Scream 4 (2011)

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When I went to check this out in theatres, I didn't think it was gonna be that great. After all, I found 'Scream 3' to be a letdown, so how could a fourth instalment, around eleven years later, reliant on viewers' nostalgia possibly be any good? Well, truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised at the time. But I think most of what made it good was the surprise, given how long it took to be released. It also stood out as something no one was really asking for, but that was still pleasing to get.

We start this one off in real time, after the events of 'Scream 3', where the 'Stab' series in these films has reached the "out of control" point. Not only are they up to 'Stab 7' now, but 'Stab 5' evidently went so far as to introduce time travel into the plot, which I see as a nod to when horror icons find themselves in outer space, like Jason or the Leprechaun. Furthermore, the film opens with a movie-within-a-movie gag that, frankly, pokes fun at the 'Scream' franchise itself. It's really quite funny, but it eventually leads to the movie's first kill and yet another new, different Ghostface.

I consider 'Scream 4' nowadays a stand-alone "bridge" movie between the first and the next generation (which brings in Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega). A new group of high school kids is brought in as potential victims for the "meat grinder," while our favourite characters remain in the story as the older, wiser generation. Surviving the events of the original films are Sidney (Neve Campbell), who has just published her own book on surviving the Woodsboro murders, Dewey (David Arquette), who's now the sheriff of Woodsboro, and Gale (Courteney Cox), who is now married to Dewey and has since given up reporting.

Sidney returns to Woodsboro on the 16th anniversary of the original 'Scream' killings, only to find that the killing has started all over again. This time, the big target seems to be Sidney's cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts), and to a lesser extent, her friends, Olivia (Marielle Jaffe) and Kirby (Hayden Panettiere). This time, the killer seems to want to direct his own reboot, so naturally, this chapter is more of a play on reboots. It even comes complete with funny little nods to Craven's own films being unnecessarily rebooted, like 'Elm Street', 'The Hills Have Eyes', and 'Last House on the Left'. One has to admire the little details in the dialogue of these films.

Originally arriving for a book signing, when the killing starts, evidence is found in the trunk of the car that Sid and her publicist, Rebecca (Alison Brie), arrived in. They are then made to stay in town by Dewey himself until the killer is caught, because, as in the first film, "everyone is a suspect". On that note, I liked that the film kept me guessing about who was committing the killings. The list of suspects is huge, and even includes the likes of a few 'Scream' mainstays. There are red herrings all over this movie, and I have to admit, I kind of appreciated that.

On the other hand, however, to some degree, it still just feels like more of the same. Once again, there's a standard set of rules here, this time concerning the "reboot," and this time extended. Don't mess with the original; death scenes are more extreme (again); the "unexpected" is the new cliché; virgins can die now; new technology is used and integral to the plot; a good opening sequence is necessary; and in order to survive these days, you pretty much have to be gay. I'm not entirely sure why they needed so many this time around, or why some of them are repeats, but what would a 'Scream' movie be without a list of rules?

Going back to being pleasantly surprised when this came out, I should say that most of that pleasant surprise came from a little nostalgia, as well as not really knowing it was something I wanted to see until after it was done. This wasn't like 'Freddy vs Jason' where I was champing at the bit for years leading up to it. When this came out, it just struck me as a potentially fun title I should check out, and "fun" was delivered successfully despite any flaws. To the film's credit, it sticks to what makes these films a good time by playing things a bit more "meta," but not going completely overboard, and it's a vast improvement over 'Scream 3.'

3/5

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