by Damon Martin
The original Scream could be credited with literally saving the horror film industry. It came along at a time when the slasher genre had petered out with badly done sequels of classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th’. There just didn’t seem to be a market for the ‘R’ rated horror flick anymore.
Director Craven and screenwriter Williamson proved them all wrong with Scream, which broke box office records and also gained a lot of critical acclaim – something most horror movies never got from mainstream film critics.
Fast forward nearly 15 years from the original film; Craven and Williamson return to the ill-fated town of Woodsboro, presenting more thrills and chills in what has become one of the most successful mainstream horror franchises in history.
Scream 4 is something of a reboot to the franchise that helped launch the careers of actors like Neve Campbell. The story goes like this…Sidney Prescott (Campbell), now far removed from her days as everyone’s favorite victim, is back in her hometown of Woodsboro, Calif. promoting her new book titled Out of Darkness, which is centered around her lifetime battles with murderers and psychopaths and how she survived. In town, Sidney runs into old friends Sherriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers/Riley (Courtney Cox-Arquette). It’s the anniversary of the original murders, and like clockwork, once Sidney steps foot back in town, the bodies start piling up.
Sidney is also greeted by a new cast of characters in and around Woodsboro including her cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts), her friends Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) and Olivia (Marielle Jaffe), as well as new cops on the force like Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), who seems just a little too into Sherriff Dewey Riley.
STORY & SCRIPT
The greatest part of the original Scream film is that it was original. The plot, the dialogue, all the way to the surprise ending, everyone was impressed with what Craven and Williamson were able to put together. But much like The Sopranos, whose creator David Chase once said he didn’t want his audience to expect a murder at the end of every season of his popular HBO show, Scream fans have come to expect a certain formula: A killer calls on the telephone tormenting his or her potential victims, and the entire story boils down to a ‘whodunnit?’ as the audience tries to figure out which characters are plotting murder the whole way along.
The story in Scream 4 is no different, but no one should expect it to be. It’s the formula that works, and they’ve put it to work here again. The red herrings come thick and fast, with just about everybody being a potential target or a potential suspect.
The sharpest thing about Scream 4 by far is the dialogue that longtime screenwriter Williamson again pulls off brilliantly in this script. Much like Clerk‘s director Kevin Smith, Williamson may miss some things in his story and plot development, but his dialogue is always on the money.
The opening sequence has also become a calling card of the Scream franchise, and the one they pull off in this fourth installment is possibly the best part of the entire film. Of course, like any Scream movie, any further information would involve spoilers, but needless to say, it’s worth watching. The ending of the movie is also on par with the previous films, with a big reveal as time runs out on the film – this one is very interesting.
The biggest problem however is that the satire and wit thrown in throughout the movie – the tongue-in-cheek ribbing of the horror movie genre is something the Scream films have become famous for – is all a little but too much. The filmmakers in Scream 4 just didn’t know when to quit. Just at the moment when it looks like they’ve pulled off a brilliant maneuver to trick the audience all over again, they let it go too far, and it truly ruins the film as a whole
ACTING
Overall the acting in Scream 4 is pretty solid. Neve Campbell is back to form as Sidney Prescott, but she’s much less vulnerable in this film than in the previous three. Campbell does a great job of portraying the character with a hardened shell around a heart and mind that have been broken down more times than most sane people could handle. David Arquette pretty much embodies his character Dewey Riley. It may be the role he was born to play.
Courtney Cox-Arquette is one disappointment in this film however. She pulled off edgy and bitchy Gale Weathers during the first three films to perfection, but in this movie, the character has switched into homebody mode, as she tries to find her place in Woodsboro without fame following behind her. Courtney Cox-Arquette just doesn’t seem to be able to pull off that emotional subtlety. It’s also quite apparent from the lack of emotion and movement in her face during the film that she needs to slow down on the Botox injections.
The supporting cast does a good job of supporting the main characters just like they’re supposed to. The standouts however in this film are Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Alison Brie (who plays Sidney’s overzealous publicist). Roberts especially does a great job in this film, and in numerous ways steals the show.
FINAL STAB
Scream 4 hits on many of the buttons that the first three did so well, but in a lot of places it’s just too much. Craven and Williamson were obviously creating a reboot of the franchise, but they just end up with overkill by literally telling the audience over and over again, this is a reboot.
If you’re a fan of the original three films, of course you should see the fourth, but if you’re on the fence about seeing Scream 4, stay home and watch the original instead and just remember what a classic film it really is.
Scream 4 is in theaters now.
