Scream 4 Review

Originally the idea of teenagers being stalked by a crazed killer who taunts them through using the house phone was a plot tool that was used in 1979’s When A Stranger Calls . But later in 1996, that plot tool was reinvented and turned into a slice of popular culture. A movie called Scream saw the story of a masked killer taunting his victims through the phone with questions like “What’s your favorite scary movie?”. That phrase along with “Hello Sidney” have become two distinct popular culture pieces. Of course this is before the victim would meet his or her demise. Scream was driven by its pokes and jokes at horror movies, mostly the slasher ones, as a way of critiqueing them and reinventing their “rules” for a new generation. That film quickly became a huge hit and led to two sequels. Now a third sequel to this franchise has hit theatres and it turns out to be not only an improvement on the last outing, but an awesome comeback for the series.

It has been ten years since the events of Scream 3 . Things have been very quiet in the quaint town of Woodsboro. Although many people still cannot shake the horrors that erupted 15 years earlier. And yet some people cannot help but celebrate the anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders from the first movie. In their opinion the Ghostface killer is a huge icon as he has become thanks to the movie called STAB , which dramatizes the killings in the first movie. As the movie begins there have been a total of 7 STAB films and they are still popular with the younger crowds. But it doesn’t take long for somebody else to done the Ghostface costume and start causing all kinds of trouble especially since Sidney Prescott is back in town.

Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has been away from home for the last ten years. Now she is returning as part of a tour for her new book. Elsewhere Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) are now married. Dewey is the new town sheriff and Gale has retired from being a reporter and has embraced the art of writing books. Since Sidney is back in town someone has once again put on the Ghostface costume and has started another killing spree. This time the killer is basing his slayings off those of the original STAB movie as well as 21st century horror movie remakes. The targets of this spree are of course Sidney, Gale and Dewey, but also Sidney’s aunt (Mary McDonnell) and her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her friends Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) and Olivia (Marielle Jaffe).

To set the record straight, I thought that this outing was an inprovement over the last Scream film. Personally I thought that Scream 3 was a little weak on a few things and overall was not as good as the previous two. The first film was revolutionary in reinventing the horror genre. The second one was an excellent sequel that did the first film justice. But this one is a definate improvement and an awesome comeback for the franchise. Now you can’t ignore the fact that this film certainly follows the formula of the last three films. That formula includes endless plot twists and surprises and above all the typical cliches of horror films. While those cliches are certainly annoying after a while, it is something that we have come to accept and let director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson get away with for this series. We give them a pass on these movies because they make it fun. Even they resort to that method of story telling, it doesn’t matter because in the end the movie ends up being entertaining and lots of fun. That is certainly the case here.

Scream 4 is a wild comeback for the series and is all around entertaining and loads of fun. The three stars of the previous films are back in their usual form and bring their characters back to life for a new generation. They are of course supported by an exceptional cast that also includes Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Rory Culkin, Marley Shelton, Brittany Robertson, Shenae Grimes, Lucy Hale, and a very funny cameo appearance by both Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell. But the one thing that I continue to like about these movies is that they play games with you. They keep you guessing and trying to figure out who the killer is and it is usually the last person you would ever suspect. Without giving anything away, I must say that the ending is very surprising and is a sheer jaw dropping moment. With all of that being said, Scream 4 is a wild ride from start to finish and is full of exciting thrills and laughs and plot twists and a killer ending. As well as a few jumps and of course lots of bloodshed, accompanied by many of those “cringe in your seat” moments. This is 2011’s major pre-summer treat.

By Adam Miller

Movies Correspondent and Associate Producer, The RPM Show

If you would like to know more about Scream 4 or any other film, or want to share your thoughts and opinions, send me an email to adam@therpmshow.com and let your voice be heard. Also visit our website www.therpmshow.com for more on anything entertainment related.