SCREAM 4 (2011)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
We are back in Woodsboro for the return of the survivor of the bloody rampage of the first three "Scream" films, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), now the author of a self-help book. Her last stop on her book tour is Woodsboro, a place I would not think of stopping by considering her past, bloody traumatic experiences there. Of course, Mr. Ghostface, that iconic Edward Munch-face from the iconic painting, "The Scream," is back killing teenagers from Woodsboro High. It is the anniversary of those bloody murders from eons ago and now, horror of horrors, a dead body is found in Sidney's car! Who is this new Ghostface who can run faster than the Road Runner and materialize almost anywhere with phantom-like precision?
Let's not forget that Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) is now the sheriff and married to bored Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox). Dewey is in charge of the case of the growing number of murdered teens. Numbed and shocked Sidney stays with her cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts), and is referred to as the Angel of Death. But is Sidney really responsible for the resurrection of Ghostface, or is it the shy film geek (Rory Culkin) who declares that horror remakes have upped the ante on gore and invented new rules? Actually, I take issue with his mantra of horror facts because horror remakes are simply gorier but they are hardly inventive (Zombie's "Halloween," anyone?) Or could the killer be Sidney's overzealous publicist (Alison Brie from TV's "Community"), or is it the canny party girl (Hayden Panettiere)?
As I had mentioned earlier, "Scream 4" goes off the rails after a truly riveting and meta (yeah, that word for the box-within-the-box) opening sequence that shows clips from "Stab" films with two girls watching one scene, and then we learn that scene is being watched by two other girls! It is the most original and witty sequence in the entire film. Once the film shifts to the real world of "Scream 4," things go downhill. Dewey and Gale have a fight over Gale's insatiable desire to return to the media world. Sidney Prescott looks only slightly befuddled by the murderous, blood-on-the-walls events around her. I started getting bored wondering if there was any fuel left to rev up this screamified engine. Alas, a little bit of fuel.
After a slow start, "Scream 4" turns up the blood-splattered dial to 11, and there is a welcome burst of comic energy thanks to the terrific Courteney Cox. Her character, Gayle, wants to keep an eye on the "Stabathon" all-night party at a local farm (All seven Stab films are played annually at this event). The audience of teens relish the kills with glee (eeek!), and Gale sets up cameras on haystacks to track the real killer. Meanwhile, Ghostface slices and dices past Jill's friends and family and eventually confronts Sidney, but who is the killer and are there two of them? Will the cops watching Jill's home survive this ordeal?
"Scream 4" is full of the requisite postmodernist winks that the series built itself on. 71-year-old horrormeister Wes Craven ups the bloodletting but not the focus on character, though that is largely writer Kevin Williamson's fault. The stabbings become repetitious and frankly dull - don't want to sound like a prude but there is far too much violence and not much of it carries any sting or surprise. Neve Campbell, a fierce, animated actress who brought so much humanity and sensitivity to Sidney Prescott, is on autopilot here - she walks through the movie. But the last half of the film does in fact work, and there is a devilish surprise that kept me on the edge of my seat. I do like the remarks from these modern horror-savvy teens about horror remakes but they still haven't figured out how to outsmart the killer. This could've been Craven's attempt to really revitalize the genre by truly deconstructing it and making something new out of it. Four Ghostface movies and he has still only scratched the surface.
