Taking on a popular franchise like “Scream” is no easy task however Radio Silence – Scream co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett with producer Chad Villella accomplished what many would say was a suicide mission for the new boys in the block.

For the fifth installment of Scream, co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett not only bring back part of the first film’s cast but they dive deeper into the legacy that each of the surviving characters has left behind.

This is a brilliant idea as this not only helps form an emotional bond with the new characters in the film but also helps connect the dots on who is who and how they are connected to the main plot of the film. Staying true to the original film’s plot twist, there are also two slashers in this film.

The film begins as the classics did, with Tara Carpenter receiving a call from an unknown number in the kitchen, the person claims to know her mother Christina quite well and be in a group with her, catching Tara’s curiosity and letting her guard down. The unknown person on the phone then threatens to kill Tara’s best friend Amber if she doesn’t answer his three questions correctly.

Even though this may seem a bit repetitive at this moment, the three questions made by the unknown caller play a largely big part in the movie as a clue as to what the movie is more or less about.

It turns out Sam Carpenter and Tara Carpenter share the same mother but not the same biological father and this is when the big secret from the first film is revealed. Sam is the daughter of legendary slasher “Billy Loomis” who died in the first movie, their mother had kept it a secret from both her daughters and husband at the time however wrote down these secrets in her diary.

Out of curiosity Sam, one day decided to look into her mother’s diary and that’s when the secret was revealed to her, out of rage Sam had confronted her mother regarding this secret unbeknownst to her that their father had been eavesdropping on the conversation between mother and daughter when he learned that he was not the father of Sam, leading to him packing up and leaving his family.

Sam on the other hand had started abusing drugs to forget the truth, blaming herself for their father leaving and breaking their family apart. All the while Tara had no idea why their father left, or the reason why her sister moved out at the same time their mother started working away from home till years later when this secret is revealed to her.

Jenna Ortega’s acting at the beginning of the film felt a little exaggerated especially when she answered the questions correctly however when she landed that punch on ghost face after stabbing her I forgave her bad acting at the start, that’s called survival instincts.

Radio Silence impressed me with how much they tried to stay true to the predecessor’s art, like for example the long struggle after being stabbed, there is this long prolonged walk towards the victim on the ground who’s slowly crawling on the floor with every ounce of their strength to get away but ultimately is all in vain.

Or how about the moment we’re first introduced to everyone important to the film, Radio Silence made sure for us to suspect everyone in the group to make it harder for the audience to figure out who exactly it could it and then ironically they spill the beans on the killer themselves when reintroducing “Dwight Dewey”.

My biggest question though is, did Richie drive to Woodsboro to stab Tara, or was Amber the one to stab Tara in the beginning?

The film doesn’t make much of an effort to hide the killer or who you might suspect as the first killer since the group met up after school, right after that it’s pretty much clear who Ghostface is and before I forget, how is Ghostface able to have clothes everywhere, I mean at the bar, at the hospital, etc… Not to mention can you ever imagine Amber outpowering Dewey? Lol, No Sir…

Damn it, when I realized Amber killed Dewey that’s when I said, screw it the movie is a bust but it’s damn interesting to watch especially with the older more mature cast returning to finish business once and for all. What is it they say – “the older the berry the sweeter the juice” lol Courteney Cox and Neve Campbell were a marvel to watch.

For all the “Scream”, “Stab” and “Radio Silence” fans out there, this is the film for you. Go out and watch it.

Thanks for reading…