By Tommy Bond, Film Critic
Scream 4
“What’s your favorite scary movie?”
Ghostface is back in this fourth edition of the classic self-referential slasher series, and he’s doing what he does best: slicing and dicing!
He brings with him everything that has made the other Scream films great: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, writer Kevin Williamson, and ace director Wes Craven. The pieces are all here, again, ten years after the last film was released. How do they all fit? Quite well actually. This time we return to the sleepy town of Woodsboro, where our heroine Sidney Prescott is making the final run of her book tour. She runs into her hometown friends Sheriff Dewey and Gale Weathers-Riley, as well as her little teenage cousin Jill. Unfortunately for all of them, however, the Ghostface killer just can’t seem to stay away from Sidney, and everyone begins to look over their shoulder, fearing they may be the next victim, and desperately trying to solve the mystery of who is under the iconic white mask.
No Scream film is complete without a crop of new victims – er, faces – to round out the cast, and this roll call is a heavy hitter, including Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. If you’ve seen any of these films, you know what I mean. It’s an instant trademark. ”Heeeello Sidney!” Gets me every time. Not surprisingly, most of this A-list cast will either be suspect or victim or both. Celebrity status doesn’t protect you here. Drew Barrymore, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Omar Epps have all graced the cover of the movies, and they didn’t last more than 10 minutes. Ghostface doesn’t pick favorites, he just plays by the rules. But it’s not the 90’s anymore, these are new rules.
That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, reboots can be refreshing after all. This is the first of another trilogy of Scream films, so we can expect parts 5 and 6. Hopefully the tone will be lassoed in a bit in the next film though. This one was just too comedic, too self-referential, too “meta” (just watch the movie, you’ll get it). The suspenseful setup of one death scene in particular is nearly ruined by a hammed-up performance by Anthony Anderson. Yes, the same Anthony Anderson who’s been in two Scary Movie films making fun of the very cliches that he’s now a part of in Scream 4. It’s too much.
What made the original so great was that it managed to comment on and critique itself while simultaneously being a genius, scary thrill-ride. It was the wittiest, sharpest horror film of the 90’s. This is 2011, and there are obviously a few hitches in trying to get the new rules off the ground.
Scream is not a comedy franchise. Leave that to Scary Movie. Screamis witty, yes, has many funny moments, yes, and is very critical and sarcastic about itself and its genre. I know these things. But that doesn’t make it a comedy. Recall the opening sequence with Drew Barrymore in the original, back in 1996. A young girl, all alone, ready to settle in and watch a nice scary movie. Then the phone rings, and the eeriest voice in film history asks her if she wants to play a game. That scene is legendary. It hit hard, and it wasn’t funny. Witty, sharp, and smart, but not comedy. Even the much anticipated opening sequence of Scream 4 crosses the comedy line more than once, turning into a meta-mess of cliches and obviously fake gore effects. And the characters won’t stop saying “meta”!
Still, this was another worthy chapter in the franchise, and it was certainly thrilling, and scary, and smart, and witty, and at times razor sharp. It was well written, directed, acted, and edited. It was at once a repeat and something completely new, a strange feat, but an impressive one. While the film might have come up short with a lackluster opening sequence, it made up for it with an ending that is well scripted and executed with force.
But the franchise has veered too much, it’s time to head back towards 1996. Perhaps by the time we see part 6, we will be in for another masterpiece.
So until then, keep your doors locked, and if the phone rings, you better be up on your horror trivia, because you never know who’s going to want to play a game.
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking.
Running Time: 111 Minutes.
Released on DVD October 4th, 2011.
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