New Decade. New Rules.

The Scream series is back after ten years, but is it the film a Scream or a terrifying mess?

The film, once again, centers around Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who has become a writer and has written about her experiences from Scream 1, 2 and 3. Sidney ends up back in Woodsboro, the home to the original murders, on her book tour, where she soon comes back into contact with now Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and now struggling writer, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox).

We are then soon introduced to Sidney’s cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts), and her aunt, Kate (Mary McDonnell), family she is staying with while she is in town. Everything seems to be great but the past soon comes back to haunt Sidney when Ghostface returns to wreak havoc on the town of Woodsboro.

That’s all I can give away. I’m not going to spoil the story.

Now, let’s get into the review. The first thing I want to talk about is the story. The Scream series has always given us very interesting meta stories. Maybe not so much Scream 3, but I thought Scream 1 and 2 were great. In Scream 4 they’re back using the same kind of formula and the question is does it hold up? I’m going to say yes.

In Scream 4 they found a very modern way to make this movie very similar to the original Screams. Instead of Ghostface trying to make his own scary movie, this Ghostface is out to reboot the original and forge a new franchise. It really does speak to the state horror films are in now and I found it very relevant.

The negatives about the story are that it’s not very scary and it sometimes gets a little too comical for its own good. It also has too many characters. I know they wanted death scenes but they could have really done without a few.

Speaking of death scenes, most of the ones in the movie are very gory and then there are others that are PG-13 at best. I know it’s weird to be complaining about something like this but hear me out. (POSSIBLE SPOILER) There is a specific death scene in the movie that has a lot of build up and it feels like your watching it forever and then Ghostface strikes with a just a stab. I thought to myself “That’s it?” After all the build up the scene ends terribly.

That brings me to my other complaint about the movie and that is lack of tension. Tension has been missing from a lot of horror movies now a days and has been replaced by cheap scares. You NEED tension in horror films and the lack of it caused Scream 4 to not be very scary.

Let’s get over the negative and talk about more positive things. Wes Craven is still able to make Scream fun and interesting. The film is entertaining and it is a solid entry in the Scream series. I liked how he was able to get the original cast back, because they bring the history of the series with them and make it worth your time.

The biggest positive is how the movie is able to play on ‘90’s nostalgia, which was weird for me. Are the ‘90’s really nostalgic now? I feel old.

Summing it up, after I watched Scream 4 my initial reaction was it wasn’t the epic return I hoped for. Yet, I did still enjoy it. I thought it was funny, the story was well told and it was a good slasher film. It is something I would recommend.

B

With the review out of the way I want to talk about some random things about the movie. First, why in the hell are people still running away from Ghostface? Haven’t people learned that the Ghostface mask has limited visibility? Come on I know everyone has tried one on by now, they’re all over Halloween stores in October. I’m surprised Ghostface isn’t running into more walls. Just find somewhere to hide and stop screaming.

Second, if Ghostface is knocked down start kicking him or do something! You have to stop running away and turning your back on him because if you do that he disappears. Come on Sidney you lived through three other movies and your still not aware of this yet?

Third, stop assuming that every phone call you get from Ghostface is a prank call, especially if you’re living in Woodsboro, the place of the original murders! Because, it’s not a prank call it’s a psychotic with a knife. If you do get a phone call from Ghostface, use that as a heads up, call the cops, find something to protect yourself with and find a hiding place. With Ghostface’s limited visibility I’m 100 percent sure you would get the jump on him, because you’re not wearing a crazy costume.