THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Scream was a standout horror film in the 90s, but fell into the trap of a bad sequel like the slasher films before it. So when the third wheel split audiences, audiences begged for it to return in order for it to have the chance of a better send off. 11 years later, we got a vast improvement.
PLOT
Scream 4 shows Sidney Prescott return to her hometown Woodsboro to promote her self help book. Gale Weathers resides there as well with her husband Sheriff Dewey Riley, but is lacking inspiration to write a new book. Hollywood has even continued making more movies for the Stab franchise, up to 7 films at this point. 15 years have gone by since the original Woodsboro Massacre and sadly, the terror of Ghostface (Roger Jackson) strikes again as teenagers Marnie (Britt Robertson) and Jenny (Aimee Teegarden) have been recently killed. Sidney is considered a suspect when evidence is found in her rental car. It gets worse when her cousin Jill Roberts and neighbor Olivia Morris (Marielle Jaffe) get threatening phone calls from the same killer. At night, Sidney stays over with Jill and her mother Kate (Mary McDonnell). The murder spree continues when Ghostface kills Olivia next door. Sidney and Jill attempt to save her, but the killer wounds them both before fleeing. Even after this, Sidney's publicist Rebecca is killed as well. Due to these recent events, Gale decides to do her own investigation on it. She convinces high school movie fanatics Charlie and Robbie (Erik Knudsen) to give her insight when agreeing to bring Sidney along the next club meeting. The following morning, she comes through with her promise and both teens explain that the recent murders are being done in the act of a remake, whereas each kill is related to Stab, while also filming them like Robbie’s live streams. Sidney requests for them to cancel their watch party of Stab (Stab-a-thon) since the next kill will likely take place at a party, but the boys refuse because they know other teens will not do the same, especially on a weekend. Since Gale was not invited, she follows them and plants cameras at the party in hopes to catch the killer. She calls Dewey of what she’s doing in hopes to get help. This benefits her because when he gets there, he stops Ghostface from killing her, resulting in just a stab in the shoulder. However, the killer tends to target Sidney’s family after killing officers Hoss (Adam Brody) and Perkins (Anthony Anderson). He than calls the original final girl, hinting to go after Jill next. When she checks upstairs, she discovers that her cousin ditched the house to hang out with her friend Kirby Reed, since Dewey’s shootout with Ghostface cancelled the Stab-a-thon. Before Kate could join her, she is stabbed by the killer as well. At Kirby’s house, the girls are enjoying the company of Robbie & Charlie. Jill’s ex boyfriend Trevor (Nico Tortorella) joins them after allegedly getting an invitation by Jill herself. Robbie walks around the neighborhood drunk, only to be the next victim of Ghostface. When Sidney arrives, they find Robbie’s body and get chased by the killer. Jill hides upstairs and they lock themselves inside, only for Charlie to be attacked and tied up. When Kirby tries to save him, he reveals himself to be Ghostface by stabbing her. When Sidney looks for Jill upstairs, she doesn’t find her. But when she encounters Charlie, Jill reveals herself to be his partner. She kills Trevor after originally tying him up, planning to frame him as the perpetrator. She then kills Charlie to be labeled as sole survivor, framing him as Trevor’s accomplice. She is doing this out of jealousy of Sidney’s unexpected fame. So after she stabs her cousin, she finishes mutilating herself to make the crime scene appear as authentic as possible. When the authorities and media reporters arrive, she is treated as the victim she’s pretending to be. At the hospital, Jill jokes with Dewey that she would write a book with Gale over their matching wounds. She then becomes surprised to hear from the sheriff that Sidney is still alive and just when he leaves, she gets up to finish her off. When Dewey checks on Gale, she deduces Jill is the mastermind off of her remark of matching wounds. Luckily, they get to Sid’s room in time before her cousin could finish her. When she has their attention, he knocks out Dewey with a bedpan and takes his gun. She tries to shoot Gale, but she is protected by Deputy Judy Hicks. When she surrenders, the officer gets shot in the chest, but it has no effect as she had a vest under her uniform. Gale distracts Jill long enough for Sidney to incapacitate her with a defibrillator and fatally shoot her in the chest. The film ends with the media still considering the villain a hero, unaware of what really happened.
