SCREAM 4

With Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Kristen Bell, Anna Paquin, Dane Farwell

Written by Kevin Williamson
Directed by Wes Crave

Having given the Horror-fan world many legendary genre movies like Last House On The Left and Hills Have Eyes, he also delivered two slasher cult figures and franchises in the shape of the 1980s-born Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street) and the Ghostface killer from the Scream movies (resurrecting the genre with the latter in the '90s).

Sidney Prescott, the survivor and focal point of all the Scream movies return to her hometown after a decade of recovering the trauma of many dead friends and innocent bystanders. She's back on a book tour about her life (and many near deaths). With family and old friends behind her, the old demon rises again. Throw in a horror movie geek-club and morbid Ghostface killer fandom, the slasher movie rules adhered to in the original as part of the motivation, tries to get updated to a new modern slant with convoluted plot devices (and as usual, a lot of screaming and knife wielding).
They keep trying to push the far-fetched motivations for killing beyond a mere madman (which makes more sense than the silly one laid out here), this time round incorporating new technology.

The overtly wise-ass teen characters Williamson and Craven likes to depict has reached a point beyond annoyance (as also recently seen in Craven's My Soul To Take), that you don't necessarily root for them to get killed (as you should), but you just want them off the screen and out of your life. They're neither cool nor hip, just totally grating.

DVD extras: a making of featurette; deleted scenes; gag reel; alternate opening and extended ending; commentary with director Craven and some cast

2 / C
- Paul Blom

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Click below for all the Scream movies, and it's rip-off Scary Movie

A: Multi-Viewing Potential

B: Could Enjoy A 2nd Look

C: Once Should Suffice