Showing posts with label Wes Craven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wes Craven. Show all posts

4/20/11

Review - Scream 4

Don't Fuck With The Original
(Or, What Exactly Is The Problem Here)


Warning: Major Spoilers Below

A quick sojourn through The October Country's posts from the past couple weeks should indicate to anybody reading this, that we here at TOC are big fans of Kevin Willaimson's / Wes Craven's meta, modern day take on the horror genre (or more specifically, the slasher sub-genre). Certainly, our love for the series is going to shade our review with a degree of bias opinions.
There is no denying the fact that we are those big dorky fans that literally counted down the days leading up to Scream 4's release and then promptly waited impatiently in the theater lobby 90 minutes before the film's pre-premier midnight screening We are the type of fans for which there was to be no waiting any longer than need be to experience this sucker as we'd already been waiting for over a decade to return to this world, for crying out loud. Trust me when I say, we simply couldn't put it off one more day.

We had in equal number, so many hopes (detailed here) and apprehension and reservations (here) leading up to the big unveil. We were mildly hoping for another masterpiece (Scream is arguably a masterpiece and Scream 2 is one of the worthiest successors in genre history) yet we were not getting our hopes up, lest our expectations set the bar so high for 4 that no manner of its awesomeness could please us. As far as our doubts are concerned, we prayed that it at least be better than Scream 3. After a decade away from the franchise, a new era of studio horror "films" (recycled, rebooted, remade, ripped off retreads) mucking up the landscape, the mainstream slasher genre essentially put to bed, Wes Craven's previous film being the mangled turkey that was My Soul To Keep and Kevin Williamson's horror output being confined to teenybopper small screen endeavors (The Vampire Diaries and soon The Secret Circle) in addition to Williamson leaving the project midway through production, script rewrites, recasting and the meddlesome nature that is the Weinsteins, being better than Scream 3 seemed like the most that we could realistically hope for.


Right off the bat I'll tell you that thankfully, it is better than Scream 3, so a travesty of those proportions were averted. But what of it's other merits, or lack thereof? Turns out we had to see the film two more times to make up our minds. It's not as though we didn't enjoy Scream 4 by any stretch of the imagination. To the contrary, we had a blast right from the get go. A regular 'ol screaming and laughing, armrest-clenching blast. However, I became aware 20 minutes before the film started of something peculiar going on inside of me. Gone were my everyday pretensions and trademark cynicism that gets me through life (and much of what Hollywood produces). Save for the aforementioned worrying that Scream 4 wouldn't measure up, I was uncharacteristically overexcited and giddy as if I was 15 again (my age when the first film debuted). I realized that for the first time in eons, I was about to watch a film as a eager fanboy first, and a critic second. So, it is this reason that I felt as though additional viewings were required before I officially committed any thoughts down, and those thoughts are as follows.

Picking up 10 years after the conclusion of Scream 3, we return to Woodsboro (the scene of the first film's now famous slaughters), a town that proves the more things change, the more they stay the same. Dewey Riley (David Arquette) once deputy of the small hamlet has now been graduated to sheriff and not only has he staffed his department with equally bumbling and incompetent lawmen (Adam Brody, Anthony Anderson and Marley Shelton) but he's gone and finally made an honest woman (after three films of on again off again romantic struggles) out of the now terminally-bored-as-a-housewife-in-a-small-town Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox, I feel ya girl). Into Woodsboro's relative facade of tranquility enters Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), harbinger of death and destruction arriving like a black thunderstorm on the horizon (not really, she pulls up in a modest, efficient rental but you know what I mean) , or as one character aptly refers to her, "the angel of death". Coinciding with Sid's return to her hometown, a new rash of killings break out that finds not only the core trio back in harms way of Ghostface's blade and pithily humorous threats (or positively bone chilling at times, Ghostface this time around, is not mincing words "I'm going to slice your eyelids open so you don't blink when I stab you in the face") , but also Sidney's remaining estranged family; Aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell, absolutely wasted) her younger cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) and Jill's high school pals. If the film's dialogue is to be believed (yet, the action falls sadly short of illustrating in most cases), Sidney has yet again awoken a masked madman (or men) hellbent on "remaking" the first "movie" (aka Stab, Scream's film-within-a-film counterpart, based on the "real life" killings from Gale's trashy tell all book The Woodsboro Murders, itself a recount of Scream's fictional world, phwew). A psychopath that won't stop until everyone Sydney cares about is taken from her and in short, she suffers dearly and suffers greatly. Terminally so.


