Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere
Distributed by: Dimension Films
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 111 minutes
Film: 2 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
I was a big fan of then first “Scream” film and maybe even the second film, but definitely not the third film. I had trouble re-watching “Scream 3” earlier this year to play catch-up before seeing “Scream 4”. I figured that this new film has to be better than the third…right? New cast but also the original cast returning and Wes Craven directing…sounds like a no brainer. Unfortunately this one is just as lame if not more so than the third film. The twists are predictable and the film plays it very safe and by the book with no major surprises. Overall fans of the “Scream” franchise should stick with the first film and leave this one on the shelves.
The fourth film returns to Woodsboro for the fifteenth anniversary of the original murders. A new Ghostface has its sights on re-creating the murders…again, when Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to Woodsboro to promote her new book. Of course things get personal again and we have a repeat of “Scream 3” just with better technology. Been there done that. Wes Craven seems to really have lost his edge and might want to stick to directing drama like “Music from the Heart” and leave the horror to the pros.
The Blu-ray presentation is solid, looks good for a horror film and the sound delivers the few scares the film does have very well. The special features are decent and are more interesting than the film itself. The best part of this film was the multiple opening scenes references the “Stab” franchise. We get a new “Alternate Opening” and “Alternate Ending”m which are decent. Wes Craven provides a commentary not only for the feature but for the 15+ deleted scenes included. I enjoyed hearing why certain decisions were made…it doesn’t make it any better but still interesting to here someone’s side. We get a “Making Of…” Featurette which is interesting and worth at least one watch. Lastly there is a gag reel, which really doesn’t fit in with the genre but I am sucker for a good laugh.
For those of you who prefer a digital download, it is also included on this Blu-ray release along with a DVD version of the film as well. “SCREAM 4” is also available for digital download on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Xbox and Playstation – just in time to get you in the Halloween spirit.
Amazon Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Scream-4/dp/B00552MPS8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1316533335&sr=8-4
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/scream-4/id446341181
Mike,
Here my thoughts after seeing the film in the theater…..
This review will be relatively spoiler free….but if you’re like me, you’ll pick the killer or killers in the first 15 minutes of the film.
I’ll start by saying I had high hopes for this thing. It had been talked about for years that they wouldn’t do another one unless they had a good reason and story. So when It was announced that they had figured how to effectively make another Scream film I had assumed they had done just that – found a good story that would bring back the cast and, Craven for that matter, in a manner that presented a fresh new version of the original at that time, called out the cliches but at the same time managed carve a new niche in the horror genre and in turn the Scream franchise.
Unfortunately Scream 4 merely plays into traditional horror cliches and, surprisingly, falls into cliches set forth by the original films and sadly many of the Scary Movie films that parodied the original series.
For me, I wanted to see the the original characters show off some of that ten years of growth you would expect to see from any individual with a decades worth of age. Instead we are given quick scenes of Dewey in bed with Gale….yay, they lasted ten years!! But then we find that Dewey is still incompetent and Gale is still as shallow as ever toward others. Sidney is now a best selling writer of words and strong survivor, which would be great if there was more done to deaden that fact than to stand against Ghostface one second, but run up the stairs like a scared teenager the next! Come on! She has faced some bastard in this mask more times than anyone. I wanted a showdown…at least an “Enough is enough” moment. But nada. Nothing but same old victim Syd. Well at least the kills were inventive and fresh. Nope. Same old Ghostface. Stab to the chest here……throat slice there…..What happened to “New Decade. New Rules” ? In fact anyone going to see something really unexpected happen is going to be disappointed….because frankly it doesn’t. Just when you thought they were going to take a risk with a certain death or kill off a major character…..they don’t. They pull the punch and leave you wondering why. What did they have to lose??? The end pop was less than Scream 3 caliber……..
DId I really need another Randy giving me new rules or someone commenting on how you shouldn’t say “I’ll be right back”. No….Instead of creating a film that rewarded those of us who enjoyed the originals and give us a story that compliments them, they played to a crowd who they assume only needs the bare minimum of story, easy scares and enough clever quips to cut the tension that just wasn’t there to begin with.
Scream 4 became the film that the original Scream skillfully broke down and at the same time left me feeling too old for something I thought I helped make successful at the box office the first time around. It’s sad but I would have preferred a remake so I could easily defend the fact that they ignored their core audience completely.
I’m getting too old I guess……