer were not part of this movie, but part of Stab 8.
  • When Richie watches a podcast criticizing the movie, there’s a scene from the movie where Chromeface is swinging two machetes while wearing a sleeveless hoodie, and another one where he fires a flamethrower while shouting "This shit is lit!" It’s as ridiculous as it sounds, an exaggerated parody of Villain Decay that plays out like some of the most So Bad, It's Good moments of the late-period Nightmare on Elm Street films.
  • They even got James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca from Dead Meat to do a cameo of themselves tearing apart the movie on said podcast, criticizing everything from the killer's new weapons, outfit, and attitude to how the movie doesn’t have an 8 in its title.
  • Frankly, the fact that the in-universe Rian Johnson is the director of this mess is kind of funny when you realize that it doesn't resemble his real movies at all (Johnson has even said in the past that he'd never direct a horror film). Given his own penchant for playing with genre, it's entirely possible that he was using Stab 8 to criticize or deconstruct Stab, only for Richie and Amber to not get the joke at all.
• After a heartwarming moment where Tara assures Sam that she loves her, Sam points out that Tara's currently high as a kite due to all the painkillers. Tara cheerfully agrees she's "suuuuuuuper high."
• Sidney and Gale attempting to get Sam to fight back against the killer during the latter’s Screw This, I'm Outta Here moment.
  Sam: You want me to help you and the host of a morning show commit murder?
  Sidney: Yeah.
  Gale: Correct.
  Sam: And what am I in this scenario? The bait? The helpless victim?
  Gale: If the shoe fits…
• When Tara has her first conversation with Ghostface at the start of the movie, eventually he asks her “What’s your favorite scary movie?” like a Wham Line. Tara, not understanding (or probably ignoring) the seriousness of the reference, earnestly responds with The Babadook. And then goes on to talk about the deeper themes and emotions that make it worthwhile to her.
  Ghostface: ...Mm, that sounds kinda boring to me.
• Mindy repeating fan distaste with Stab 8, including topics of forced representation and other topics to try and "elevate" it. When asked what's wrong with "elevated horror," and that Jordan Peele is amazing, she can only respond "Correct, but that's not Stab."
• When Ghostface asks Judy what her favourite scary movie is, her answer is unorthodox:
  Judy: I prefer animated films and musicals.
  Ghostface: *annoyed scoff*
  • Even funnier is how curt and serious she is when she says it. Though, to be fair, she is knowingly on the phone with Ghostface and is clearly on edge from receiving the call.

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