Movie Review: Scream 4

SCRE4M returns to the formula that made the first Scream work but the new cast doesn't bring anything fresh to the fourth installment.

Ten years after the third (rate) Scream sequel, SCRE4M reunites the original writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven with the veteran victims Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell.  Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro after ten years as a successful novelist and Ghostface begins his killing spree.  Gale Weathers (Cox) is now married to Dewey (Arquette) who is no longer Deputy but Sheriff of the town.  The new cast includes Emma Roberts as Sidney's cousin and her circle of high school friends (Hayden Panetierre, Rory Culkin).

The story, courtesy of Kevin Williamson ("The Vampire Diaries", "Dawson's Creek"), plays out much like the first Scream but the rules have changed to reflect and comment on the rise of social media and the spawning of new kind of horror films influenced by Saw.

The new kids on the block do not have the same energy as the original teens played by Jamie Kennedy, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, and Skeet Ulrich. Emma Robert's character is rather bland and boring. Hayden Panetierre plays an obnoxious know-it-all teen but she does have some of the funnier lines in the movie early one. Rory Culkin doesn't have much energy and seems to be calling in the performance. And the" OC's" Adam Brody doesn't have enough to do in the film which renders him rather useless. It feels like characters were added just to increase the body count. The only standout from the new group is Erik Knudsen, a blogger filming live for his website. Too bad Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell aren't in the film long enough to enjoy them. At least Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette gave the film a bit of nostalga.

After fifteen years and four sequels, you would think the Scream franchise would also update with a diverse cast. Yes, its a small town but SCRE4M after all is fictional. Funnyman and "Law & Order's" Anthony Anderson gives the film some color as the token black guy.

As in the first Scream, the story serves as a commentary of pop culture especially the social media craze which gets worked into the motives for the kills -- more kills, more hits on You Tube.  It's obvious the screenwriter Kevin Williamson has no love for the new technology and with good reason.  The characters also expound on their dislike of remakes of classic films like Halloween and slasher films yet they subscribe to the Saw formula of lots of gore and blood.

The end sequence certainly proved climactic and had the best line in the film from Sidney Prescott. 
The fourth installment of Scream certainly improved over the last two messy sequels but it feels like a retread of the same formula except with updated references and more blood splatter.  Despite that, the film is good fun.