maxineedwards-78784

Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro to promote her new memoir and a new series of murders start up in her honor as the police begin to suspect someone is trying to remake the events of the original murder spree.

Scream 4 lacks the suspenseful bite of the first two films and isn't funny enough to work as a camp comedy/live action Scooby Doo episode like the third film which leaves it in a strange place, tonally. Performances are mostly strong with Campbell, Cox, and Arquette as charming as ever and Roberts sinking her teeth into her character and not letting go. The film's attempts at being clever don't feel as sharp as the previous films, but there are a few inspired moments.

In this barebones slasher tale, a campsite known for several accidents and tragedies opens back up for the summer and the counselors tasked to get it ready for campers find themselves stalked and murdered by an unseen psychopath.

There's not a lot going on in this movie, but the filmmakers do a lot without a whole lot of resources or money and the special effects are still startling and effective to this day. Acting is variable, but each actor tries to create a real person with their own quirks. Kevin Bacon plays one of the ill fated counselors and has been better elsewhere. The true star of the film is Tom Savini whose special makeup effects are jaw droppers.

Just like the George Romero classic, Night of the Living Dead is about the survivors of a zombie invasion who barricade themselves in an isolated farmhouse to avoid becoming zombies themselves.

Tom Savini's update follows many of the same beats of Romero's original up to a point and then delivers an almost completely different finale along with a few additions and changes throughout. These changes are smart and thoughtful and help it stick out from the original. Performances are strong with Tony Todd and Patricia Tallman standing out at the two leads. The makeup effects are more complicated than the ones in the original and the filmmakers can get away with more gore and language.