I am a big fan of this franchise. Even my least favourite instalments were mostly enjoyable.
But I feel that it's possible to have a balance of stakes and seriousness while ramping up the campiness a little more. There was something magical about the first 4 Scream films. And I'm missing that feeling.
Surely there's a way to inject more "light" into these films again?
I think when the world is so bleak, not all art needs to be equally bleak. Don't get me wrong, my list of all-time favourites is a mix of dark and light. But a lot of recent sequels I've seen in various franchises have leaned into bleakness.
Even Devil Wears Prada 2 was a huge disappointment. As a recent example that felt bleak in every way.
The lighting, the colour-grading, the general direction of recent films... why does it seem like filmmakers are afraid of fun?