Right out of the gate, Scream 4 announces itself as a film so hyper-aware of itself, so deconstructive of it's trappings, that it seesaws dangerously close from beginning to end into tipping over into outright analysis and fading away as a film. Mirroring the real life (really real life this time) hallway of smoke and mirrors that Craven, Williamson and co. sent fans down prior to its release (feeding us false plot information such as Scream 4 being the beginning of an entirely new trilogy wherein the torch would be passed from the original characters onto Jill and her surviving friends, effectively throwing everybody off their game and fucking with their expectations of the film's intent and final denouement), Scream 4's opening moments are likewise a magic trick that continuously keeps disappearing down it's own rabbit hole (or possibly emerging from it, depending on how you look at it). In essence though, the prologue is stating that what follows is going to be a series of bait and switches that toys with what audiences thought that they were in for (like a set of Russian dolls, Stab 6 begets Stab 7 which begets...dum da da dum, Scream 4) which as it turns out, is only the first in a multitude of this entry's incredibly intriguing story ideas and plot concepts that perhaps worked better on paper than they do in execution. Or rather, this particular version of its execution (being aware of the alleged, initial 2 hours and 20 minute running time makes reviewing the film and picking apart its script entirely frustrating). I mean, does that first trick, the one where we are meant to believe going into this thing, that Jill and her younger generation will inherit Scream's throne work on anybody other than the diehard fans that read Dimension Film's official plot synopsis and listened to what Craven and Williamson had to say about the film's new direction? I see no reason to think so. Likewise with the opening narrative trick. Does it work? Not entirely, not as a whole. Stab 6 moderately works as a tension filled 4 minute mini-movie with some amusing banter between Trudie (Shenae Grimes) and Sherrie (Lucy Hale) transpiring before the characters devolve into world where Scream apparently hasn't taken place and start doing very stupid, groan inducing things that as everyone knows, will surely be their doom (which is right around the point where you the viewer say "Hey wait a damn minute, these two are supposed to be the big celebrity kills?", the requisite tradition of the franchise's prologues). But then there is abrupt screaming and bloodshed and the opening moments end very suddenly and disappointingly until...gotcha, Stab 7 (unknowingly) takes its place. Okay, Kristen Bell (Chloe) and Anna Paquin (Rachel), now these two are celebrities and this is more like it. Except it's not. It's barely more than a slightly clever, blink-and-you-will-miss-it joke (with Paquin doing her usual over emoting of every line, I swear, how did this woman win an Oscar?) There is more biting analysis on the current state of the horror genre (over analysis in this case, or maybe it's just Paquin's delivery of the lines that makes them stick out like the blood spurting, thumb severed appendage that Ghostface just played with) before stab, scream, blood and...gotcha, Scream 4 (unknowingly) takes it's place accompanied to nervous laughter and no doubt furrowed brows from the audience. Enter Jenny Randall (Aimee Teegarden) and Marnie Cooper (Brittany Robertson), two pretty, blonde high school girls carrying on the same deconstructive conversation that the last four dead women had. Only this time, the action is the real action that is about to set off Scream 4's chain of events that will leave a pile of attractive dead bodies in its wake by films end. Action that begins and ends as suddenly as the previous two examples.


