Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to Woodsborro as part of a book signing tour, where she reunites with Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courtney Cox). Only to discover that a new Ghostface killer is targeting her cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts), and her friends in an effort to remake the original murders.
I’ve said before that I’m not a big admirer of the Scream series. I’m sure some readers will bail right there. There is a reason, however. While some call the original 1996 film a loving ode to the slasher films of the past, I thought it seemed to take jabs at such classics without taking many at itself; which seemed smug and spiteful. So, it was quite surprising to me when I found myself on the same side of the aisle as the franchise, when it returned carrying the banner against the Hollywood reboot trend.
It’s essentially the original cast interacting with their “rebooted” selves. Take Campbell, Arquette, and Cox out and you would definitely have pieces to a Scream remake; a film that has a new crop of characters not-so-loosely based on the old ones and sequences designed to make you directly recall the original. I think it’s an interesting idea, and was certainly worth exploring; but, I found that the concept sounded better than the film ultimately played. Part of the reason is because, the new characters themselves almost come off as just a part of the joke rather than full-blown, well-developed roles. There was talk that the original script by Kevin Williamson was retooled prior to production, so that could be a factor in it.
There are quite a few characters to go through here, so bare with me. Obviously, Jill is our new Sidney and her boyfriend, Trevor (Nico Tortorella), is the new Billy Loomis. Tortorella seemed like he was doing a bad Skeet Ulrich impression at times, and is quite wooden. The same goes for Jill's mother (Mary McDonnell), who gives the worst performance in the film. The new goofy Deputy is a female named Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), who has a thing for Dewey, now the Sheriff, to the chagrin of his wife.
Gale’s counterpart appears in the form of Sidney’s assistant, Rebecca (Alison Brie), who was little too chipper for my taste. Charlie (Rory Culkin) and Robbie (Erik Knudsen) fill in Randy’s exposition-spouting film geek role; while thinly-written Olivia (Mariella Jaffe) fills in for Tatum. I suppose Knudsen’s character was supposed to be the funny one, but I was more amused by Shelton’s exchanges with Courtney Cox. Hayden Panettiere is the only one who stands out somewhat, as her slightly bitchy character with a butch hairstyle, Kirby, seems to be one of the few who isn’t based on a past character. She was also a film geek. The slapstick cops came in threes this time, so why not the film geeks, I suppose.
The returning cast is also a bit of a mixed bag. I found Courtney Cox to be pretty much in character, but in order to make room for the new, dumb cops, David Arquette’s character was made a bit less comedic. I don’t know if that hurt the film significantly, however it does take away a large part of his character from the previous films and makes him feel like he’s sort of just along for the ride here. Speaking of which, Neve Campbell pretty much sleepwalks through this one; not very emotional or seemingly that interested. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t feel the need to do a bit more with her, because her mere presence pretty much cancels out Jill, leaving Roberts seeming weak and almost vapid for a large portion of the film. This is one of the usual casualties of having an older generation meet a new one.
Fans of the series will be relieved to know that despite sporting the tagline “New decade. New rules.”, it's pretty much the same old Scream. The snarky dialogue, hipper-than-you characters, movie rules, and an elaborate opening featuring cameos are all accounted for. I suppose the bottom line would be does it work in 2011? While I was never a fan of this style, there's no denying that it did create a major stir during its heyday. But, I feel in some ways, this one plays like a film past its time. I think the biggest thing that endangers this series’ shelf life is the fact that unlike a lot of other slasher franchises, Scream focuses on a great deal of satire. That’s one of the hardest things to pull off in Horror, in my view. Since it’s last outing in 2000 (even before), so many other films have ripped this approach off, that to see the original article back, doesn’t seem that special. They even attempt to cop to this in the film; and while the remake angle does help, it doesn’t fully cover the rust.
Probably the most interesting aspect of the franchise, for me, has always been the murder/mystery angle. I don’t think I’m giving much away at this point by saying there are once again two killers. The revelation is mixed, due to one killer not being that much of a surprise. They pretty much telegraph it by having the character blurt out something stupid earlier in the story. The other was good, and comes as much more of a surprise. And while I did find the finale rousing upon a first viewing; with Scream 5 now supposedly on the road to becoming reality, I have to wonder if it was the proper decision for the future of the franchise or a missed opportunity.
The DVD features a somewhat disorganized commentary track featuring Wes Craven, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Neve Campbell. Campbell appears late in the track via telephone and leaves not long after, without much to say. Panettiere also leaves before the conclusion, leaving only Wes and Roberts. It’s noted on the track that they were working from a script that was well over two hours, so not surprisingly, over 25 minutes of deleted scenes are present. They contain nothing really essential; the most interesting bit being an alternate version of the opening. All in all, Scream 4 (or Scre4m) is better than Scream 3 and is a bit of rebound for Craven after the abysmal My Soul To Take. But, for my money, it’s still an average entry into a long-running series that didn't fully capitalize on the most promising premise of the three sequels.
Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere
Released by: The Weinstein Company/Anchor Bay
Special Features
- Audio Commentary by Director Wes Craven, and Stars Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Neve Campbell
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Gag Reel
- The Making of Scream 4 Featurette
- Scream 4 Video Game Promotion
FuckEm's Rating: 
