10 Movies That Chose The Wrong Lead Character
4. Sam Carpenter - Scream (2022)
The recent fifth Scream film did a rock solid job of introducing audiences to a new cast of likeable young characters capable of carrying the franchise forward with or without the original surviving heroes.
Scream's lead character ends up being Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), who is eventually revealed to be the biological daughter of one of the series' original killers, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich).
While it's an interesting idea, to make the series' new lead the descendant of the original villain - who appears to have inherited their aptitude at blood-letting, no less - as a protagonist Sam pales somewhat in comparison to her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega).
Tara becomes an immediately sympathetic character from the film's very first scene, where she unexpectedly survives a run-in with Ghostface.
In addition to being a horror film fan, Tara takes an incredible amount of punishment over the course of the movie, cementing both her vulnerability and toughness, ensuring she feels the most Sidney-like of the new characters.
Furthermore, compared to Melissa Barrera's slightly flat performance as Sam, Jenna Ortega's turn as Tara is simply more deeply felt and persuasive. Both sisters are at least set to return for Scream 6, though, which begins shooting soon.