Though we all expect an awful lot of these scenes, I don't hate Scream 4's opening moments. Surely, its better than Scream 3's Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) Christine Hamilton (Kelly Rutherford) home invasion (lifeless, limp and bloodless in addition to a returning character like Cotton deserving a better orchestrated, more cleverly conceived sendoff). No, 4's opening lands somewhere slightly behind Scream 2's Jada Pinkett-Smith's / Omar Epps' theater slaughter. Like part 2's, it's fascinating in concept, but it works (sometimes) more as a clever gimmick instead of the emotionally draining roller coaster that the original Scream devised for Drew Barrymore. Which is a shame, because after a 10 year absence from movie screens, Scream 4 should have opened with something that went straight for our throats instead of our smart ass, know-it-all, wink wink funny bone. It's...underwhelming, considering the wait for it. This particular opening is called into further question when taking into account the original way it was conceived (like I said not moments ago, being aware of all that deleted footage is a bitch), the remnants of which can still be seen in the film's trailer, TV spots and film stills. Apparently, Marnie and Jenny's characters, or rather who took the lead in in the unfolding events, were initially reversed. Keeping in line with how nobody in Woodsboro (of their generation) treats Ghostface as anything other than a boogeyman to have fun with (scaring their friends and taunting their acquaintances with phone apps that recreate his signature voice, the second of Scream 4's brilliantly conceived yet go nowhere ideas), Marnie is none-to-impressed when after getting up from the couch to get some popcorn (breaking away from the released version's series of events that finds Jenny going upstairs), she is interrupted by the spectacle of Ghostface brutally stabbing her friend to death on the couch. She barely blinks, going about her business, making sarcastic comments as Jenny screams and bleeds and dies, thinking it is all just another joke that is being played on her. It isn't, obviously (culminating in the clip some may have seen on TV of Marnie lying on the floor, bloodied, croaking out "But your not real" before biting it). Perhaps we'll never know (unless it surfaces on DVD), but that sounds like hands down a helluva lot more disturbing opening that what was ultimately presented to us. Perhaps it was too thematically close to Scream 2's opening, wherein Maureen and Phil are murdered in plain sight of a crowded theater, but likewise, everyone witnessing the crime think it's nothing more than a gag. In a sequel about remakes and recreating past atrocities from the previous films though, I can't see why this would have given the makers pause. I mean, they could have really gotten meta on us there, recreating Scream's killings of Casey Becker and Steven Orth (another deleted scene that finds both Marnie and Jenny's bodies posed like Casey and Steve's; one hung from a ceiling fan, the other tied to a chair) and Scream 2's murders (thematically), which in turn were recreations of Scream's opening kills and copycatting Maureen Prescott's death, all the while, Stab is playing on the theater screen recreating Scream's opening crimes as well, throw in Stab 6 and Stab 7 as a prelude to all of this and....Jesus! I think my scalp just popped off in a hail of smoke and sparks and hit the ceiling trying to work my way through all of that. Unfortunately though, as with much of Scream 4, it comes just inches away from truly clever and falls short of its own potential in addition to going for the humor, instead of the shiver Which by the way, the movie continuously insists on doing at really awkward, inappropriate times (see Anthony Anderson's demise for example, surely the most disturbing death in the film...right up until the moment is ruined by a really cheap, really unfunny one liner, something that really shouldn't be a part of this world). Either way, what remains is still a relatively fun 10 minutes, the body count is up to six, the main titles flash across the screen and then we're off (again, for really real this time).


What follows for the remaining 90 some minutes, is an intriguing mess of ideas, characters, red herrings, murders and story threads that all carry with them the means to really go for the gusto and make something truly memorable of this sequel. Unfortunately, like the opening sequence (a microcosm of the entire film's faults boiled down to 10 minutes), they all race for the finish line, giving everything they got, then abruptly stop dead in their tracks feet from the goal and content themselves with staying there. As far as all of these million and one concepts and metaphors all getting juggled simultaneously by Scream 4's script, ultimately they all come crashing down by film's end, without any one of them having made a serious statement on the proceedings or lasting impression to mull over on the walk to your car.

First we have the idea of remakes. Though the movie gets in some wonderfully acidic jabs at the trend currently destroying mainstream horror films (Kirby's breathless, desperate reciting of every recent remake she can remember off of the top of her head is a show stopper, in both a hilarious bitch slap kinda way and tellingly sad statement on the state of affairs the genre finds itself in, and she didn't even list them all) but as far as the concept of Scream 4 itself being a remake (in both the killer's actions and the recreation of key scenes, moments and characters from the franchises' history), it only makes it halfway there. Given how the opening murder of Jenny and Marnie was changed at the last minute, it makes all the characters' proceeding dialogue about a killer "recreating" the original events of Woodsboro completely nonsensical and moot. We get what the filmmakers are trying to establish, so we go with it as viewers but need only pause for a second to realize that it's still all bunk. In fact, no actual recreation of anything on Ghostface's part occurs until the final reel, which finds Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) tied to a chair on a back patio (ala Steven Orth from Scream's opening moments), his life in the hands of Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere, taking over for Casey Becker in this instance) who must answer a series of horror trivia questions to save his life. Certainly, Ghostface does a lot of talking about how he is re-imagining events, but alas he (and the script) is all bark and no bite in this department. As far as the movie itself remaking it's original film, it's a bit more successful but outside of it's own self-satisfied assurance that it is hitting all the right marks (in reality, just barely), this new direction only manages to be nothing more than a series of mildly amusing yet wholly diverting winks to the series' hardcore fans; Kirby is unquestionably the re-imagined Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), Robbie Mercer (Erik Knudsen) and Charlie together are the re-imagined Randy Meeks (Jaime Kennedy), the entire floundering, inefficient police force is Dewey 2.0, the vaguely stalkerish, quietly menacing Trever Sheldon (Nico Tortorella, smoking hot, did I mention that?) is our new Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and so on. There is the new version of Billy and Sid's high school hallway confrontation from the original (and spoofed in the sequel with Luke Wilson and Tori Spelling) played out between Jill and Trevor. They also recreated the famous fountain side banter between the kids from part 1 (again, seen in the trailers), but apparently this was excised as well. They recreate the big party in the third reel, but again, this is another missed opportunity (c'mon guys, you got the creepiest barn this side of Halloween 5's Tower Farm, and a scarecrow version of Ghostface's mask created last year and you couldn't cook up something a bit more impressive). Billy and Stu Macher's (Matthew Lillard) kitchen stab-o-thon is recreated in the last act, and finally here is an instance where they almost recapture the same disturbing and horrifying display of insanity but this scene only proves that when recreating the original, you are always going to fall short of matching it. Which is around the time I started to wonder if Scream 4 is just a big, expensive, elaborate lark played on the fans and studio, perhaps its truncated, less than perfect existence is snidely intentional, perhaps it is the statement.


