Review of Scream 4 (2011) by Rhyshilson — 14 Apr 2011

To start, I am a massive "Scream" trilogy fan, but my thought in going in was that "the franchise has had it's time and this is completely new, a new trilogy". The film rewrites the rules of the first trilogy, and one of the most evident changes comes in the opening scene, in which 2 characters, 1 male, 1 female are killed. This scene will be seen as either boring and long-winded, or completely genius; my belief being the latter. It excited me and shocked me, without ever leaving the viewer lost, and in it's last moments (while giving a violent nod to a famous death from the 1st film) becomes the most violent and aggressive pre-title scene from all 4 films. Following a couple of misleading "jumps" and a little exposition, with the original 3 survivors positions all being developed quickly and efficiently, it isn't long before the film delves into the "who's next?" pace. With the standard "CiCi/Candy" kill being presented, in this movie as a more intelligent, brutal killing (and a particularly active Sidney Prescott facing off with 'Ghostface'), the movie already feels very different to it's predecessors. The kills are creative, quick and in heavy supply, and the list of suspects is soon whittled down, leading to the most shocking, well-acted, and at times hilarious conclusion that leads the viewer asking "When is Scream 5 coming out?".

The overall game is still same, but the rules are so different that this movie is the most dramatic of the lot. Roll on 5.