Scream 4 

Scream 4 Review 2011, the fourth movie in the series, is excellent.

Director Wes Craven

Writer Kevin Williamson

Cast

• Neve Campbell - Sidney Prescott
• David Arquette - Sheriff Dewey Riley
• Courteney Cox - Gale Weathers-Riley
• Emma Roberts - Jill Roberts
• Hayden Panettiere - Kirby Reed
• Adam Brody - Deputy Ross Hoss
• Rory Culkin - Charlie Walker
• Erik Knudsen - Robbie Mercer
• Anthony Anderson - Deputy Anthony Perkins

Dimension Films, Running time 111 minutes

Ten years on, and Sidney is a successful writer performing book signings. The book tour brings her back to her hometown of Woodsboro. 

While there, she reunites with Gale Weathers and Sheriff Dewy. Sidney's return to Woodsboro leads to the appearance of a Ghostface copycat killer.

I didn't anticipate much from this film, but I was pleasantly pleased; it's intelligent, amusing, and generally surprising. 

Just like when you think that you know what's happening, it brilliantly does the exact opposite.

The cast is excellent. 

Combining the original form and a new generation works perfectly, creating funny moments and lines. 

Scream 4 makes fun of itself and the slasher movie genre. It completely disregards the rules from previous slasher films, which makes this film feel very fresh, despite being the fourth in the series.

Despite the comic elements, this film provides some genuine scares, making this film very entertaining and surprisingly good. 

In addition, the murder scenes are well thought out and a little more brutal than in previous films.

Ultimately, this film is far superior to the other two Screams and nearly as outstanding as the original; it keeps you wondering until the very end. 

While this is not the scariest movie you'll ever watch, it's highly entertaining.

Review:

Since the Woodsboro killings of the first film, a generation has passed. The present generation of youngsters, with their music, dismisses the atrocity as if it were a joke. 

Ghostface masks adorn lampposts, and there's even a "Ghostface App" makes the user's speech seem like the serial killer's. 

However, local teenagers begin to be murdered just as original survivor girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) arrives in town to sell her new survival book. 

Meanwhile, Gale Weathers-Riley (Courtney Cox) finds new meaning in her search for the killer. At the same time, her husband Dewey (David Arquette) is the town's new sheriff. 

He continues to prove his worthlessness in law enforcement as he leads deputies Hicks (Marley Shelton), Perkins (Anthony Anderson), and Hoss (Adam Brody) for not being able to catch Ghostface.

We also meet a new set of fresh young people ready to be slaughtered. 

Sidney's cousin Jill (Emma Roberts), Jill's pals Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) and Olivia (Marielle Jaffe), her ex-boyfriend Trevor (Nico Tortorella), and movie geeks Robbie (Erik Knudsen) and Charlie (Erik Knudsen) are among the cast members (Rory Culkin). 

It's a slew of possible suspects and victims, and you don't damn about any of them. But, unfortunately, scream 4 is so preoccupied with casting suspicion on everyone that if any character is overly developed, they might be ruled out as the killer, and the surprise leaked.

Here's a hint for storytellers: if knowing the finish ahead of time will destroy your tale, it's not a good story. I won't give anything away about Scream 4, but there's not much motivation to return after you know who lives, who dies, and Ghostface. 

Even after you've solved it, a good mystery is intriguing, and excellent horror doesn't startle—it terrifies. 

However, filmmaker Wes Craven is adamant about not creating good scares or a well-crafted mystery. So instead, we're treated to countless sequences of Ghostface torturing and stabbing his target. 

It's the strongest indication that the show has succumbed to the cliches it was created to criticize.

Scream 4 might explore a lot of different aspects of the horror genre. After a ten-year hiatus, the series is primed to return and tackle horror clichés like Saw or handheld horror like Paranormal Activity. 

But instead, the series has people freely express fear complaints before returning to not scaring you. 

The cinema experts attempt to explain the new rules, but all they say is that there aren't any, since if there were, you wouldn't be terrified. That was the joke in Scream, but today it's the premise—there are no rules, so anybody may be the killer or die.

If Craven were a bit more in tune with the script, he'd realize that satire and comedy are where the film can shine, and when it does, Scream 4 usually works. 

Even though nearly every character in the film is underdeveloped, Cox displays her comedic chops by providing Gale with the only actual character growth. 

Alison Brie, who plays Sidney's vapid publicist, is the only actress who stands out. 

Brie gives such nasty perky energy to the job that she steals every scene she's in, even though the character doesn't symbolize anything.

Scream has never been very frightening, but it has always been amusing and intelligent. As a result, scream 4 has a lot of fresh material to work with. 

Still, it appears to be more interested in recycling old scares and showing their insignificance.