It 1997 Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson took the horror genre by storm with their surprise hit Scream. Now, almost fifteen years later, the original survivors have reunited in Woodsboro to battle yet another ruthless killer in the long-awaited Scream 4.
Set ten years after the conclusion of Scream 3, this installment of the horror franchise presents a new look on the cliches of a horror 'reboot'. A new decade means new rules, rules that could put our loyal survivors at risk. But when the dust settles and all is revealed, Scream 4 shows its vulnerability and comes away with nothing more than a few scratches.
Where do I begin? Let's start with the film's opening segment, a notorious moment for previous Screams where we have seen the butcherings of Casey Becker, Maureen Evans and Cotton Weary. Granted this montage was original, witty and mildly frightening, but it didn't contain the phone banter that I have grown to love so much. It's a bit trivial, and films have succeeded without it before, but personally I wanted a return to the the first film's original opening scene and I didn't get it here.
But the rest of the film delivered spot on with what I was looking for as Sidney, Gale and Dewey find themselves battling a killer who is deftly recreating scenes from the original Stab (a film in the Scream universe that tells the story of the first Scream.). Williamson's writing is chock full of witty dialogue and multiple pop-culture references that keep the story moving. Few writers can so playfully craft the build up and make the audience savor the scene rather than the actual kill. Williamson kills it.
I will say that much like the earlier films, Scream 4 is made with fans in mind. Horror trivia is essential to the film as we get to see just what might happen if people were to take their love of horror one step too far. For those who did not enjoy the previous films, Scream 4 is a deathtrap (think Saw). But for those who have longed for a return to Woodsboro, this film proves that reboots can rival an original.
I was a bit upset with the lack of noteworthy plot points given to Courtney Cox's Gale Weathers. Her main involvement deals with her marital problems with the now Sheriff Dewey Riley. The plot is in no way connected to the real life drama between the married co-stars, though its correlation is ironic, even for a Scream film.
Much like the other films of the franchise, Scream 4 reinvents the rules of the horror genre. It informs the audience of those guidelines as the story progresses, and forced to adapt to new situations, our survivors must quickly figure out the changing directions and learn to play by the new rules. The film plays to itself more than even I expected, and while there are a heap of new generation cast members, don't expect too many of them to live to see the beginning of Scream 5.
As for the always familiar finale, Scream 4 went where I never thought it would go - and it absolutely worked. The final twist was monstrous and I found myself wanting to believe what was happening, but imagining that it could never be. And even in the final monologue of our unrelenting killer, you couldn't help but smile as Kevin Williamsons worked his magic and gave us a new film that is undeniably smart, witty and scary as all get out.
