Scream 4 (Part 1 of 2)

Scream 4 (Part 1 of 2)

Surprisingly this fourth installment is actually pretty entertaining.  It is way better than Scream 3, but not as good as the first one.  Right now, I would say S4 is slightly better than S2.  Just when you thought the Scream movies couldn’t be more Meta, this one pushes that even more than the all of them.  Most of the surviving cast from the first movie show up for this one, as well as a whole new cast of players.

New murders in the form of the Ghost Face Killer are happening again with a whole new set of young people getting killed.  Everyone is a suspect.  You know, the same old thing. 

First thing is first, yes Neve Campbell does that teary-eyed thing she’s famous for, but it still works.  She’s looking very cute even at her age.  And, yes, I still have a huge crush on her with those teary-eyes. 

From the multi-openings, you already know that the characters are self-aware of all the horror tropes and clichés.  Sometimes the clichés happen and the characters comment on them, when other times they don’t notice them.  (Such as the locker closing to reveal someone behind it, and then a character comments on the same cliché within the film they’re watching.)  As I stated before, the multi-opening is amusing because all actors are doing it with a tongue in cheek manner.  They comment on the silliness of the long drawn out movie series (Stab, the series within the Scream universe).  It almost feels like they’re making fun of their own series while taking jabs at the Friday 13^th series as well.  This stuff worked, which was something missing from the third movie. 

And, this Scream movie is clearly focused on making fun of the “remake” craze from the 2000s with all the horror movies getting reboots and remakes.  In a manner of speaking, this movie is a type of remake/reboot because there is a completely new cast of young teenagers introduced.  Sidney and the rest of the older cast members are now the adults.

The characters have grown and changed, but they’ve come full circle with younger versions of themselves following them around. 

Sidney Prescott:  She is now a writer.  She writes in a form of self help books for victims and is very successful at it.  She is clearly the seasoned adult that’s been there and done that.  She is more clearly defined here than in S3.  However, she really isn’t the center of the movie, as the Ghost Face killer states. 

Gale Weathers-Riley:  Now, she is married to Dewey.  Her books aren’t selling anymore and she’s a stay at home wife.  She keeps trying to write a new book, but doesn’t get around to it.  Because of the new murders, she finds her new spark.  What is interesting is the manner in which Sidney and her work well together.  There isn’t much conflict and they go about actively trying to stop the murders.

Dewey Riley:  He is the new Sheriff of the town.  Remember when he was just a deputy?  It is interesting to see how things come full circle with Dewey now calling the shots.  He is the cliché sheriff today.   

And, the new cast is reflections of the characters from the first movie.

Kirby Reed: She is the film geek that is fully aware of all the clichés.  Hayden Panettiere is a little bit too old to be playing a high school girl, but she is very charming as Kirby.  I like the looks from Hayden that tells you either that she is a good or bad guy.

Jill Roberts:  She is the “Sidney” of this movie. 

Deputy Judy Hicks:  She is a creepy version of Dewey from the first movie. 

And, the theme of this movie “remaking” the first movie is working on a surface level with the younger characters. 

 Save the Cheerleader save the franchise.  Yes, that's the Heroes chick with a Justin Bieber haircut.  

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Yes, this was her reaction when she discover her marriage was over.