Next up we have the film's preoccupation with new, modern technology and the exciting role this could potentially play into events. Well, I did say potentially, because ultimately the don't do anything with it (it almost seems thrown in either as an after thought). Robbie walks around the film with a huge, streaming webcam strapped to the side of his face like some atrocious modern day head brace and...you guessed it, besides distracting us with its presence, the filmmakers don't do anything with it. Even when the moment arrives where we are led to believe that something clever is about to occur, as Robbie's cam has been reversed and recording what is behind him in his intoxicated state, is proven to be nothing but a false start as he fumbles around and turns it forward only to reveal seconds later that that is where Ghostface is standing, just in front of him (this is one of the film's lamest, most frustrating moments of missed opportunities, goddamn it can I write at least the setpieces next time fellas?) The modern plague of texting is in our face throughout, but nothing really comes of it. Likewise the phenomena of Facebook and Twitter just sit there like some declaration that the filmmakers are "with it" (though the latter does earn an amusing line). So besides being either nothing more than gratuitous product placement or another half-baked concept, all these iPhones and webcams and whatnot do nothing more than seriously date the film, which is never something that you should strive for. It certainly doesn't add anything to the movie but more interruption (and things are already getting mightily disordered at this point).


Then we have the aforementioned characters / red herrings / knife fodder / returning series' stalwarts and again, another mess. The core three, Dewey, Gale and Sidney don't fair so well this time, seemingly regulated to mere cameos as a side effect of the filmmakers' insistence to make this relevant to teenagers (a Hollywood thought process that I will loath till the day I die, seriously I had zero issues with being engaged in and or caring about characters who weren't in my immediate age bracket when I was kid, nor do I know any kids today who think the way that Hollywood presumes they do about such matters). Both Dewey and Gale are wasted in a major way this time around. Regulated to the sidelines, their meager roles are seemingly scaled back to their importance in the original (not an attempt to keep in line with the remake motif, I fear). Dewey isn't even put into harms way until the final scene for Christ's sakes. Though Sidney fairs a little better as far as exposure, but she is given absolutely no storyline other than to react to the next attack on Jill or one of her friends. What gives? This is the one aspect of the film that does really piss me off; The fans don't sit around for ten years wondering how Ghostface could creatively kill off more teenagers. No, we sit around wondering what Gale, Dewey and Sidney might be up to. It is the characters that is the unique heart and soul of this franchise. It is the characters that keep us coming back. Maybe the meat of their storylines ended up on the cutting room floor like much else of the film's substance, but I can't say that for sure and so I'm going to judge the film from what I do know and I know this: you don't spend three films feeding the blossoming relationship between Dewey and Gale only to have them get married and then drop the ball in exploring that aspect of their characters. You don't take a richly fiery woman like Gale Weathers (Gale freakin' Weathers damnit), with all her aspirations of fame and fortune (something that could have easily tied into the film's climatic statement on said matter), plunk her down in no man's land for a decade in the name of love and then not dig into that juicy nugget of dramatic potential. You don't take someone like Dewey who has been fighting for nothing but respect and for people to finally take him seriously for three films, and then not examine how that character may have grown since finally achieving that respect (I'll take his new found position as town sheriff as a sign that somebody believes in the boy). You don't champion Sidney as the face of modern horror's scream queens and then shade her character's return with no more soul other than that she wrote a book (that's it, that's all there is to her this time and it's not even used as a crux of the film's storyline). You just...don't do any of this. In effect, we the audience are left just as in the dark as we were at the conclusion of Scream 3. Hell for all the lack of material they are given to their 10 year back story, this movie might as well just have picked up directly after that one and gone retro. I've done a lot of daydreaming as a result by the way, and I've chosen to believe that Sidney has spent a lot of time regretting that she was always one step behind in the past, and her friends and family suffered as a result. Hence, the explanation as why in this film she goes barreling into danger like a bat outta hell, confronting the killer, rather than retreating (a brush stroke I must single out for praise, as it's quite awesome to behold of our gal, even if she is as unsuccessful in saving anyone as she was before).

