Movie Review: Scream 4

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great to reconnect with original characters; fun mirrors to originals

Cons: Tries too hard to be clever but breaks no real new ground

The Bottom Line: 

Yep, slasher sequel

Does not break any new ground

But fans will not care

"And a Facebook Stalker?  How Relevant is that?"  "You're Right.  It Should Have Been Twitter."

Despite my love of family friendly movies, I have a fascination with slasher flicks.  Or maybe I should say love/hate relationship with them.  Whenever I watch them, I wind up feeling like I've wasted my time thanks to the cheesy, predictable story and the poor acting.

The big exception to that rule is the Scream franchise.  Off and on over the years, I have been obsessed with these films.  Heck, while admitting it is the weakest, I still enjoyed the third one.  So when the talk of Scream 4 grew serious, I began to get hopeful.  And with the key cast plus writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven on board, I was truly excited.  I think I set my expectations too high.

It's been 10 years since we last checked in on our heroes, and they put their lives back together.  Dewey Riley (David Arquette) is now Sheriff of Woodsboro.  Gales Weathers-Riley (Courtney Cox) is struggling with her life post reporter.  She's working on a novel, or she would be if she didn't have the worst case of writer's block ever.

But it's Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) who has really pulled her life together.  She's the author of a best selling self-help book and the last stop on her signing tour is Woodsboro on the anniversary of the original massacre.

Sadly, that just brings out another killer.  This time, in addition to Sidney, the target seems to be Sidney's young cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) and her group of friends.  Who will survive the second Woodsboro Massacre?

Before I go any further, I have to ask.  Sidney has a cousin (and for that matter an aunt) that we've never heard of before?  You've just got to love Hollywood that manages to pull out relatives whenever needed.

Since the trend of the last 10 years has been remakes, this one plays with that while not truly being a remake.  Yes, this is the first time we've gone back to Woodsboro since the original.  And there are definitely mirrors between this movie and the original trilogy, including several kills.  Of course, since we have the original cast back, this isn't exactly a remake either.

I will admit that the first few times I watched the original and the first sequel, they freaked me out and gave me nightmares.  Yet I kept coming back for more.  This one certainly got the adrenaline flowing, and I'll confess to jumping a few times.  But I also wouldn't call it scary.  I saw most of the jump moments coming.  Maybe I've just seen more slasher movies since then so I can predict better.

But this film also has the been there/done that problem.  It tries to be fresh and clever, and it almost pulls it off.  In fact, I have to give it credit for trying.  But those moments wind up being over played and leave you feeling like it is trying too hard.

One of the strengths of the original movie was the character development.  We actually got to know the characters and care about them before they died.  While that carried over to the sequel, it was gone by the third one.  Sadly, that seems to be the case here again.  We don't really get to know any of the new cast.

Which means this franchise is still about the core trio of Sidney, Dewey, and Gail.  (And can I just say how creepy it is that these movies still mirror David and Courtney's real life relationship?  They even make reference to that.)  Here, the movie shines.  The characters have progressed in realistic ways.  They've changed, but there are still flashes of the original characters there.  I especially loved Sidney here who is definitely stronger.

And the acting of those three is the glue that holds the movie together.  They get the best development, and they make the most of every scene.  Not to say that the rest of the cast isn't good.  They make the most of the material they have.  Sadly, it's just not enough to truly get us invested in their characters.

Those looking for the one liners along with their kills will be happy to know that there's plenty of snappy dialog.  I don't know that any of it is laugh out loud funny, but it certainly made me grin.

While this is a return to Woodsboro, the movie was actually filmed in Michigan instead of California like the original.  (That first one was filmed near where I grew up.)  I kept looking for things that were obviously different, but anything that carried over from the first one definitely looked the same to me, and I just rewatched the first one a couple weeks ago.

I've heard some people say that the gore factor is way up in this film.  To me, the first two murders in the original still are the most gruesome of the franchise.  However, they do use lots of fake blood here.  Between that and the language, the film earns its R rating.

I went into Scream 4 hoping for a return to the glory days of the original.  Sadly, that's not what we got here, and it's easy to pick the film apart for its flaws.  However, it's still entertaining, especially for fans of the original trilogy.