Movie Review - Scream 4

Scream 4 (2011)

Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Kieran Culkin, Alison Brie, Mary McDonnell, and Marley Shelton

Directed by Wes Craven

I don't know if I'm just tired of the series or if it's the fact that the new Ghostface's motives in Scream 4 seem even more ludicrous than those of Scream 3's killer, but this latest installment in Wes Craven's self-referential franchise is a letdown (and even moreso since we had to wait over a decade to get this to the screen).  Was the world asking for another Scream flick?  Probably not, but I do feel a slight connection to this series simply because it was the first horror franchise that I latched onto in my youth.  Teens in the 80s had the Elm Streets and Jason and Michael Myers to think fondly of, but as a 90s teen, this felt like my series...and plus, for this burgeoning film buff, Scream began as a series that paid homage to its horror flick predecessors which was something I greatly appreciated.  Unfortunately, the allure has faded and the disappointment of Scream 3 is further continued with the fourth flick in the series.

Ten years have passed since the conclusion of the Hollywood-based last installment and Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has written her autobiography and is returning to Woodsboro, the scene of the crimes in the original Scream, on her book tour.  Dewey (David Arquette) has become the local sheriff and he and "retired journalist" Gale Withers (Courtney Cox) are happily married.  As soon as Sidney arrives, young high schoolers begin to bite the dust at the hands of a new Ghostface Killer and Sidney, Dewey, and Gale must do what they can in order to save the community and track down the slasher.

Unfortunately, nothing new is brought to the table here.  Scream 2 followed Syd to college and Scream 3 (although not nearly as good as the first two flicks in the series) changed the scene to Hollywood, but returning to Woodsboro and essentially copying the exact same storyline of the first film just makes Scream 4 flounder aimlessly with nothing really driving the plot along.  The new characters introduced including Emma Roberts as Syd's cousin Jill, Hayden Panettiere as Jill's sassy friend, and Kieran Culkin as a high school film geek just seemed liked doppelgangers of characters in the first film.  All were certainly adequate (and the acting in all the Scream flicks is always much better than most horror flicks), but their characters were bland and I never was able to connect with any of them or any of the other new folks introduced.

As mentioned above, once the Ghostface killer is revealed, it was met by me with an eye roll.  The motive (while perhaps fitting in this day and age) isn't solid enough to base a whole movie around and it ends up being a disappointment.  That said, I did think that the final scenes after the reveal were quite tense and helped the film end on a somewhat better note than I expected.  Still, I can't help but think that Scream 4 is just a pale imitation of the original flick and, although this goes against popular opinion since many think the third flick is the worst in the series, this fourth installment is the lowest on the totem pole for me.  I'm sure that if a Scream 5 were made I'd give it a go, but the expectations would certainly be mighty low.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-