The new, younger faces are a mixed bag. Besides being modern day incarnations of previous entry's characters, they're also not all that sympathetic (something the Scream series has always asked it's audience to do, is care when that blade slices flesh to ribbons and people start dropping like flies). It's my opinion that a degree of this is unintentional (you cut back your film's running time, you cut back your characters' dimensionality, assuming that it was there to begin with, period) but that a huge amount of it is intentional; commenting on younger generations' desensitization and their removed attitudes from real world horrors (they've seen it all on YouTube) in addition to growing up in a culture obsessed with fame and celebrity, this lot is more concerned with status and shallow pursuits than they are with one another. When their friends start getting brutally butchered in front of their very eyes, they go through the requisite screaming and hysterics, for a moment. Then the next day, it's seemingly back to business as usual: parties, gossip, snark. This new approach to the franchise's potential victims works in a blackly satirical way (if you dig in mind you, it's subtle enough where you wonder if this is indeed what is going on, or if everyone just happens to be unlikable assholes) but it doesn't do much for our sympathy which in turn doesn't make us give a hoot if they die, which in effect renders the scare sequences kinda toothless and so on. However, this is no fault of the actors as the young cast all turn in fine performances, Robertson and Knudsen standing out with Panettiere stealing the show as every geeks wet dream (she owns Suspiria and knows who Gunner Hansen is, hotness incarnate), even if she is kind of a bitch. As far as the cast of characters doing double time as red herrings, I say what red herrings? Besides a few suspicious, pointed camera shots and select characters being in suspect locations at certain points in the game, there are virtually no clues left for audiences to stew over. Largely gone is the series' format of murder mystery via slasher film. There really isn't any mystery. Or investigation. Or yes, clues. Instead, we have in its place a series of killings that stretch to the climax where the killers are revealed abruptly, without any diverting storylines laid, or red herrings worked for, that should make their ultimate unveiling shocking.


Which leads us to the motivation of the killers, film geek Charlie Walker and Sidney's cousin Jill. Again, much like most else in the film (I'm getting really sick of saying that at this point), Jill's initial motivation, that she deserves the spotlight after growing up in the shadow of Sidney's fame, that she deserves a chance to be Sidney, is very intriguing until you realize that again, what filmmakers have shown us contradicts the information coming out of their character's mouths. Throughout Scream 4's runtime, we witness the denizens of Woodsboro mostly meet Sidney with scorn or derision (save for a few stragglers at Sidney's book signing). When the murders start anew, townspeople congregate outside the police line and heckle Sidney, blaming her presence for the the death of one of their own. Her own Aunt Kate even seems initially put off by her return ("nobody asks me about my scars"). Likewise Jill's very friends, though they regard Sidney from afar as a pseudo-curiosity, want nothing to do with her ("What are you doing in the house with her, that's like being on Top Chef with Jeffrey Dahmer"). So we are yet again being told something contradictory that we haven't seen, at which point we are left but no choice but to try and take Jill's word on matters (an unreliable witness no doubt, though I get the impression we are supposed to believe her sob story) . As far as Charlie? Well he is along for the ride apparently, seeking the same fame and notoriety that Jill is perusing (he's to be the new Randy to Jill's Sidney). Despite the above criticisms, I personally liked this turn of events, or the latter half of Jill's motivation. I'm just about as over this nation's obsession with fame, reality TV and celebrity gossip as anybody could be and I found Jill's statement that she didn't need friends, she needed fans, very dead-on in the moral rot it was portraying. I fear that her Jill Roberts is a very accurate representation of a certain contingent of modern day American society (hey, if parents are willing to concoct elaborate ruses like setting their small children adrift in balloons to gain attention, I'm not putting anything past anybody anymore) and I think this last magic trick the filmmakers perform; pulling back the curtain to reveal a selfish motivation even sicker than bloodlust, insanity or revenge, is one of the film's few, genuinely amazing moments (and finally, a relatively concise deceleration escapes the movie's other, muddled fumbles at them). If the film had ended in the glare of flashing light bulbs and swarming reporters in the vein of Sunset Boulevard, as Jill was wheeled away on the stretcher (achieving her goal), I think frankly I would have been stunned at both the statement and the balls on display. But alas, Scream 4 has no balls, and we are drug along to the hospital for a protracted climax that even one character has the sense of mind to realize is "getting silly", or more aptly, way over the top (Sidney even resourcefully uses a defibrillator as a weapon, ala Dr. Giggles, now there is a film you want to model yourself after, good Christ). As expected by this point, Jill goes down (several times, per tradition) and Sidney, Gale, Dewey and Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) triumph. The end.


