Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Kevin Williamson (Screenplay)
Starring: Neve Campbell, David Aqurette, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Marley Shelton, Erik Knudsen, Rory Culkin
Plot: Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.
Tagline – New decade. New rules.
Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Simple but Unnecessary Sequel
Story: Scream 4 starts with the release of Stab 7 which gets to poke fun at the idea that franchises have gone on too long before with multiply false starts before the latest victims who believe they know how to survive a horror.
We get to see that Sidney (Campbell) return to Woodsbury to promote her book on the ten-year anniversary of the events of the last film. Gale (Cox) is now married to Dewey (Arquette) who is now the sheriff.
Sidney’s cousin Jill (Roberts) and friends Kirby (Panettiere), Olivia (Jaffe), Robbie (Knudsen), Trevor (Tortorella) and Charlie (Culkin) all believe they are living in the past events in the town. With the cast in place, the rules of the reboot are put in place as a new killer starts to stalk the neighbourhood once again.
Thoughts on Scream 4
Characters – Sidney has made a career in books after the events in the films, she is completing her latest book tour right where it all started. With her back in town the killings start up again, Sidney must be the role model for her cousin who is going through the same situation she once did. Gale is now married to Dewey, she has given up the spotlight, but craves getting back into the field with the new killings offering her the chance. Dewey is now the sheriff who must now control the situation before it gets out of hand. We get the new potential victims or suspects here with Jill being Sidney’s cousin always tired of being in the shadow of her more famous family member, Kirby the rebellious teenager, Robbie who is filming every moment of his life for a reality YouTube network and Charlie is the leader of the film club. These characters do fit around the moulds of the original teens too.
Performances – Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette all return giving us good performances without needing to bring anything new to the performances. Of the new cast members nobody comes off in a shining performance which can disappoint in places as we have a wonderful set of talents in the film.
Story – The story here brings back our original characters just as a new killing spree has started in the area where it all started, with a new generation of victims and horror fans. The idea for this story comes from the idea that we have too many sequels or reboots, which does help take away the serious nature from the film, the Ghostface does seem flat for the most part because they seem to get mixed into being too intense without a reason behind the killings. Of course this is more about poking fun with the meta of everything in the horror genre which is does achieve.
Horror/Mystery – The horror in this film comes from the slasher angle, only this time we get a bloodier version of the kills showing the change in the genre. The mystery in this film comes from just who the killer is going to be this time, though we don’t get enough signs this time.
Settings – The film returns to the original town which does help with the idea of a reboot sequel piss take that we are dealing with.
Special Effects – The effects are the most disappointing side of this film because we have moments of CGI that don’t look as true as the practical moments.
Scene of the Movie – Deputy Judy being like Dewey is the funniest moments.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The kids are not really likeable.
Final Thoughts – This is a solid look at the horror genre with the countless sequels and remakes that we are seeing, it brings back enough relevant characters back but does fail to give us enough interest new ones.
Overall: Simple fun sequel.
Rating
