Waaaay back in 2011, Wes Craven released his long-awaited follow-up to Scream 3. The trailer and advertising seemed to promise a passing of the torch of sorts to a new generation, as well as new rules and new commentary for the "current" state of horror. I was in my Sohpomore year in college when Scr4m (as it was stylized in advertising) was released. I was excited, and had binged the previous three films to prepare. I left the theater disappointed, but not totally let down. I've re-visited Scream 4 multiple times in an attempt to see what some love about it, but my opinion has more-or-less remained the same. Below, in preparation for my 5cream review, you can find my thoughts on Scream 4 after my most recent viewing August 2020.
Scream 4 is easily the most cynical of the Scream films, and it approaches it's outlook on modern horror and millennials with a mixture of confusion and contempt. The large amount of new characters are used purely as kill fodder (such a missed opportunity). The killers this time around are likely the best since the first Scream, and this 4th-quel is the bloodiest, goriest, and most brutal outing yet. The returning characters are all great as well (Dewey in particular impresses, as does Sidney). Unfortunately, this film looks like shit (the cinematography by Peter Deming makes the film appear to be consistently bright, glare-y, and whited out). There are good, clever moments throughout but as a whole Scream 4 doesn't really impress. In the end, there are some things to recommend here but overall Scream 4 is very uneven and not all that memorable. At least it's better than Scream 3, I guess.
So in the end, even Wes Craven had difficulty making a Scream film that could live up to the first two outings. Tune in next time to see if the latest attempt left Wes rolling in his grave.
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