You probably have forgotten by this point and after all of that nitpicking, that I actually enjoyed Scream 4 (three times now, and there is sure to be many more times in the near future). I think what you have just have borne witness to, was the inner struggle of a rabid fanboy against his more critical nature (a nature that knows better). However, when all is said and done, the overly eager, salivating fan who waited 90 minutes in the lobby for the film to start, so impatient he was to get to it, wins (mark it down, because it isn't likely to happen again for another 10 years). In all honesty, if I judged Scream 4 by the merits of everything else that is getting produced in Hollywood these day, it would surely rate a lot higher. In all reality, it could be so very, very much worse than it is (even Campbell has stated publicly that it is a "miracle" it came out at all, considering the behind-the-scenes drama that hounded it endlessly). And when stacked up against other part 4s in major horror franchises (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4: The Next Generation, Jaws 4: The Revenge, Hellraiser 4: Bloodlines, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Saw 4 but to name a few), it looks all the more like a regular class act. However, I'm not grading the film on a curve. I'm holding Scream 4 up to the franchise's own standards and it is these standards (not mine, not Hollywood's, not sequel's, not remakes) that it fails to live up to.





Scream 4 stars Neve Campbell (The Craft, The Glass Man, The Dark), Courteney Cox (The Tripper, Cougar Town), David Arquette (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ravenous, Eight Legged Freaks, The Tripper), Emma Roberts (It's Kinda a Funny Story, Homework), Hayden Panettiere (Heroes, I Love You Beth Cooper), Lucy Hale (Fear Island, Pretty Little Liars), Shenae Grimes (Sugar, The Cross Road), Anna Paquin (True Blood, Darkness, Trick R' Treat, Open House), Kristen Bell (Pulse, Roman), Marielle Jaffe (Locked Away), Marley Shelton (Valentine, Dark Shadows, Grindhouse), Erik Knudsen (Saw II, Beastly, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Rory Culkin (The Zodiac, Signs, Mean Creek), Aimee Teegarden (Beneath the Darkness, Beautiful Wave), Brittany Robertson (The Secret Circle, From Within), Alison Brie (Man Men, Parasomnia, Born), Nico Tortorella (The Lowenfish Party, Trespass), Anthony Anderson (Scary Movie 3 & 4, Urban Legends: The Final Cut), Adam Brody (Jennifer's Body, Smiley Face), Mary McDonnell (Donnie Darko, Independence Day) and Heather Graham (Scream 2, From Hell, Twin Peaks, Nowhere). Scream 4 is currently in theaters worldwide.




Skull Ratings:
5 Skulls - The Best
4 Skulls - Very Good
3 Skulls - Good / Average
2 Skulls - Poor
1 Skull - The Worst

4/13/11

The Other Scream Documentary

Scream: The Inside Story

From the makers of the award-winning, flat-out awesome Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, comes the ultimate look back at Wes Craven's horror classic, Scream. Having premiered on the Bio Channel on April 6th, Scream: The Inside Story tackles the ups and downs and trial by fire setbacks that plagued the little slasher film that could in its efforts to reach silver screens. Though there is very little new information here for someone who has ravenously followed the film from inception to completion to bona fide runaway success, it does contain the occasion nugget of rare, never before seen insight (from interviews with Santa Rosa school board members, the very people who vexed the film's production in their small town and started the controversial shit storm over it's "violent nature", to members of said community having their say at a town hall meeting over the same issues). Participants include Wes Craven, Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Jaime Kennedy, Mathew Lillard, Patrick Lussier, W. Earl Brown, Eli Roth & Roger Jackson (Ghostface, conducting his interview in character, awesome and creepy) among others with stock interviews of Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich and many more adding further context to just what it is that they participated in (a horror landmark, if you haven't been keeping up). The October Country is proud to host the documentary in full (holy browser crash Batman), for those of you without cable (me), those of you who missed it during its initial airing, or those in foreign territories that are not fortunate enough to get the Bio Channel at all. There really is no better way to get pumped for the encroaching release of Scream 4 dear readers, so enjoy.

Scream: The Inside Story (Part 1 of 9)


Scream; The Inside Story (Part 2 of 9)


Scream: The Inside Story (Part 3 of 9)


Scream: The Inside Story (Part 4 of 9)


Scream: The Inside Story (Part 5 of 9)


Scream: The Inside Story (Part 6 of 9)


Scream: The Inside Story (Part 7 of 9)


Scream: The Inside Story (Part 8 of 9)


Scream: The Inside Story (Part 9 of 9)



For those of you hoping to obtain a physical DVD copy of this documentary, you can follow the film's Facebook page here for updates and news about its eventual release.

