Right off the bat, I’ll have you know I am no Scream expert. I haven’t seen Scream 2 or 3 - in my defense I was 4 and 7 when they came out - and without the recap from my Scream-loving brother, I would have been a tad lost on a few details. However, even not being completely clued in on a few points wouldn’t have stopped me from having one of the best horror experiences I can remember with this fourth installment.
Scream 4 is a creepy, funny, gory, surprising, star-studded celebration of the horror genre, and a genuinely good time. Personally, I was hooked on Scream 4 from the moment the epic opening sequence began. Do yourself a favor and skip checking the IMDB cast list -- it’s much more entertaining if you have no idea who’s going to pop up next. Not at all surprisingly, blood starts spilling about 3 minutes into the movie and doesn’t stop, although the opening sequence does rack up quite a high percentage of the film’s body count.
Following the bloodbath, we are taken to the sunny streets of Woodsboro where, 10 years after the events of Scream 3, the just-about-indestructible Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the tetralogy’s ostensible “final girl,” is returning to promote her new book and forever put the bloody events of her past behind her.
She’s accompanied by her vicious go-getter publicist Rebecca (Alison Brie, in a splendid 180 from her adorable Annie in NBC’s Community), and under the close watch of Sheriff Dewey Riley and reporter Gale Weathers-Riley (David Arquette and Courtney Cox, reprising their roles from the previous Screams).
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However, the moment Sidney steps back in town, the famous “what’s your favorite scary movie?” calls from Ghostface begin, specifically targeting Sidney’s cousin Jill (Emma Roberts, who really does deserve to be more than “Julia’s little niece”) and Jill’s brigade of victim-pals, comprised of Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Erik Knudsen, Marielle Jaffe, and Nico Tortorella. Hayden shines particularly as the savvy, sexy Kirby -- so much so that my father declared Hayden really deserves to be a movie star following this performance. It never occurred to me that she wasn’t already a huge star, but then maybe that’s just my eighteen-year-old girlness coming through. Anyway, throw in Adam Brody, Marley Shelton, and Anthony Anderson as the police force in charge of finding Ghostface, and let the games begin.
Walking in to the theater, I was expecting Scream for the new generation -- a reboot of sorts. What I was given was a Scream film that fit right into the previous trilogy, but was accessible enough for new fans to jump right in and enjoy. Yes, I am not as familiar with the trilogy myself, but judging from the whoops, hollers, and fist pumps of my brother next to me during the final act, I know I do not stand alone on this. Scream 4 might not be profound or thought provoking, but it is a truly entertaining guessing-game whodunit. The fact that director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson (scribe of the first two Screams) are able to semi-accurately capture teen-talk is a feat in itself. If I were to have one central complaint of Scream 4, it’s perhaps that it is a bit too self-aware, a bit too focused on irony to ever appear truly “real” in itself. And while that aspect is a bit disengaging, it also becomes part of the fun.
As for the cast, no matter how many au courant CW types are thrown in the mix, Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox continue to prove that the Scream series will always be theirs.
After 15 years of playing Sidney and Gale, they’ve still got a energizing, youthful enthusiasm that allows them not only to keep up with the kids, but also show them how it’s really done. That’s not to say the kids don’t pull their weight, naturally carrying twist after twist as the story unfolds to its final big bang.
So do yourself a favor and spend a couple hours indulging in the spooky fun of Scream 4 - even if only for the opening sequence, it’s worth it. And who knows? Next time someone asks you, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” you might just say Scream 4.
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