Erin Blatney
Staff Writer
The Ghostface killer is back with a vengeance in Wes Craven’s newest installment to the Scream franchise, Scream 4. With tons of edge-of-your-seat scenes and blood galore, it is the perfect slasher film for today’s generation.
Craven, the man behind the three other Scream movies, takes Scream 4 back to where it all started: the small town of Woodsboro, 10 years after the original killer began his spree. Main character Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell, returns to her hometown on a book tour and her presence sets off a string of murders around the town by the notorious Ghostface.
No time is wasted when it comes to gore, and barely 10 minutes in, two girls are killed and Sidney seems to be the target again when a cell phone, covers from her new book and a bloody knife show up in the trunk of her car. The news of the murders spread quickly and Sidney’s cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts), reveals that she received a threatening call from Ghostface.
Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) quickly takes over the investigation as his wife, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), tries to use the murders as a way to shoot her back to fame. As usual in the Scream movies, the police have trouble catching the elusive Ghostface and the result is the death of eight characters before the killer is revealed in an unexpected plot twist. The death scenes spare no gory details and the death of one of the characters, Olivia (Marielle Jaffe), is particularly gruesome.
While the movie does not lack blood and guts, it does lack plot. Scream 4 is basically the same as the first three movies; Sidney shows up, people die, killer seeks some sort of vengeance against her, and Sidney comes out victorious. Arquette, Cox and Campbell are all returning actors, but most of the cast is people we have not seen in the franchise before. With the abundance of actors, such as Hayden Panettiere, Adam Brody, Kristen Bell and Anna Paquin, it feels like the creators are trying to make up for the recycled plot by throwing in all these new faces.
There are individual performances outshining the rest, however. Campbell is able to easily pick up the part of the troubled and tough Sidney and it is almost scary how well Roberts played the role of victimized teen.
Scream 4 is not as good as the original, but it is not a bad movie. I was definitely nervous throughout it and desperately trying to figure out who the killer was, just like the movie characters. There were parts where I nearly jumped out of my seat, parts where I laughed and parts where I could not believe the stupidity of the victims. It is pretty much your typical scary movie, but with a revamped killer.
A sure sign of the “new” Ghostface is the fact the deaths of the characters were recorded so they could be uploaded to the Internet. In a time when the Internet and webcams play a huge part in peoples’ lives, this Ghostface is certainly the Ghostface of our generation.
If you are into scary movies and are not necessarily looking for an award-winning plot, Scream 4 is perfect. Just make sure you do not mind blood and the occasional corny line from the cast.
Grade: B-