4/11/11

Scream 4 Advance Reviews Are In

Or, What I Wouldn't Do For A Press Pass (Updated)


I had been dreading that I might have to advise you dear readers, to take a deep breath before plunging into these, the advance reviews of Scream 4 from the Australian screening via Roadshow Films. But thank thee lord, this is not to be the case (I had to take a deep breath and light a cigarette to calm my nerves anyhow before I began reading). Within the last 24 hours, the reviews and Tweets and everything in between has been pouring in and I have yet to read nary a negative response in connection to Scream 4 (these are from uber-fans though, which either makes them bias in their opinions or the perfect barometer for the film's strengths and faults, depending on your perspective). If advance word of mouth is to be believed, it would appear as though Kevin Williamson, Wes Craven and Co. have really outdone themselves this time; fashioning a triumphant return to Scream's bloody, acerbic world that respects what came before and honors what the fans have wanted while simultaneously turning everything on its head in a gloriously brutal, emotional, funny, tension filled "mind fuck" of a film. Yes, I keep coming across that phrasing in relation to the film's story, "mind fuck" (one review going so far as to compare the film's script turns to plot twists from television's brain-bending LOST). Really? A Scream film a "mind fuck"? As if I couldn't be more intrigued. The fact remains however (cynical lad that I am), I'm doing everything within my power to refrain from getting too excited as I would hate for the hype to outshine the reality. Though, as I read more and more about the film, my willpower to remain staunchly blank faced and impartial is getting increasingly harder to maintain. The Thursday night / Friday morning midnight screening that I plan on attending couldn't get here fast enough.

- The leading authority on all things Scream related, Scream-Trilogy.net has posted their advance, spoiler free review which you can read here. Additionally, they are hosting the live, streaming red carpet premier here.

- (Updated) Fangoria's Samuel Zimmerman has lukewarm things to say about Scream 4, sadly. You can read his review here.

- (Updated) Joshua Miller over at CHUD.com has an equally middle of the road review, chalking Scream 4 up to "meh"

- (Updated) While DreadCentral's Andrew Kasch has slightly better things to say about it.

- (Updated) A man who has been entrenched in all things Scream lately, Shock Till You Drop's Ryan Turek (writer and director of Still Screaming: The Ultimate Scary Movie Retrospective) just posted his review, and though he finds faults with the film, his final vote lands on the positive side.

- (Updated) Rotten Tomatoes began compiling it's collection of Scream 4 reviews earlier today, and though there are more than a few harsh words spoken of it (and it has been yo-yoing back and forth from "rotten" to "fresh") it is at the moment "certifiably fresh" with a consensus of 61% (the original Scream maintains a score of 82% while Scream 2 possesses a 81% rating and Scream 3 a dismal 37%). Personally, when it comes to horror films I am less than interested in what mainstream critics have to say about them (unless of course, they are good things) seeing as how the genre is almost always disrespected for the very things that we fright fans love about it. I'll use the general critics' opinions as an advisory compass of sorts, but seldom do I take their conclusions to heart. Consider this your advisory compass. Cherry pick their words accordingly because one shouldn't forget how they usually look down their noses at anything with a body count.

- (Updated) Bloody-Disgusting's Brad Mishka (aka Mr. Disgusting, who oftentimes I very much disagree with) has very kind things to say about the movie here

- Concurrently, Glenn Dunks over at StalePopcorn has posted his very glowing review (also spoiler free) and though he admits that Scream 4 isn't a perfect film, he also makes grand statements such as this one: "[Scream 4] could perhaps rank as the greatest franchise revival in cinema history". Wow. Wrap that sucker up, I'll take it.

Meanwhile, sentiments such as these having been flooding Glenn's Twitter account:

"I'm almost at a loss for words. It's so bloody good! Bloody being the apt word. Amazing. Amazing!"

"
Scream 4 saves its sharpest knives for its audience. Best US horror sequel in years. Take a bow."

"
Well and truly worth the wait. Fans of the original will be well served by this sequel/reboot. All hail!"

"It's really legitimately good. The final act is some of the craziest cinema I've seen in AAAAGES!
"

"A right ol' swift kick to the balls. Done by people who know what they're doing. Showing how to do a sequel RIGHT."

"Respect to Scream 4! After nearly a decade of gore and torture but few thrills, great horror finally returns. Jumpy & satirical fun had by all!"

Honestly, the beaming positivity and enthusiasm for what the Australian audience just witnessed goes on and on and on. So what of you dear readers? Are you excited yet?


