About 20 years ago, we started to see reboots of a slew of old horror franchises, as pretty much any old title you could think of came back with updated entries. While that trend still exists, the horror landscape shifted somewhat in more recent times.

Ala flicks like 2018’s Halloween, we now get what I guess fans dub “requels”: films that mix reboot, sequel and remake. Into this category falls 2022’s Scream.

In 1996, two teen nutbags killed a lot of people in their hometown of Woodsboro. This got adapted into a movie called Stab, one that inspired multiple sequels.

This past repeats itself when a new maniac repeats the pattern of “Ghostface” from the original, though this time his intended prey – teen Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) survives. This brings her estranged older sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) back home for the first time in five years.

While the pair deal with old issues, the body count increases. This eventually leads to the return of some who survived the 1996 attacks, including “final girl” Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), TV reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and local cop Dewey Riley (David Arquette), as these folks attempt to fend off this new round of slayings.

When the 1996 Scream became a hit, a sequel seemed inevitable. However, in a perfect world, that flick would’ve been “one and done”, for the concept just doesn’t suit the franchise concept.

Scream went meta when that acted as a novel concept, and its ironic deconstruction of the horror genre didn’t really feel suited for more than one movie. Sure, the sequels managed to churn some cleverness out of other cinematic staples, but they became less and less interesting as they went, mainly because they went to the same well too often.

With the 2022 Scream, we get a movie that mainly aspires to live off old glories. While it attempts some novel paths of its own, it really feels like an effort intended to act as enough of a throwback to the original that we’ll ignore its inherent lack of inspiration.

At times, this Scream feels less like an organic story and more like a collection of references and Easter eggs. Those behind Scream clearly delighted in the various ways – some clever, some not – that hearken back to various other horror franchises, and these threaten to overwhelm the rest of the tale.

Like most “reboot sequels”, Scream uses the old cast members more as nostalgia than necessary roles. If you saw the trailers for this version, you’d expect it to focus on Sidney, Gale and Dewey, but in truth – spoiler alert? – they play supporting roles.

Instead, we mainly focus on Tara, Sam and their crew. Though the younger actors do their best, their roles feel bland and generic at best, so they fail to capture the viewer’s attention as did Sidney and company 25 years ago.

A lot of this happens because the 2022 Scream lives in a weird netherworld between sequel and homage. It babysteps in the direction of its own existence, but for the most part, it gives us a gentle recreation of the 1996 flick without a whole lot of its own creativity.

The 2022 Scream occasionally feels vaguely clever, but it mostly comes across as a tepid reworking of the prior flick. Beyond some mockery of modern-day horror, we just don’t find much one could call new or insightful.

At no point does the 2022 Scream become a bad movie, but it does seem utterly superfluous. A cautious, uninspiring revival, the film never threatens to develop its own identity and create a winning continuation of the franchise.

Scream appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. While not stunning, the Dolby Vision presentation worked fairly well.

Overall sharpness seemed positive. While a little softness impacted a few wider shots, the majority of the movie came with appealing accuracy.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects appeared, and I saw no signs of edge haloes. Print flaws failed to become an issue.

For the most part, Scream opted for a low-key mix of amber and teal, with splashes of red thrown in at times, mainly via Gale’s clothes. These hues looked fine for their design choices, though they didn’t impress. The disc’s HDR added some punch when we got more vibrant colors.

Blacks felt deep and dark, while shadows presented solid clarity. HDR brought impact to whites and contrast. The nature of the project meant this never turned into a great-looking image, but it represented the source accurately.

On the other hand, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack disappointed, as it turned into an oddly underpowered affair. Expect to need to turn up the volume much higher than normal.

This regularly occurs with releases from Disney, so it comes as a surprise to find it on a Paramount release. However, I usually find that when I compensate with higher volume on those Disney discs, they sound fine, whereas Scream still felt a bit feeble even with increased volume.

Not that this turned into a wholly rinky-dinky auditory affair, but despite the fact I jacked up the levels, it continued to lack the expected impact. Music and effects felt more restrained and less dynamic than they should.

This gave the movie less oomph than it needed. While music, speech and effects remained clear and not a problem, their lack of inherent power left them as unimpressive.

The soundfield fared better, as it spread out the action in an appropriate manner. The usual scare moments cropped up from around the room, so along with music and environmental material, the soundscape felt fairly involving.

Nonetheless, the lack of power behind the track remained a problem. Though still good enough for a “B-“, this turned into an oddly feeble mix.

A mix of extras appear here, and we start with an audio commentary from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, writer/producer James Vanderbilt, writer Guy Busick, and executive producer Chad Villella. All five sit together for this running, screen-specific look at the film's development, story, characters and screenplay, cast and performances, production design, the impact of the pandemic on the shoot, connections to the prior movies, music, costumes and various effects, and Easter eggs.

Expect a pretty terrific commentary, as we get an involving overview of a solid mix of topics. The participants keep things jovial and lively, and they show an appealing willingness to point out stretches of logic and other issues with the story. This winds up as an informative and enjoyable piece.

Three Deleted Scenes span a total of two minutes, 57 seconds. All three give Dewey a little more screentime, which I appreciate since he remains one of the series’ more likable characters.

Three featurettes follow, and New Blood runs seven minutes, 33 seconds. It offers remarks from Bettinelli-Olpin, Villella, Gillett, Busick, Vanderbilt, and actors Courtney Cox, Dylan Minnette, Neve Campbell, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, David Arquette, Mason Gooding and Melissa Barrera.

"Blood" looks at attempts to update the franchise as well as cast and reflections of the prior films. A few decent notes emerge, but most of "Blood" feels superficial.

Bloodlines goes for eight minutes, 33 seconds and brings statements from Gillett, Vanderbilt, Ortega, Campbell, Cox, Arquette, Quaid, Barrera, Minnette, Bettinelli-Olpin, costume designer Emily Gunshor, makeup department head Rick Pour, producer Paul Neinstein, executive producer Kevin Williamson, production designer Chad Keith, and actors Jasmin Savoy Brown, Kyle Gallner, Sonia Ammar and Mikey Madison.

They discuss some story/character elements in this fluffy program, though some of the Easter eggs mentioned give us fun elements.

Finally, In the Shadow of the Master lasts seven minutes, 22 seconds and involves Cox, Campbell, Arquette, Bettinelli-Olpin, Quaid, Busick, Vanderbilt, Williamson, Villella and actor Marley Shelton.

"Shadow" mostly praises series originator Wes Craven, which makes it well-intentioned but focused on happy talk.

We also find the trailer for the original 1996 Scream. We don't get a promo for the 2022 version, though.

A mix of sequel and reboot, the 2022 Scream finds the franchise on fumes. A muddled mix of self-aware irony and fan service, the movie feels like a stale attempt to revive the franchise. The 4K UHD comes with very good picture, lackluster audio and an erratic set of bonus materials highlighted by a fine commentary. Five movies in and Scream can’t find clever new ways to develop the material.