Fifteen years ago, director Wes Craven took the horror genre through the ringer with the original “Scream.” Since then, so much and so little has happened to this genre that it was inevitable someone would do the same.
The original cast members are back and play their roles to the hilt. None of them allow themselves to fall prey to becoming more relatable characters. The same characters that Sidney, Gale and Dewey have been all along, remain intact.
It is a blessing that Craven and original writer Kevin Williamson do the honors. Taking a decade off from the original trilogy, Craven and Williamson gained a whole new style of horror to both live up to and satirize.
After a decade that established the “torture porn” subgenre and has included more horror remakes than can be effectively counted, it is fantastic to see the conventions shaken by a master.
The opening does an amazing job of setting the mood for this film. The style of the original as well as most horror films that came after is cleverly prodded.
Once “Scream 4″ gets moving it does not let up, throwing in every genre cliché that has been created and overused. The film has moments that feel derivative, but the fun is in how well the characters know and react to that.
This is easily the bloodiest of the franchise, but it is completely necessary to properly gain box office numbers as well as skewer the films that set up this escalation in the first place.
Just as in the original trilogy, there is a large amount of talking about rules that are then not followed by the cast.
This technique works very well to get into the audience’s head, since everyone who has seen a healthy amount of horror flicks knows these trends. Yet, would any of us act any differently in those situations?
Watching someone who does not know to not run up the stairs or utter, “I’ll be right back” can be fun. Watching two characters have a discussion about these topics then fall prey to the very fate they just discussed can be a… Scream.
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