Directed by: Wes Craven
Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, David Arquette, Adam Brody, Anthony Anderson, Alison Brie, Mary McDonnell, Rory Culkin, Marley Shelton
Plot: Sidney has returned to Woodsboro, and so has another unlikely visitor - Ghostface. Let the games begin!
Review:
It all started with one phone call that lead to the demise of Drew Barrymore in the original SCREAM. The original SCREAM broke new ground and truly re-invented the slasher genre and revived Horror from near death. It was a clever and scary horror film that truly deserves to be a classic. I also saw it when I was 6 or 7 years old. To say it shaped me to who I am today would be an understatement.
While the sequels didn't live up to the original (and after originally detesting them both) they have both grown on me (Scream 2 - 7/10; Scream 3 - 6/10). So I was really hoping for the best with SCREAM 4...and honestly we got the BEST SEQUEL YET!!!
The opening was clever and badass (although it could have been scarier) but it was a great opening to the film. It set the tone for the rest of the film and might be my second favorite opening of the series. My only small flaw is that it could have been expanded to be scarier in one part of it.
It was great to see Sidney, Gale, and Dewey again and they were all likable and they each still had it. The actors all brought it home with gusto! It was almost like seeing old friends from my past. I couldn't help but smile the moment they each stepped on screen. Even though the new young cast was introduced, to me this was still THEIR movie. This is still Sidney's tale. But seriously why does this girl NOT own a gun after surviving three massacres?!
The suspense was there and so were the awesome and inventive death scenes. The gore was even upped and was brutal as fuck! I was actually surprised at how bloody this film got because even though the first three films were brutal, they weren't overly gory. I'm NOT complaining ;)
The new cast of teens were all likable and well acted and really meshed well with the veterans of this series. Kirby was my favorite, a feisty horror savvy girl that hands down gets the best scene of the film. Her listing of remakes is horror cinematic gold! I am hoping it teaches young audiences that all these "scary" films they're getting these days are just remakes...I hope...Jill was also a good Sidney 2.0. She was goofy and had a likable quality to her that just made her feel like the girl-next-door...but she didn't feel like a clone of Sidney either which is what I was most worried about. I also loved the characters of Robbie and Charlie, the two geeky horror film buffs along with Kirby. They were both funny and well any horror film buff is awesome in my book. Also, I loved how all the teens were played...by ACTUAL TEENS!!!
Marley Shelton was also pretty funny as Deputy Judy Hicks. She had this weird vibe to her that just made her hilarious! She really worked for me.
My favorite aspect of the film - it is really just a HATE letter against all those unnecessary remakes that are ruining our beloved genre. That right there, the film gets an okay in my book. But the likable characters and added suspense and the great dialogue creates a great film!
Then there is the infamous finale that every SCREAM film must have and this one literally had my mouth drop open! I was honestly surprised and I have to say to do that was kind of ballsy for a mainstream Hollywood horror flick. I didn't see that coming and was actually almost disturbing in one scene.
Flaws? I have a few. First of all, they could have actually done more with the remake angle in my opinion. Not a biggie, but there was more potential. Plus the chase scenes were too short for my liking. The suspense was there, but I wanted more/longer chases. They ended way too fast. Sidney's stalk on the roof was nifty though.
Another issue I had was that in one aspect of the film, it played it way too safe. I don't want to give anything away so I am going to leave it just at that.
My biggest gripe was that the final ten minutes or so fell a bit apart. There was an epilogue in a hospital that felt tacked on and was WAY too cheesy for my liking. It just clashed with the overall tone of the rest of the film in my opinion...but it was okay cause Sidney has one BADASS line that made it worthwhile!!!
This isn't the classic the original was, but it doesn't embarrass it either. I say go see this film. It isn't high art but it is a clever slasher film with great death scenes, some nice funny/clever dialogue, and a great finale!
VERDICT: 8/10
