Scream 4

When I was 10 years old, around 1996, there was a new movie that people were raving about. It was rumored to be one of the scariest movies ever made, but at the time being a kid my parents didn’t let me see it. Now in 2011 I’m 25 years old, and this little hit movie from 15 years ago has made the 4th chapter in its franchise: “Scream 4″ Now in the 21st century the same setup is brought to a new generation of young victims, with some mixed results.

“Scream 4″ doesn’t open with the traditional pattern, instead it continues to mock the imitator “Stab” series with volumes 6 & 7. During this we see a hilarious cameo with Kristen Bell and Anna Paquin watching the inside joke movie, then it ends up being the intro to the next volume of “Stab”! This breaking down the 4th wall and suggesting the audience stop their bitching and just enjoy the movie is a great intro, then after the jokes are over we get down to the actual film.

Marking the 15th anniversary of the infamous “Woodsboro High Massacre”, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to her hometown seeing dozens of masks on lampposts imitating the Ghostface killer. As Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette, still sporting that mustache) remarks: “One generation’s tragedy is the next one’s joke.” We also have Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) in town, jealous of Sidney’s popularity on releasing a memoir of her experiences. All the while the movie goes back to the roots of what made it great to begin with: high school. A group of popular girls are friends with a group of male dorks hosting a scary-movie club. All of a sudden there are two teens murdered, a direct threat to Sidney in her rental car, and just as before the bodies are piling up…

Believe it or not, there are some people who have never seen this many scary movies, the original “Scream” being one of them. Sure there are references to other scary movies, but chances are most teenagers have never watched the classics. In one great scene Hayden Panettiere (Remember the Titans, TV’s Heroes) has to save her boyfriend by rattling off pretty much all of the horror remakes of the past decade. We the audience see the reality of making this film: spearheading remakes. It’s a bold move, and director Wes Craven makes it work much better than his previous effort “My Soul to Take”. However, strip away all the satire and humor and this is really just another clichéd movie of a guy with a knife. The killer ends up being ridiculous and the conclusion even more so. “Scream 4″ has been mentioned by producing team the Weinstein brothers to be the first in a reboot of the franchise. Please, please don’t do this. Yes the Ghostface is cool but very aged. As a matter of fact the original teenagers are all getting close to 40, and the new crop of teens are carbon-copies at best. On the other hand, Campbell does have one excellent closing line:

“You know one thing about remakes? Don’t f*** with the original!”