20150501: Horror Review--Scream 4

Scream 4

1. Fundamentals.
1. Title: Scream 4
2. IMDb: Users rated this 6.2/10 (93,033 votes)
3. Rotten Tomatoes:
   58% liked it of 173 critics
   55% of users liked it of 75,607 ratings
   Critics Consensus:  The franchise is showing its age, but Scream 4 is undeniably an improvement over its predecessor, with just enough meta humor and clever kills.


4. Status: Released
5. Release date: 2011-04-11
6. Production Companies: Dimension Films
7. Tagline: New Decade. New Rules.


8. Budget:  40,000,000 USD
9. Revenue: 97,138,686 USD
10. Runtime: 111 minutes.
11. Genres: Horror, Mystery


12. Directed by: Wes Craven.  Written by: Kevin Williamson.


13. Starring: Emma Roberts as Jill Kessler, Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed, Adam Brody as Detective Hoss, Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers-Riley, Rory Culkin as Charlie Walker, Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, Mary McDonnell as Kate Kessler, David Arquette as Sheriff Dwight 'Dewey' Riley, Anthony Anderson as Detective Perkins, Erik Knudsen as Robbie, Marielle Jaffe as Olivia Morris, Nico Tortorella as Trevor Sheldon, Roger L. Jackson as The Voice (voice), Justin Michael Brandt as Film Geek, Nancy O'Dell as TV Host, Dredan McFall as Cocky Student, Marley Shelton as Judy Hicks, Alison Brie as Rebecca Walters, Lucy Hale as Sherrie Marconi, Shenae Grimes as Trudie Harrold, Anna Paquin as Rachel, Kristen Bell as Chloe, Britt Robertson as Marnie Cooper


14. TMDb overview: Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney's appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.


2. Setup and Plot


1. Threads, 1.  The high school group (Jill, Kirby, Trevor, Olivia, Robbie, Charlie) will inevitably stumble over each other while dealing with the slasher.  The Stab-a-thon was quite an opportunity for stumbling.


2. Threads, 2.  The older crew (Gale, Dewey, Sidney, Judy) still have some unresolved issues after ten years.  Gale's books spawned the Stab x films, which were roughly about Sidney's life.  In response, Sidney has re-invented herself as an author, but the return home poses some contention.  Dewey and Gale are together, but for how long, given Deputy Judy's presence?


3. Threads, 3.  Just who is the slasher this time?  Will we get a full resolution, or is another sequel in the works?


4. Threads, 4.  How far will the screenwriters go in heightening the 'meta' experience? Apparently pretty far, considering the meeting Gale and Sydney had with the school film club.  That was hardly the end of the wallowing, unfortunately.


3. Conclusions
1. It was wonderful to see a great-looking, fine-sounding film done by professionals who chose a cast of real actors.


2. On the other hand, there was enough boring self-referential bovine scatology (er, 'meta') to last a decade.


3. The series is showing its age, all right.  The same gag has been done too many times.


4. I did like the bit with Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell, but that was the acting, not the meta.


5. One line summary: Sidney Prescott returns home; bad things start happening. 


6. Eight of ten


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 Very good.


2. Sound: 10/10 Outstanding.


3. Acting: 7/10  Emma Roberts, Neve Campbell, and Courteney Cox were excellent. David Arquette and Anthony Anderson I could have done without.  Marley Shelton did 'creepy classmate' rather well.  


4. Screenplay: 4/10 The writing skills were clearly present, with plenty of wit and intelligence.  However, because of the constant harping on the meta theme, the result was mixed, to the point where the superior production values were blunted.