Review of Scream 4 (2011) by Yasuka H — 11 Jul 2014

Fifteen years have passed since the release of the original Scream and eleven since the last installment of the franchise, now the horror genre is ruled by the gory "Saw" franchise and the found footage "genre", this opens some questions: Could a new Scream be relevant now? Does this franchise is worth reviving? Could the return of Kevin Williamson make this sequel have the weight of the original? Let's find out.

Sydney is now writer and she returns to Woodsboro in the 10 anniversary of the murders, that took place in the original, she finds out that there is a new killer under the persona of Ghostface.

After two very weak sequels, this film tries too hard to capture the essence of the original and to outsmart you. The story feels like remake of the first film that now takes place in the digital age. The new supporting characters are an improvement and even some had potential but film kills that potential when it could have been a new generation for this franchise. The acting of the newcomers is okay, with the stand out of Hayden Penattiere but supposedly the new "Sydney", Emma Roberts, is just horrible, and the returning actors look bored and with zero interest to be here, other than a paycheck. With the new gore trend, now the references and the mocking are now around Saw instead of the whole horror/slasher genre, there is only one scene that they acknowledge other films of the genre.

After the pathetic "Scream 3", this film is a pretty good comeback of the franchise. Some may argue with me, but I believe that this is the best sequel that Scream has ever had. It started with a lot of potential but they just waste it. But hell, say what you want about this film, this fourth installment is amazing compared to other parts four that other slasher franchises have. I can't see where Scream 5 can go from here, the franchise is now tired and without any new ideas. Scream fans, like me, will enjoy this film, newcomers who just want to see a slasher film; would probably also enjoy it.