Cinema Slasher

Scream: Generations (2012) Review

Posted by Blair Hoyle on April 25, 2012 · 4 Comments 

Scream: Generations

Release Date: January 6, 2012

Written by Dante Aubain

Directed by Jared Vollman & Dante Aubain

Okay, I’ll admit that I’ve never watched an entire fan film before, and for obvious reasons.  I’m not into Star Trek or anything of the like, which is what primarily makes up the fan film universe.  However, I AM into the Scream series, which much like PrideFC, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Surge, and every other great thing about my childhood, I have had a hard time letting go of.  So, despite the fact that I have absolutely no faith in fan films being any good, I sat down and watched Scream: Generations without hesitation.

Thankfully, Scream: Generations does not occur inside the Scream “universe,” and instead focuses on a group of teenagers that are huge fans of the series.  Taking place days after Scream 4 is released into theaters, the film follows “Natalie,” the female protagonist and her group of fresh yet familiar friends, including “Ian” – a horror movie aficionado, “Frankie” – the prick, and “Gwen” – the sexually-explorative comic relief.

I was fully prepared to hate this film… but I just couldn’t.  These kids are just like us.  It’s no secret that Mike and I are huge Scream fans and I assume that the rest of the gang is as well (if you aren’t then take this as your pink slip, boys).  To see a group of kids that were clearly as passionate about the series as we are create a feature-length fan film as a tribute was extremely cool.

My only real gripe is that I wish the filmmakers would’ve taken a few more chances.  Don’t get me wrong – there are some major/surprising changes to the mold, but I still think the whole film sticks to the standard Scream formula just a bit too closely (famous lines from the series are used, etc), but I guess that’s the point of a fan film, so I’m not sure what I’m bitching about.  The filmmakers earn some major brownie points for naming a character “Julie James.”  If you get why I appreciate this – let’s be friends.

Somewhat strangely, the writer and directors also star in the film.  Even stranger, they do a damn good job.  Jared Vollman (director, who is the spitting image of Eddie Bravo) c0-stars as “Ian,” and Dante Aubain (writer/director/producer) portrays “Jason.”  Lindsay McEwan, who stars as “Natalie” had some big shoes to fill, taking over Neve Campbell’s spot as the film’s heroine, but she did a damn good job.  Claire Tsiporukha’s performance as “Gwen” is amazing and took over the screen in a good way.

For a fan film that the filmmakers describe as “just for fun,” I don’t think you can do much better than Scream: Generations.  This is truly the biggest surprise of the year so far and I recommend all of you checking out the film in its entirety below, and checking out the film’s website.

- Blair Hoyle