‘Scream 4’ (2011) Review: Back and Bloodier than Ever
Spoilers for Scream 4 ahead
It’s kind of nuts how ahead of its time Scream 4 feels. A sequel after an over decade-long hiatus, merging the original cast and setting with fresh new faces. Paying homage to the original while not “fucking with it”. In the time this came out, horror remakes were a dime a dozen. Now, these kinds of legacy-sequels (requels?) have taken their place. And yet, while still victim to the same tired cliches this franchise has given itself, Scream 4 manages to really stick among both those crowds. It’s also just one of the funnest entries in the franchise.
In a lot of ways I feel like 4 benefits a lot from 3. While the third one felt like the focus shifted more on Sidney Prescott and closing out her journey, 4 compliments it with both how much time has passed, and going back to the hilarious mayhem and meta that made the original become such a classic (it’s part of why I appreciate the third one much more now).
Craven (and returning writer Kevin Williamson) really make use of the time here. There’s an incredibly annoying thing with a lot of these rebootquels where our characters, no matter how much time has passed, stay the exact same. It’s odd, and worse, it feels like playing it safe (funnily enough, Scream commits this sin later on). But that’s not the case with our original cast here. Rather than feel the need to hide, Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro, having confronted her past trauma, as seen in her new best selling book. It not only makes sense given the way we left her in 3, but it’s great to see her like this. It also gives her a chance to show a lot of resilience when it comes to Ghostface terrorizing, and attempt to be a guide for her niece (at least that’s what we think at first). It’s also a relief to see Gale and Dewey actually be together from the very start. They don’t get as much in terms of their growth, but if I saw them separated over some stuff again I was gonna lose it (guess what happens in the next one?). While it’s great to see Dewey be the town sheriff yet still be his goofy self. And it makes total sense for Gale to have a really hard time adjusting to small town life, making her instantly jump at trying to figure out the new Ghostface killings.
Admittedly, this is kind of as far as their growth goes, which doesn’t stick out so much as a negative because this feels like an ensemble movie more than the last 3. Along with the original cast is a bunch of newcomers. High schoolers with a knowledge of horror movies, but also of “Stab”. They’re all great, nerdy and funny, with Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby being the standout among everyone (“Who invited you Trevor?!”). It makes sense her return to 6 was met with so much enthusiasm. They’re not only great, they actually make for a good guessing game as to who Ghostface really is. Even the boyfriend makes you give him second glances, even though you know Craven is doing it on purpose!
It all leads to a pretty great third act, in which it’s revealed that Jill (Emma Roberts) is Ghostface, alongside Charlie (Rory Culkin, also a pretty good mini twist). It’s not so much the reveal that’s great, but the reasoning behind their massacre, which is purely fame. Recreating the original Scream (er…”Stab”), getting it all on video, and having Sidney die as a way of passing the baton to Jill, the new star (er…survivor). Scream and meta go hand in hand, sometimes to its detriment. You can feel the strain to make it meta at some points in the franchise. But here, it feels inspired. A lesser movie totally would’ve gone with the route these two stage, and it’s also a very relevant examination on the psychopathic lengths people will go to for an audience. Can you believe this came out in 2011? To have it end with Sidney being alive instead and saying the golden rule, never fuck with the original, is just delicious icing on the cake.
Not everything works. While the movie does feel inspired, it feels like the franchise has run out of gas with its chase scenes, as they’ve become devoid of tension. Also, while the mystery is good, you can start connecting the dots, much like the others, as the movie nears act 3, when people start randomly not showing up or popping out of nowhere. While there is a lack of tension, I have to give a shoutout to the kills. I guess I wasn’t the only one upset about the lack of violence in the last movie, because god damn do they make up for it and then some here. This movie gets brutal and bloody. The hilarious and iconic opening is only a preview of what’s to come.
I remember liking Scream 4, but I don’t remember having this much fun with it. I may not love any of the sequels, but I definitely have some favorites, and 4 is one of them. Maybe the key to a really good Scream sequel is an 11 year gap, considering how fun the next one is too.
