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| Scream 4 |
After a prolonged opening sequence that bests the Liev Schreiber-centric SCREAM 3 introduction (but doesn’t hold a candle to either of the first two), SCREAM 4 essentially hits the ground running. I joked before the film that it should be a two-and-a-half-hour epic, but in a tale with an overabundance of supporting and side characters and the intent of transferring focus to a younger lineup, time needs to be spent setting up their lives and relationships, for the sake of not only good character work but building a central mystery.
As Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour, Ghostface makes its return, striking at Sid and the now-married Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courteney Cox), as well as a new crop of potential victims including Sidney’s cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her circle of friends. These include modern riffs on Randy (Rory Culkin’s Charlie and Erik Knudsen’s Robbie), Billy (Nico Tortorella’s Trevor) and Tatum (Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby).
From its outset, SCREAM 4 constantly calls back to the first and second films, either through lines or staging of scenes—and, funnily enough, seems overall to often be commenting on mere surface-value concerns regarding lame remakes and reboots. Commenting is all the film does, however. When director Wes Craven is not visually demonstrating the parallels, Kevin Williamson’s dialogue is a sarcastic attempt to dissect the state of modern studio horror, begging the audience to laugh just at the fact that this film’s studio seems to “get it.”
But Dimension’s Weinstein brothers are the equivalent of a complaining friend, offering problems and no solutions (though some of the stinging observations are pretty funny, however). The film can reel off the modern annoyances and contrivances of big-budgeted horror all it wants, but that doesn’t stop it from adhering to all of them. Those contradictions are what’s truly jarring about SCREAM 4. The remnants of Williamson’s work (reportedly rewritten by SCREAM 3’s Ehren Kruger, credited here as an executive producer) feel compromised and constantly at war with what’s on screen, resulting in a movie that has true potential to point outside the comfort zone, but never leaves the box.
Craven’s presence is barely felt. He’s a director that, throughout his career, has been able to stage stunning, atmospheric setpieces and prolonged suspense sequences, almost always nailing the payoff as well. SCREAM 4, with its rushed nature, doesn’t do so, and never gets the tension boiling—or even lets it start building, as the chase-and-kill scenes are over before you know it, without much spectacle. Even the most memorable offing is utterly ruined by an unfunny, irritating joke. It’s sad that the film couldn’t even take its deaths seriously, and like the lack of development of its new characters, that just softens the resonance of the content.
Still, the new additions do feel fresh and welcome, and performance-wise everyone fares quite well, especially (and surprisingly) Panettiere, who’s often funny and charming, most accurately capturing the feel of a SCREAM film. The presences of Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody and Marley Shelton as Dewey’s surrounding officers are often smile-inducing, but at the same time—like Mary McDonnell’s Aunt Kate—they really don’t get much to do. Indeed, since almost everyone in the giant cast is given only limited screen time, they all feel like cameos, rather than inhabitants of Woodsboro. Even Sidney, Dewey and Gale feel like guest stars in their own franchise. Since the SCREAM films have never really been about the adults before, and the three protagonists have now reached that stage, it could’ve been an interesting and poignant idea to run with their presence in our “youth rules everything” climate, but instead they just waddle along the sidelines, just barely stealing some small and hilarious moments along the way.
And there are small and hilarious moments along the way. SCREAM 4 is often silly/entertaining and an overall fun experience. In the context of what the franchise had become with SCREAM 3, it’s a worthy sequel, and definitely superior to its predecessor. But in the end, SCREAM 4 is like post-2000 Green Day: bouncy and aggressive, reaching to be subversive and biting, but ultimately just no longer punk-rock enough to be rebellious, revolutionary or challenging.
