Nathan's "Scream 4" Review

*CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!*

When discussing the Scream films, everybody talks about the tongue-in-cheek humor, meta horror constructs, and slice-of-life deaths. These are valid and inspired reasons to fall in love with this genre-changing horror series. For me, however, what I’ve always loved is Scream’s heart (and I don’t just mean the one stabbed and left to bleed in the final reel). When Scream opens and Drew Barrymore is killed – shocking us all that first time we watched it – we were actually saddened because Barrymore is a well-known actress, and one known for her Good Girl status of more recent years. As Scream moves past its opening sequence, and we get to know Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley, and the rest of the Woodsboro gang, we are not only pulled into a mystery but into a slasher movie setting filled, oddly, with heart and soul. Neve Campbell has always been one of my favorite actresses, ever since her Party of Five days; she’s uniquely pretty, down to earth, and almost unassuming. Yet she’s a strong, talented, dramatic actress who also has the physical prowess to take center stage when fighting off knife-hungry maniacs out for Greek tragedy worthy revenge. (Heck, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson even played with this concept in Scream 2, when Sidney personifies the goddess Cassandra in her college play.)

Speaking of Scream 2, don’t tell me I’m the only one who felt a(n emotional) stab in their gut when Randy bites it in Act Two. I was pleased that Craven, Williamson, and the producers took a chance and killed off one of the series’ regulars – this helped ground us in that trippy meta feeling, “Are they inside a movie or not?” – but I was also heartbroken that the geek nerd who understood all the movie rules couldn’t save himself in the end. In fact, my friend Jennifer who attended the S2 sneak preview with me got angry at Randy’s death, and my friend Karin told me she lost interest in watching any more Scream films after that – she cared about Randy that much. Now Scream 3 is a different story – and a much weaker entry in the saga – but even I have to give kudos to the Cotton Weary-heavy opening. It left me going: if one of the regulars dies right off the bat – and if the series flips things on its head by having a male lead be the focus of the pre-credit kills rather than a female lead – then maybe I’ll be able to ride this rollercoaster and continue to dig my nails into my palms. I’ll stay surprised, curious, on edge – as we should be in life (and death).

This brings me to Scream 4. I had high hopes. Watching the trailer 50 times? Check. Original Scream trilogy marathon the weekend before 4’s release? Check. Eleven years in-between films and Kevin Williamson’s return to the writing table? Check and check. And I do have to say that the opening sequence(s) – Lucy Hale and Shenae Grimes dying inside Stab 6, being watched by Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell in Stab 7, who are being watched by Aimee Teegarden and Brittany Robertson in Scream 4 – got me giddy and diving into my box of Snow Caps like nobody’s business. I looked over at my boyfriend and mom, my fellow viewers, with pure glee. “Now we’re onto something,” I thought. “I’m going to be rocked and rolled.” And who couldn’t smile, geeky Randy style, at the return of Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, not to mention the return of Woodsboro as the setting? I felt edgy, dicey Greek tragedy on the horizon; I felt ready to care again about what happens to these people.

But then things got messy, and I’m not talking about Sidney’s publicist’s blood being smeared on the parking garage wall. Who of you – I really want to know – can say we got to know or care about most of the new characters introduced for this intended second trilogy? One, the dialogue imposed on them by Kevin Williamson (and fellow scribe Ehren Kruger) felt forced and way too meta/cheeky for its own good, taking me out of the story. Two, none of them garnered enough screen time save for Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere to say we have a true sense of their personality or depth. Three, all the teens died! Every single one! Who’s going to steer the next two films for this “next generation” of fans, as proclaimed in the trailer? In addition, Courtney Cox and David Arquette – still full of great on-screen chemistry – didn’t have much to play with in their roles. Only Neve Campbell’s Sidney truly shone. Sidney returned with a vengeance, so to speak: she’s scarred but healed; looked great; and championed the mother/protector role of the younger cast in the same way Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy Thompson did in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. That being said, this next comment might sound strange and even deranged. I’ll accept that. I was hoping that Sidney was going to die in this film. You heard me. I wanted her to pass the torch to a new heroine, who would carry the film series for another entry or two; I wanted something real to be at stake, like her life, so that not only was this film a commentary on the horror genre but a true commentary on who pays the price when society and pop culture are mingled into an American bloodbath of spotlights and fame-seekers. I wanted to be stunned, saddened, and even angry that Ghostface killed Sid – because I wanted to know that the filmmakers were taking chances and creating waves of raw emotion for us to ride.

In the end, I’ll leave you with this final question (and it’s not “What’s your favorite scary movie?”): Who of you thought the final edit of this film felt cobbled together? I can just picture the Special Edition being released on DVD and Blue-ray with 20 extra minutes or something. And while that doesn’t always guarantee a better version of a film, maybe it will indeed be the case with Scream 4. Scenes didn’t flow smoothly from one to the next, and many famous actors – chiefly Mary McDonnell – were sinfully underutilized. I mean, is there a whole storyline involving Sidney’s aunt that got chopped and left on the cutting room floor? Here I thought that Aunt Kate would turn out, yep, to be Sidney’s birth mother and that this revelation would play a huge role in the third act, and ground us in what’s been at stake for Sid all along: a sense of family, belonging, and purpose. Instead, we get an inane plot involving Cousin Jill that – while admittedly fresh in its exploration of heroines versus villains – was stale in its execution and logic. I didn’t buy her reasoning, or the whole ending of the film, for even a second. In one pivotal scene before the end credits, Sidney, Gale, and the killer face off and share a “Clear” moment in a hospital room. Woefully, while diehard fans shouldn’t steer “clear,” per say, of checking out Scream 4, they should remain (Cotton) weary of their expectations. I walked out of the theater not digging my nails into my palms, but shrugging. What a buzz kill.

*2 out of 5 stars*

For other opinions, check out three reviews at Camp Blood:

http://campblood.org/Newblog/

or Fangoria's review at:

http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4142:scream-4-film-review&catid=50:movies-tv&Itemid=181