Scream 4

Who could forget the first time Drew Barrymore met her end after being hunted down by ghost face in the original scream film some 15 years ago. Its been a decade since scream underwhelmed everybody with its lacklustre third instalment and with a fourth on the way I was sceptical about how the fourth would go and how it would affect the introduction to the review I would to write about it.

In my second paragraph, I can now write about how much I enjoyed the film and how I can now use my summary in that Scream 4 (or Scre4m)was "great fun and I was pleasantly surprised". I can't begin to tell you how true this statement is, the plot manages to weave a tidy little knot of a mystery that comes to a surprising and comical climax. The body count is large, making killings in this instalment come thick and fast. Though with a reduced age rating, scream 4 is far more gruesome than the previous threesome and a lot more in keeping with the current horror movie gore fest. To finish off the second paragraph of my review I will conclude that Scream manages to stick to its guns, but modernise itself not unlike the remakes it satirises.

Paragraph 3 contains scenes of critical nature. Now the film is paced very well, however there are a lot of characters to get through. And despite its self aware nature the two-dimensional characters are so underplayed that its hard to feel much for them as they quickly get stabbed to death. The only characters you feel much dread for is Gale, Dewey and Sidney as familiar faces that you don't want to meet there bloody doom,however the new cast have so little characterisation that you really couldn't care less if their stabbed to death and left to dry on their parents lawns. The film also wasn't as scary as the original and despite the "kids" knowing the rules of the horror movie they were starring in they all seem to go outside to investigate a strange noise when they know they're all being hunted by a killer. Whether this is done on purpose, as to mock other horror films is a possibility, but to be honest it would make the film a lot less predictable if they didn't make there predecessors mistakes.

So my conclusion is gonna be as sharp and concise as a horror movie should be. Scream 4 is entertaining, funny and thrilling. And one of the last lines of one of the survivors is bloody great.

It's been a while since I have seen a slasher, and Scream for that matter, yet here it is years later and finally we are getting back to the roots of the classic slasher. The movie starts out with a couple of funny scenes that lash out at the recent slashers that have been produced and how predictable and cheesy slasher films are, but then dives into the cliché of slashers starting with two helpless victims. After that, we start to get back into the classic killing spree that was seen in the first movie with the addition of a lot more gore. Yes, I'm sure we all know that slasher movies are becoming more famous for the increased amounts of blood that are constantly finding their way into the movies these days, as well as the increasing use of the F word.

So what is good about this movie? In my opinion the best part of this movie is the constant slams on horror movies and how lame they can be. The movie does a good job at mocking the genre and pointing out the goods and bads the genre has to offer, which is very satisfying to hear that even directors in this day and age can insult the genre. The second thing I liked about it, was the cast did a good job reviving the series. Yes you had the airheads and geek victims that are famous in the genre, but the main cast does a good job of playing the concerned victims who fear for their lives. The classic characters of Arquette, Cox, and Campbell are still strong and play their roles well as the returning survivors. The new cast also does a good job diving into the series, playing the roles of popular cheerleaders, AV geeks, and bad girls who want to have fun. Although a little overacted, the new generation has potential for making horror genres return to a classic style instead of turning into the crap we have seen it evolve into. A third positive would be the twist that this movie had to it. As I watched the movie, I tried to figure out the identity of the killer, or killers of the movie. I started to narrow down the victims and figured out the identity of one of them rather easily. However the other killer was quite a surprise, and was a nice twist to the movie instead of just a cheap identity that we had seen in the last two screams.

Okay so what about the bad stuff of this movie. Well the first thing I have to say is, the excessive amounts of blood seen in this movie. It seems that as technology improves, more directors think we need to see lots of blood and intestines. That's not my cup of tea to tell the truth and so I could have done without the excessive spill of red liquid. The second weakness in my opinion is the use of the F word. Again I think that this word is the only vocabulary word the movie world knows and I am getting quite annoyed with hearing it used as much as it is. However, if you are not offended or annoyed by the word you won't be too turned off by this movie. A third thing that I felt was weak, was the predictability of this movie. Yes it's easy to tell who is going to die and who isn't, that's what this movie makes fun of, but I found it really easy to predict when things were going to try and scare you. The camera angles, the music, and so much more gave it away and I was not surprised or scared by any of the tricks they tried to pull, though one lady screamed at just about every thing in the movie. Finally the fourth big weakness is the explanation for why the main killer is on the loose. It was lame and kind of cheaply written, and could have been much better had they taken more time to write it. Her accomplice had a better motive for killing a few of the victims, but still it wasn't the best.

Although it is predictable, Scream 4 is starting to return back to the classic work of slashers. It's aggressive humor, colorful cast, and new spin on the mind of the killer made it much better than I had originally intended. However, I still don't like the predictability, the phony bologna acting on some parts, and the weak motif for killing, which suggests that more work is needed before we can return to the old favorites. If Wes Craven decides to do another remake, then I suggest he work on adding new twists and stop making them so predictable.

