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I want to start off by saying
that I love the Scream franchise all together. Scream one rejuvenated the horror genre and made it more
accessible to the general public. Each Scream release has had a certain amount of unique appeal to keep
them interesting and still fresh - even though the basic outline was the same.
Scream 4 follows Sidney Prescott (played by Neve Campbell) as she returns to her hometown in Woodsboro after
ten years as part of her book tour. I loved how the entire (surviving) cast returns, I hate when
movies replace certain actors because of scheduling conflicts or personal reasons – so the fact that Neve Campbell,
David Arquette (Deputy Dewey Riley) and Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) all returned was a major plus.
In fact, Wes Craven (Director) and Kevin Williamson (Writer) return as well. It
is extremely rare to have all of the original cast and crew to return in a horror sequel – and this is the fourth installment.
On top of the returning cast, a fresh new cast is introduced. This was primarily for the new generation
of Scream watchers. Emma Roberts (Sidney’s cousin), Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin…
the list goes on and on, but I highly enjoyed the new cast. But I do feel that there
may have been one too many cast members to keep up with… and there were a few useless characters that we could have
done without.
Character development took a backseat in
this installment. In Scream one, Deputy Dewey was an immature twenty-something deputy who lacked experience
in the work field and life in general. I loved how his character evolved in Scream 2, he showed more emotion
and actually had a serious outtake on life – and this was visually seen through his limp (because of being stabbed
in part one). But… his limp seemed to disappear in Scream 4, and he was back to his inexperienced
and immature ways. I would love to see a fully mature, fully adapted Deputy Dewey will a full beard and
a set of grey hairs… but instead we get that creepy guy who likes to return to his high school to hit on younger chicks.
The beginning sequence, without giving anything away --- is too comedic for this movie. They set
the silly undertone very early in this one, and it lingers for the entire movie – even though it was slightly more serious
than Scream 3. I would love to see Sidney Prescott in the opening sequence – because everyone knows
that the actor/actress seen in the beginning always dies. And even though it is obvious that she doesn’t
die in the beginning, it would have been a fresh new twist to this growing franchise.
The movie as a whole… it was still fun. Did it need to get made? No.
Am I glad it was made? Sure. I don’t feel it damaged the Scream name in
any way, in fact it may help it in the long run by introducing it to a brand new younger audience that will most likely go
back and watch the originals. It’s better than re-making the first one.
The Bottom Line: I loved that the original cast was
back, and the introduction of new younger characters was a plus, but there may have been one too many characters and possible
suspects. The cheesy script that was oozing out of Scream 3 was less visible, but it still had its moments
– such as the first five minutes. I would have actually liked the movie a little more if it ended
fifteen minutes earlier than it actually did – if you’ve seen the movie you’d know what I’m talking
about. I still recommend it, but you may want to rent it first.
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