Review By: James
Its hard not to wonder if this is really necessary. I mean, the original Scream was pretty awesome. It took the piss out the whole history of horror and won. It was smart, it was funny and perhaps best of all Drew Barrymore gets gutted like a fish 15 minutes in. (Seriously, its the only way to get her to shut up.) But just like any slasher film that does pretty well, you have to find a way to turn it into a sequel, and then a trilogy, and if you can, just keep going. And going and going. I think they just made SAW 7 last year. SEVEN! How crazy is that? Crazier still, that cash cow has grossed something like $800 million dollars, but proves that if you suck on a teet long enough, eventually all that's going to come out is puss.
So despite the let downs of the two previous Scream sequels, someone in Hollywood who gets paid to come up with new and exciting cinema ideas suggested "Its the ten year anniversary of the first film, so what about....wait for it... Scream 4" and after some awkward silence, Bob Weinstein shat his pants at the idea and the money he could make. And he would not be alone. The other man to shit himself with excitement in that meeting was the agent of David Arquette's, who realised, for the first time in a long time, that he could finally call David and offer him something other than a WWE SMACKDOWN event.
And there is the story of how Scream 4 got made. (Please do not wikipedia that. It'll only be embarrassing for you.) But that's not the point, the point is that all your favourites from the Scream trilogy are back!! Sidney, Dewey, Monica from friends and of course.... Ghostface Killer!
No not that one.
This one.
And he has the same lust for the sweet, sweet blood of cheerleaders. (But seriously, who doesn't?) Neve Cambell is also back as Sidney Prescot, still angry at herself for doing Wild Things, she returns to her home town of Woodsboro as a writer, a decade after the killings stopped to promote her book, and lo and behold, the murderous rampage start AGAIN. Oopsy!! Why didn't you just stay away Neve? Why? Oh you did. For ages. Weren't you even in an episode of Medium? It looked heaps like you hey.
Anyway, it looks like Sidney herself is the main suspect which means David "God darnit I'm just so perpetually confused" Arquette has to try and sort out this bloody mess. The town gets suspicious of Sidney from here on its its pretty much back to formula from here, (stab, stab, twist, red herring!! stab, cute outfit! joke, stab, TWIST) but director Wes Craven keeps it smart enough and funny enough to make sure that we don't descend into the complete shlock of the last two movies.
Did I laugh? TICK.
Did I squirm uncomfortably? TICK.
What more can a slasher film ask? (Apart from maybe "Did you get a boner?" Ummm. gross. That’s disgusting I can't believe you even asked me that.)
In the end, there is so much self-referential stuff and nodding humour that the whole thing is kind of a clever commentary on not just modern horror films, but Hollywood, and the use of violence as exploitation. Either that, or its just an excuse to see pretty Emma Roberts getting blood all over her brand new sweater.
SIDENOTE - I'm just not sure how hard it would be to solve this crime anyway. Did you see the knife the killers wielding? You can't just buy that shit at Barbeques Galore. That's not the sort of blade mum has in her Wiltshire block. That's a top of the range, super pricey chefs knife. It slices through small intestine like warm butter. Your first step in the investigation would be simply locking up all the head chefs in Woodsboro. They're your prime suspects, that ought to stop the slaughter. And even if it doesn't, it’s no great loss. The food there is TERRIBLE.
STARS: 3.5 Stars
SUMMARY: Better than the last two
WHO SHOULD SEE IT: Cheerleaders, Chefs, David Arquette fans
RELEASE DATE: In Cinemas Now
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