If a horror franchise isn't scary, is it still good? That's definitely a good question, and in the case of the Scream franchise, it's something that comes up a lot. Like many other movies in the horror genre, Scream has jump scares, creepy characters, and death scenes. It's a true slasher franchise with all the elements that people would expect. Of course, what sets it apart is that it makes fun of tropes and things that appear in all of these movies, and it has a big sense of humor.
While Scream isn't a scary franchise, it's still one of the most compelling and fun to watch, and it's unlikely that any other franchise will ever win more fans.
There are endless good things to say about the Scream franchise, even just beginning with the first movie from 1996. Sidney is one of the most exciting final girl characters, she has a solid friend group and good backstory, and Stu (Matthew Lillard) is a solid Ghostface. But are the Scream movies scary? Most people would say no due to the hilarious dialogue, goofy moments, and campy kills in each of the five films in the slasher franchise. Although these films aren't going to feel horrifying to most viewers, they're super entertaining, which counts for a lot.
What audiences love about Scream is how it deconstructs slasher tropes. There are so many great examples of this. In the first movie, when Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) holds court at a party and explains horror movie rules, Randy says that people say "I'll be right back" and then leave the room, only to be murdered. Of course, fans know that Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) goes into the basement to get beer and is killed when her body is crushed by the garage door.
There are several other horror tropes that the franchise deals with and this often happens through dialogue. Ghostface always phones his victims to ask them questions about the horror genre, and characters who have sex are murdered. In the first movie, Ghostface phones Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and asks "Do you like scary movies?" and she asks "What's the point? They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It's insulting." In most horror movies, the main character is that girl running up the stairs. Here, Sidney is laughing at these characters, proving herself to be a different final girl who will make it this time.
While many popular slasher movies came before the 1996 movie, like Halloween and Friday The 13th, nothing really caught on like Scream, at least not when it comes to wise movies that talk about the genre that they're part of. Now, even if a horror movie is clever and laughs at itself, it always seems like a copy of Scream. This franchise just does humor too well.
While Jenna Ortega's Scream (2022) character Tara Carpenter loves well-crafted scary stories with something to say, Scream (2022) is a purely fun movie, and all five Scream movies are incredibly entertaining. Even when there's an epic death scene, like when Wes Hicks (Dylan Minnette) is brutally killed after getting the table ready for dinner with his mom Judy (Marley Shelton), it's not really all that scary. That's because fans are used to a lot of people dying in each Scream film and so nothing is really a big surprise, except for Dewey Riley's Scream (2022) death.
Scream (2022) is so entertaining because it discusses a type of horror film that other movies don't deal with: the requel. Fans became invested in this idea as soon as Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison) and Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) began talking about this. Amber says, "See, you can't just reboot a franchise from scratch anymore. The fans won't stand for it. Black Christmas, Child's Play, Flatliners, that sh*t doesn't work. But you can't just do a straight sequel, either. You need to build something new."
Even the fifth movie in the franchise manages to add something new to the story, and while this new film isn't scary either, as it seems clear that Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) will survive and that everything will be solved by the time that the end credits roll, that doesn't really matter. There may be many kills in Scream (2022) but they don't freak fans out at all.
Ultimately, the Scream franchise is funny, exciting, entertaining, and full of great characters. Ghostface simply works as a killer and because so many different people can wear the mask and costume, every Scream movie has made sense and offered audiences something that they were excited to see. It's not likely that Scream 6 will be very scary, either... and fans will be just as happy to watch the latest installment, continue Sidney's journey, and laugh at some jokes.