Review of Scream 4 (2011) by Cade H — 22 Sep 2012

So, it has been ten years since Scream 3 and the timeline meets up a decade later and it's time to recharge this franchise. So, our heroine Sidney Prescott has written a book about overcoming her dreadful past and goes back to Woodsboro, her hometown, to promote it.

There she reunites with her old friends Dewey and Gale, now married and living a not-so-happy life. And surprise; she returns in the day of the Woodsboro Massacre anniversary and Ghostface is back, more brutal than ever and ready to dig some new territory.

First of all, this movie starts off really well. The opening scene is different from everything we've ever seen before, it's really clever and funny and it immediately gives you a glimpse of what you're going to get.

Yes, this movie does feel like you've seen it all before, after all it is the 4th instalement of a slasher franchise but it ultimately proves that Scream 4 still delivers great quality material. Everything you've come to love in the original trilogy is here in greater quantity.

The dialogue is smart and the satire that made the first two great is present here but this time has changed. Back in the good old days, it was all about referencing most of the slasher classics while making fun of the worse.

This time it entirely focuses on making fun of the present type of films in the horror genre: torture porn, mockumentary, endless sequels, etc. So, luckily we have a solid script that could have only been provided by Kevin Williamson.

The death sequences and chase scenes are well elaborate and Wes Craven delivers sure handed direction with a typical Scream cast that looks more focused on playing with movie clichà (C)s and ending up falling for them than reacting to all the blood and gore.

The killers idendity did surprise me and it's motives where basically a modern rip-off of Scream 2 and or 3. Scream 4 recycles and gives a fresh touch to all you've seen before. It functions as a parody, a homage, a sequel and a remake all at the same time.

An undeniable improvement over it's predecessor and although is doesn't quite meet the standard set by it's original piece, it plays up in a really solid way just like Scream 2 did.