Wes Craven’s original 1996 slasher, Scream, is reportedly getting a 4K Ultra HD release ahead of the franchise’s upcoming fifth installment. Highly instrumental in rejuvenating the teen-slasher genre which he helped to pioneer, Craven’s Scream brilliantly blended traditional horror with tongue-in-cheek wit. The end result was a film that instantly set itself apart from everything that had come before, as well as everything that’s arrived since.
After arriving in theaters with little to no build up, Scream ended up grossing more than a $130 million off a $17 million budget. The surprise success of the film prompted an immediate follow-up, and exactly one year after its release, Scream 2 arrived. Since then, three other sequels have been delivered, with Craven directing each one. The aforementioned fifth Scream film (somewhat anti-climactically also called Scream) breaks from this tradition, as Craven sadly passed away in 2015. It remains to be seen where this new era for the franchise will go, but there are many Scream fans who will agree that so far, not one of the sequels has managed to surpass the quality of the first film.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Scream’s release, and as such, fans are definitely hoping for something official to mark that milestone. It’s not often that a film that belongs to the teen-slasher genre remains as popular as Scream has remained 25 years on from its initial release. That alone should be enough to necessitate something special. Thankfully, it looks as though Scream could indeed be set for a special release. According to Bloody Disgusting, a 4K Ultra HD release of Scream is due October 12, 2021 for the film’s 25th anniversary. At present, all that’s known about the release is that it will be a two-disc set (1 4K disc, 1 Blu-ray disc), with official confirmation from Paramount yet to arrive.
After over two decades, there’s plenty that an anniversary set could offer fans beyond a 4K Ultra HD transfer. This is a great opportunity for Paramount to not only remind fans what’s so engaging about the franchise ahead of Scream’s 2022 release, but also to honor Craven with further insight into his process on the original film. The franchise has gone through so many changes over the years since the first Scream, and plenty of supplements is an exciting prospect for fans. Unfortunately, all too often, anniversary releases of popular films tend to fall short of expectations, and this usually occurs when studios decide to recycle previously released supplemental content rather than creating or offering something new.
Should the release of a 4K Ultra HD 25th anniversary Scream actually occur, it’s slightly disappointing to have to wait until October. After all, the original film was released in December, then on home release during the following summer; while Halloween is arguably the best time to watch horror films, there’s something about Scream that feels exclusively like the perfect summertime scare. Nonetheless, simply knowing that a Scream 4K Ultra HD release is a possibility is something that fans of the film and physical media are sure to be excited about.
Source: Bloody Disgusting
