20 Great Horror Roles Ruined By Terrible Acting
8. Scream (2022) - Sam Carpenter
Yes, Melissa Barrera's performance improved in Scream VI, and yes, her firing from Scream VII was a grotesque injustice in every conceivable way, but in her first appearance? She was not good at all.
Like pretty much everyone else on this list, Sam Carpenter is a good character on paper. The daughter of Billy Loomis, one of the first movie's killers, Sam's terrified of turning out like him, so she's got a thought-provoking story going on. Furthermore, Barrera seemed like a more than reasonable casting choice at the time, being a totally capable actress who's done good work in other projects such as In the Heights and Abigail.
It's difficult to know exactly what happened here, then, but Melissa Barrera was undeniably wooden throughout the 2022 Scream. This was especially distracting as the rest of the cast ran rings around her, and many were left wishing that her sister Tara - played by Wednesday's Jenna Ortega, a more popular actress who did better work in the film - had been the lead instead. Unfortunately, Tara is stuck in a hospital bed for much of the movie.
In the end, Barrera's flat lead performance was by far the biggest issue with this otherwise entertaining legacy sequel, one which successfully revitalized its franchise.