Scream 4

Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Kevin Williamson
Starring: Neve Campbell, Emma Roberts, Hayden Pannetiere
Length: 1 hour 51 minutes
Release Date: April 15, 2011

Legendary horror film director Wes Craven, returns to a franchise that many believe has been overdone. After 11 years since the last installment, the satirical slasher franchise Scream, comes back to the b screen with a whole new generation of naïve and evil teenagers. After finally recovering from her three sets of tragic murders of loved ones in her life, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has written a book about what she has suffered in a therapeutic way. She finally returns to her hometown that started the horrific experiences 10 years ago, Woodsboro, where she is promoting her book as a part of her tour. She stays with her aunt and cousin Jill (Emma Roberts), who jokes with her friends that Sidney, who she doesn’t know very well, is the angel of death. Unfortunately, two girls from Jill’s high school, Jenny Randall and Marnie Cooper were found stabbed to death at Jenny’s house, the day before. Soon after this, Sidney get’s a familiar call from her old friend Ghostface, warning her of coming events and the fun has just begun for them. With the help of her old friends Officer Dewey (David Arquette) and his cocky reporter wife Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox), Sidney strives to protect Jill and her friends before it’s too late but with a new generation of victims comes a new generation of tricks and tactics that Sidney won’t see coming. In this new installment of the series, traditions are of course kept from the original films, like having celebrity cameos at the beginning, discussing the clichés and annoyances of the horror genre, this time it being Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell. This film is not another add-on of the franchise that should have ended in 2000; it’s a completely original and unique film that carries the same funny mocking attitude of the old ones. Many outsiders of the Scream films don’t know that the movies are supposed to be jokes of other stupid horror films with clichés everywhere. In each scream film, a character outlines the rules and formulae of whatever the film is. In the first film, Randy gave you the standard rules, “Never say I’ll be back”, and “Never go up the stairs, when being chased by a killer”. Scream 2 gave you the formula of a sequel, “Everyone is a suspect” and “The killings are ten times bigger and bloodier”. The third reminded us that in a trilogy, “the past always come back to haunt you in the third film”. Now in the fourth, two film geeks Charlie (Rory Culkin) and Robbie (Erik Knudsen), among the friends of Jill, tell us there are new rules, the most important being “The unexpected is the new cliché”. Scream 4 keeps in tradition that the characters are the experts of horror movies but being human, never expect to be victims of a murderer. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson truly stays true to the fact that this is not only a new wave of kids, but a new wave of horror movies as well, with new rules and clichés. He also stays true to everything the film geeks warned and predicted at the beginning of the film. Williamson created a smart plot to make the story revolve around the teenagers while still making Sidney the main character, who’s really the most important. It is of course unrealistic that different people keep dressing up in the same outfit, trying to kill Sidney and her friends, but it’s The Hangover version of horror movies. It’s often pretty ridiculous and it’s unlikely this would happen four different times to her, but you love it for the sake of pure and comical entertainment. With his sharp writing and a terrific cast, Scream 4 is just as good, if not better than the very first Scream. Neve Cambpell returns to the pure and always good-hearted character of Sidney Prescott, who is always the innocent but now tough victim. Campbell is always a joy to watch as Sidney and has become quite good at exceeding the fun entertainment of Scream, that keeps the audience excited. The characters of Gail, played by Courtney Cox and her on and off-screen husband, Officer Dewey (David Arquette), have always been characters that the films could easily do without. This is only because their personalities and relationship just get’s repetitive and boring after four movies. Both always try to independently solve the murders and get into a fight because of it. However, they just end up helping each other and making up when one is injured by the killer in a fight before the climax. In addition to Campbell’s performance, the new kids are who really make the film. This is the very first time I have ever enjoyed watching the dull and lifeless Emma Roberts in a film, possibly because of the hilarious and quirky Hayden Panettiere as her best friend Kerby. Panettiere was the absorbing focus and scene-stealer of every moment she was on screen with her quirky and slightly sardonic wit while for the first time Roberts was actually intriguing.  Rory Culkin and Erik Knudsen were also quite amusing as the know-it-all movie buffs that teach everyone all the rules they need to know. Although a worrying trilogy is already in talks to be made from this film, Scream 4 is a smart, humorous exciting hell of thrill ride. If you’re a Scream fan, you will 100% be pleased by everything about this movie and if you are not, Scream 4 is still definitely worth your while.