THOUGHTS
After watching the original trilogy, I knew that I wasn't gonna hesitate checking out the most recent entry at the time. So after getting around it, I find myself satisfied that Wes Craven was able to make such a good film before he passed away. He reunites with writer Kevin Williamson to bring fresh air in the new era of horror that was the 2010s. It made sense for this one to come out during an era where Hollywood was living off of remaking classics rather than coming with original content. Satirizing the current motive of the industry really fit the tone that the franchise regularly goes for. They even go a little further calling out the public's obsession with fame. You obviously would've not gotten that without this film's Ghostface, Jill Roberts. While Rory Culkin showed Charlie as one nostalgically obsessed with Stab, actress Emma Roberts plays the baddest bitch she'll ever play. It is clear that this role led to the multiple roles she would play in American Horror Story because she is that good at being bad. Jill will be her most memorable role because she just shocks you on how far she'll go to be at the top. Seeing the physical pain she put herself through in hopes to succeed was the most frightening scene for me because that is commitment that is just beyond anything I would ever see. And the fact that she still got what she wanted, the only villain in the series to succeed, is pretty crazy. Going into the rest of the cast, my favorite from the batch of new characters is gonna be Kirby. I had a soft spot for her because Hayden Panettiere makes her just as much of a quick witted cinephile like Randy Meeks. Thank god the fifth film confirmed her survival because she was too good of a character to bite the dust. Alison Brie surprised me as well playing Rebecca. She was basically a modern equivalent of what a young Gale would act, just pure selfish throughout. Now Judy Hicks isn't exactly a memorable character compared to the others, but Marley Shelton does her best to make her so. She comes off too strong to those around her, but at least she has good intentions in the long run. Of course we wouldn't make it this far without the original trio that make each entry watchable. Neve Campbell is back as a brand new Sidney. She appears to put the past behind her after the trilogy of events she went through, but whenever terror returns, she ain't gonna stand by for long, which is the best thing about her. Despite being scared deep down, she refuses to let that stop her from doing what she thinks is necessary. This balance of being afraid and fearless she represents is just so intriguing to notice. It is a shame that she goes through another death in the family, but at least she still has the people that were there from the beginning, her only family now. Since David Arquette and Courteney Cox were actually married during the production of this film, their chemistry was the most realistic. Dewey is more overprotective than ever because he refuses to lose those he cares about, while Gale takes from Sid where letting it happen as is is not an option. She lost her mojo and knows that investigating is this unlikely calling for her. So seeing her be involved with this mayhem was her blessing in disguise because she refuses to be left out at helping others. Even though this sequel holds up, there were still things that hold it back from being on par with the first two. For starters, why in the hell would Hollywood even dare to continue making more Stab films after the disaster Stab 3 went through? I mean that is pretty disturbing that money is important than morality. I don’t want to cal Jill or Charlie weak but are they really strong enough to throw Marnie’s body in through a glass door? If they’re that strong, they should look a little swollen. I also keep wondering why would Maureen continue crawling away from Ghostface when he stopped chasing her? If she was such a fan of Stab, she should've tried rolling. In a small community like Woodsboro, I’m appalled that Kirby appears to have never gotten a speeding ticket, especially by Dewey. She doesn’t even try to slow down when passing by his house and that was not smart of her. The most random continuity error that creeped me out was how when Gale is on her computer, there’s one frame showing two pieces of toast and another shows three. There’s no point showing off the toast if we’re not gonna see Gale eat it. And how did Trevor get past the cops? I mean I don't think that was a risk worth taking no matter how much he loves her because he was worsening his image. I don’t even hate it like Trevor anyway, but it was kinda dumb when he compares Sidney to Jeffrey Dahmer. Sidney is a victim for crying out loud and her kills were self defense. I swear that comparison made no damn sense. Speaking of which, I found it odd how Sid didn’t even tip Hicks about Trevor sneaking in. I know he’s not Ghostface, but that is literally something Billy, so she should be a little more concerned. I was even losing my shit with the fact that Olivia's mom ditched her with her boyfriend. There is a goddamn killer out there and she ditches her daughter to get laid. Talk about bad parenting because we don't even see her and I hate her. I honestly didn't care about Rebecca at all, but she could've just kept driving instead of ditching the car, or even honk when another car passed her. The one mistake Dewey makes was not making a mandatory curfew because had he done that, the Stab-a-thon would've not happened and it would've been more challenging to for Ghostface to continue the plan. I'm also confused of how Gale convinced Sid to attend the club meeting. She doesn't seem to watch horror movies after what happened to her. And in all honesty, Sid should've not answered the phone before the climax. She should know it's bad luck to answer the phone during a murder spree. Another big question I wonder is how did Ghostface even know Gale would sneak in Stab-a-thon or at the very least spot her. I get these two are supposed to be ahead of the plan, but I'm lost on that. I also wonder why didn’t Kate mention the cops were missing as she brought in the groceries. She should’ve not waited until Sidney got concerned. I mean she doesn’t even know Jill is Ghostface, so she should be times more concerned for her daughter than the lead protagonist. I'm even more confused of how Kirby picked up Jill so quietly? It is possible she did it after the cops died, unbeknownst to her, but I don't buy Sid being that gullible. The dumbest thing about Charlie though is that he puts on Stab 7 when Stab-a-thon didn’t even get there yet before Dewey’s shootout with Ghostface. So at the very least, he should’ve resumed where the first one left off or just one the second one. And Jill should've just double tapped Sid to avoid any risks. If she really wanted her gone for good, she should've done that. I mean it's not like she didn't watch Stab. Lastly, how would she frame someone else for Sid’s death in the hospital? This may be an act of desperation, but for plotting so much up to this point, she should’ve thought it through on how she would get away with it. However I do think once you put those cons all aside, you’ll still be having a good time. To wrap up, Scream 4 is a good continuation for the entertaining meta slasher franchise. If you enjoyed the original trilogy, I’m certain you’ll have a ball with this too.
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