July 23, 2018
Written by: Kevin Williamson
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
Budget: $40,000,000
Quote: One generation's tragedy is the next one's joke.
Trivia: In keeping with the tradition set in the previous films (as well as keeping with the film's theme of remakes), the rules for Scream 4 are as follows: 1) Don't f*** with the original (according to Sidney (Neve Campbell)). 2) You have to be gay in order to survive. 3) Police officers will always die in horror movies (except for Bruce Willis), especially if they are near retirement, better looking than the other person or have a newborn baby on the way. 4) The original ending is the false ending in a remake. 5) The killer is always right behind you.
The original Scream came out when I was in seventh grade and after seeing it in the theater I fell immediately in love with it. I love it to the point that I used to have out on IRC in the #scream room and downloaded the screenplay that I read several times. When the sequels came out I found the scripts for the movies online and downloaded them reading the movie before it came out in the theater. I was a bit obsessed. There was something about a really great slasher that continually references itself and the genre that really captivated me. Also, this was my first exposure to horror movie culture typified by Jamie Kennedy's character in the originals. This was before I had ever heard of horror conventions and before I knew anyone that loved scary movies as much as I did. Why I waited seven years to finally watch the fourth movie, I cannot say, but watching it, it really took me back to the joy I felt watching the original ones in middle and high school.
Scream is one of the very few (if any) horror film franchises to have all the main characters return for the sequels (aside from Jamie Kennedy's character... rest in peace). The film follows Sidney Prescott (Never Campbell) who is back in Woodsboro on a writing tour. Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) is now a sheriff and still married to Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) who herself is trying to write a fiction book. Immediately upon returning people begin to get killed by Ghostface who sends repeated calls to Sidney threatening her. Meanwhile, some of the high school horror fans are celebrating the anniversary of their beloved Stab movies (the movie inside of this movie that is based on this movie... I know, it's like Gale says, "It's all very meta."). As the killings increase Sidney, her cousin Jill (Olivia Roberts), along with the horror film fanatics have to see if they can use the rules of horror movie remakes to find the killer and stop him/her/them.
The introduction to the film is absolutely great and does a fantastic job disorienting the viewer and letting us know that we cannot believe anything we see. The film opens on a couple of cute girls talking about the Saw horror movies and then get the infamous call from Ghostface who stabs them both. This is followed by a title sequence for Stab 7, a fictional film within the film. The camera then moves to a different cute couple of girls who were watching Stab 7. They then talk about how lame horror sequels were only to have one of the girls stab the other. This is followed by a Stab 6 title sequence. The camera finally moves to show a different couple of cute girls talking about this film and how confusing the "meta-ness" of the film is. Finally, these girls get the phone call from Ghostface who chases them around the house killing both of them and we finally get the Scream 4 title sequence.
The introduction sequence sounds confusing, and it is a bit, but it does such a great job of being self referential while providing a critique of the genre as whole. The cute girl couples provide an interesting commentary on the benefits and downsides to modern horror films. One girl wants to watch the Saw films because she thinks Jigsaw's killings are creative while the other claims it is no more than "torture porn" with no character development leaving the audience feeling nothing for Jigsaw's victims. There is also a great conversation about the ridiculousness of horror sequels when they get into the fourth or fifth movie. Look at *almost* any horror franchise and there is usually a moment around the fourth or fifth film where they jump the shark trying to outdo the earlier films (The Howling and Nightmare on Elm Street come to mind). The dialogues of these characters remind me of my friends and I and continues the self-referential theme of the film.
Another divergence from the previous films is that the characters recognize Sidney as being the catalyst for so many deaths. Everyone that is close to Sidney (aside from Dewey and Gale) ends up dead. This becomes a major plot point with characters trying to distance themselves from Sidney and wishing that she did not return to the town. Sidney's cousin even compares Sidney to the plot of Final Destination.
Wes Craven also does not shy away from the gore in this film. People often forget how bloody and dark Craven's films can be. Remember, this is the guy who gave us The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes for his first two movies. There is one scene in particular where Ghostface calls Sidney's cousin and murders the neighbor across the street. The room is completely covered in blood with the girl's intestines lying next to her on the bed. There are also a couple of skull stabbings that are very unpleasant to view. It seems like Craven was trying to get back to his bloody roots with this film ramping up the blood, gore, and murder.
Another fun part of the movie is the characters' discussion of horror remakes. While I would definitely consider this to simply be a sequel and not a remake, when Scream 4 came out there were dozens of horror remakes and it is fun to see how Wes Craven, the writer, and the characters analyze the "new" rules of the horror remake, including needing to out-do the original (which could be one reason this film was so gory) and creating false endings.
Finally the film is a critique on social media culture. When discussing Ghostface, college students thought that he should live stream the murders in order to create his/her/their own film. With millennial culture's emphasis on constantly sharing pictures, videos, and live streams, I could imagine a modern killer would also want to share and stream everything. The emptiness of fame culture based on likes and friends is also highlighted when the killer exclaims in a final scene, "I don't need friends I need fans" after killing the killer's partner.
It is sad to think that with Wes Craven's passing, this is the last Scream movie. But who knows, maybe in a decade someone will make a remake, but of course I'll agree with the characters in Scream 4, remakes are never as good as the original.
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