I recommend this movie for die hard fans of either Scream or Horror films, as well as for those who just can't get enough blood in their day. This may also be a movie for fans who like to make fun of horror movies or are looking for a way to kill time in the day. Regardless I give this movie a 7 at the highest. Enjoy.

I only semi-recently started to familiarize myself with the Scream franchise, but I loved it instantly. Creating genuine scares by avoiding all the clichés of horror movies, and turning the genre on its head with its self-mocking humor, and also by turning the killer not into a born psychopath with an elaborate back story or a supernatural, but someone dressed in a mask and robe, who uses his love of horror movies as his weapon against his victims. This helped create the mystery factor for the films, leaving you guessing til the end.

Unfortunately, as great as the franchise as a whole is, the sequels that followed the superb original did not live up to the same revelation in the end. The killer(s) was/were, if not predictable, then just the opposite to the point where you realize they didn't build up to it at all, leaving it to be a bit anti-climactic.

I'm happy to report that this is not the case with Scream 4. Even after an eleven year absence, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson prove that they are still at the top of their game, and intelligent and original horror can still exist, even in these dark times full of repetitive sequels and remakes, something that the film comments on heavily.

The basic premise of the film is that Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro after ten years to publicize her new book on her experience with the killer. As soon as she returns, the killings begin again, and her cousin Jill begins to step into Sidney's shoes.

Where Scream 2 and 3 fail, this one succeeds. While I appreciated how they tried to put the premise of the first film in a different environment, it mostly felt like they were trying to live off the original, rather than build off it. While Scream 4 is constantly aware that it is repeating aspects from the original, making this impossible to be seen as a standalone, it does what any good sequel should do. It manages to take the premise of the original, and up the ante. Speaking of which, another thing that is upped besides the stakes is the body count and gore level. While the deaths for the most part are not nearly as elaborate as the original, they don't feel like the repetitive stab cycles in the 2 and 3. They are more brutal, and certainly show that violence in horror films has certainly gone up.

If there was any one weak aspect in this film, it would be the character development, or lack thereof. The three veteran actors from the trilogy, Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox reprising their roles as Sidney, Dewey, and Gale Weathers respectively, play their roles very well, even amongst all the younger stars who more often then not, are in the spotlight, and it feels like they've definitely changed since the events in Scream 3. However, in this film itself, it felt as if they were just there as devices to the plot, and given no real character arcs. However at the same time, there wasn't much they could really do, since a lot of the focus had to be on the younger cast members, who actually put up some pretty good performances, though cannot be compared the cast of the original, but still fare a mile better than the characters introduced in the previous sequels.

I really liked how the actors from the two generations interacted, adding to the commentary on how not just horror movies have changed over the years, but our culture as well. With all that said, I suppose this is more of a character based movie than a character development one. Interesting how that works.

I felt this was the only one of the sequels to truly stay with the spirit of the original, while still making it work for today's audiences. The best example of it having the impact of the original has got to be the ending, which I will not elaborate on. All I'll say is that this is the only one since the original where the revelation of the killer(s) surprised me, as opposed to the "it was I, the butler!" conclusions of 2 and 3.

To sum it up, no fans of Scream or horror films could be disappointed.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that Scream 5 was in the pipeline, it instantly prompted me to revisit the films. This film could have easily been a disaster, but in all reality, it's a pretty fun watch.

I'm not sure there's much here for the casual viewer, it is one to please fans of the originals, and of course there is a new set of rules. I can't say I warmed hugely to any of the new cast, the joy comes from the original lineup.

The start was very imaginative, and good fun, the ending definitely came out of left field, but it grabs your attention. Lots of scares and thrills.

Here's to Scream 5.

7/10.

I literally just came back from a midnight screening of this and I had an amazing time. Craven's managed to reclaim the franchise with a worthy instalment that's a fantastic sequel as well as a quality slasher film in its own right. Honestly speaking, there aren't too many surprises to be had in Scream 4. No matter how mordantly self-aware the movies are (and believe me, Scream 4 gets a little tediously indulgent in its postmodern cleverness), there's an inevitable predictability to some of the proceedings but anybody who's a genre-savvy horror fan will appreciate how brilliantly everything is executed. The opening sequences, for example, are one of the best parts of the movie and are a perfect reintroduction to the franchise and while the bulk of the story lags a little, it's redeemed by the ballsy ending.

The acting is great with the core trio (Campbell, Arquette and Cox) delivering their usual, strong performances and the rest of the cast, however limited their respective roles, are just as entertaining. All you TV buffs there will get a kick out of seeing actors from Heroes, Veronica Mars, True Blood, Mad Men and Community share the silver screen and camp it up. More importantly, the film is hilarious and just a whole lot of ridiculous fun. Craven isn't afraid to take the story to some beautifully insane places and the ending was, to me, perfect.

All in all, it's a great, irreverent slice of horror that's hilarious and true to the franchise. Highly recommended.