Movie Review: Scream 4 (2011)
Summary: Sidney Prescott is visited again by the Ghostface Killer.
Spoilers: none
Scream 4 begins with “Sidney Prescott” (Neve Campbell) who, after ten years of doing well for herself writing self-help books, comes home to Woodsboro for the last stop of her book tour. Touching base with “Sheriff Dewey” (David Arquette) and “Gale” (Courtney Cox) who are now married, she finds her cousin, “Jill” (Emma Roberts) and “Aunt Kate” (Mary McDonnell).
But it is the return of Ghostface that will put Sidney and her entire town in peril. Directed by Wes Craven, it should be a surprise to no one that Scream 4 follows suit in being a relentless philosophical parody of horror movies that many viewers will come in expecting. But if you haven’t seen the previous 3 movies and don’t know what to expect, don’t expect much.
This pointless picture simply doesn’t need to exist, and despite being well-acted and ably put together, loses all interest before 10 minutes in with its heavily worn and played-upon self-deprecating horror movie trivia, bizarre screams, and psycho-masked killer routines. By 12-minutes in, the audience is still being subjected to talk about horror movies and getting prank calls.
There are some cheap thrills here to go with some clever story development, but it’s the sadistically intelligent dialog and script that make it just watch-able for those interested. This is all for naught, however, as the movie is essentially a purposeless exercise and a ridiculous thrill in reminiscence of the last film some thirteen years back.
But if you were a fan of the earlier Scream movies, you’ll for sure like this one. Two stars for the underpowered and unwanted (and for me, profoundly boring) Scream 4.
(JH)
Grade: C- (2 stars)
Rated: R (for strong bloody violence, language, and some teen drinking)
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: “The Voice” (voice) (Roger Jackson), “Sherrie” (Lucy Hale), “Trudie” (Shenae Grimes), “Ghostface” (Dane Farwell), “Rachel” (Anna Paquin), “Chloe” (Kristen Bell), “Sidney Prescott” (Neve Campbell), “Rebecca Walters” (Alison Brie), “Dewey Riley” (David Arquette), “Gale Weathers-Riley” (Courteney Cox)
Genre: Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Trailer
Summary: Sidney Prescott is visited again by the Ghostface Killer.
Spoilers: none
But it is the return of Ghostface that will put Sidney and her entire town in peril. Directed by Wes Craven, it should be a surprise to no one that Scream 4 follows suit in being a relentless philosophical parody of horror movies that many viewers will come in expecting. But if you haven’t seen the previous 3 movies and don’t know what to expect, don’t expect much.
This pointless picture simply doesn’t need to exist, and despite being well-acted and ably put together, loses all interest before 10 minutes in with its heavily worn and played-upon self-deprecating horror movie trivia, bizarre screams, and psycho-masked killer routines. By 12-minutes in, the audience is still being subjected to talk about horror movies and getting prank calls.
There are some cheap thrills here to go with some clever story development, but it’s the sadistically intelligent dialog and script that make it just watch-able for those interested. This is all for naught, however, as the movie is essentially a purposeless exercise and a ridiculous thrill in reminiscence of the last film some thirteen years back.
But if you were a fan of the earlier Scream movies, you’ll for sure like this one. Two stars for the underpowered and unwanted (and for me, profoundly boring) Scream 4.
(JH)
Grade: C- (2 stars)
Rated: R (for strong bloody violence, language, and some teen drinking)
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: “The Voice” (voice) (Roger Jackson), “Sherrie” (Lucy Hale), “Trudie” (Shenae Grimes), “Ghostface” (Dane Farwell), “Rachel” (Anna Paquin), “Chloe” (Kristen Bell), “Sidney Prescott” (Neve Campbell), “Rebecca Walters” (Alison Brie), “Dewey Riley” (David Arquette), “Gale Weathers-Riley” (Courteney Cox)
Genre: Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Trailer
Comments
Post a Comment