4/8/11

In The Homstretch ...7 Days Until Scream 4

Scream 4 Promotion Circuit - The Interviews (Part Two)


A film actress that enjoys the "talent" of being disruptive and annoying in a movie theater? Possibly funny if someone else in turn did it through all of her scenes maybe (actually that would be really delightful, just as long as I didn't have to hear it). Also, your not a "40 year old woman" Miss Roberts, your friends are just rude. Sigh. Okay Emma, hows about you stop demonstrating how obnoxious you can be and get on to the matter at hand, namely Scream 4 (this generation makes me feel more and more like a grumpy old man every day, I tell ya). Anyhoo, you did successfully manage to distract me from someone I find even more annoying and obnoxious, Jay Leno. So, congrats on that I suppose. The other plus? Another awesome clip from Scream 4 that has me positively salivating.

Emma Roberts on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Part One


Part Two


"Things like Libya". Uh, word (and for the record, I love Neve's curves). Another pleasant interview with Campbell. Though I was a bit perplexed over the fact that Ellen DeGeneres' wife, Portia de Rossi, being a part of Scream 2 wasn't a topic of conversation. The Changeling rears it's head again and the show stages a surprise scare on Campbell that is admittedly pretty funny.

Neve Campbell on The Ellen DeGeneres Show


Wes Craven, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody and Emma Roberts all dish with Fandango about their parts in Scream 4, the effects of modern technology's on script secrets, the franchise's history (I'm still adapting to not referring to it as a trilogy) and Gale Weather's bangs, among other things.

Scream 4 Cast on Fandango


Or as Scream 2's Duane Martin once said, "Brothers don't last long in situations like this." Funny man Anthony Anderson chats with cutie Brooke Christopher about the "African-American element" in horror films, the rules of scary movies (new and old) and what audiences can expect from Scream 4; "screaming, death and killing." Ya know, all the good stuff.

Anthony Anderson on Black Tree.tv


We saved the best for last, or, my favorite chat session with the cast of Scream 4. Vulgar, audacious and full of so many expletives I lost count, the actors and Wes Craven sit down with potty mouth Carrie Keagan to talk about subjects ranging from sexy mustaches, dying in your underwear and playing beer pong with the aforementioned director. "Scream 4 is the screaming orgasm of horror films." My neither regions say "Here's hoping."

Scream 4 Cast on Up Close With Carrie Keagan

In The Homestretch...7 Days Until Scream 4

Scream 4 Promotion Circuit - The Interviews (Part 1)


Mmmm, deliciously nerdish and yummy Jimmy Kim....I mean....*ahem*....yeah sorry. Anyway, here's Wes Craven appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live in promotion of Scream 4. He's brought along with him an extended clip of Aimee Teegarden's character Jenny Randall being taunted by Ghostface. The clip in question, absolutely sizzles for the measly 28 seconds it lasts and not only contributes to my suspicion that they may have done things right this time but also makes me wonder what the chances are that the line "you better start running" will enter the horror genre's vernacular of all time greatest quotes. Chills I tell you. Enjoy dear readers.

Wes Craven on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Part One


Part Two



Mmmmmmm, "snow soup". Wait what? Oh yeah, I mean here is Neve Campbell following up on Wes Craven's visit with Mr. Sexypants Kimmel. Sadly, there is no clip ran in promotion of the film. However, Campbell's easy-breezy presence makes it a rather fetching affair, not to mention making one nearly forget how reluctant she has been over the years to participate any further with the franchise.

Neve Campbell on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Part One


Part Two



Who is this George Stroumboulopoulos guy and why is he championing the slasher genre while simultaneously ribbing the critics that dismiss it? Oh wait I know, he must be awesomesuace incarnate or something. Just a brief excerpt from an apparently longer interview with Neve Campbell (the Jada Pinkett-Smith nugget is nice bit of trivia). Additionally, if there is one thing I love about all the conversations that the cast and crew promoting these films incite with their interviewers, it would be the inevitable trips down horror history lane. In this instance it's Peter Medak's The Changeling (1980, and incidentally one of my husband's favorite scary movies). However, nothing has yet to beat the reminiscences between Drew Barrymore and Rosie O'Donnel way back in the day when O'Donnel still had a successful talk show and Barrymore was making the rounds in promotion of a little-heard of film called Scream. O'Donnel: "Magic is fun, when yer dead." I rest my case.

Neve Campbell on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight

4/3/11

The Countdown Continues...12 Days Until Scream 4

Scream 4 Cast Press Junket


Because who needs journalism these days when you have an iPhone handy?

Press Conference #1
Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell & Wes Craven



Press Conference #2
Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Emma Roberts & Anthony Anderson



Scream 4, opening April 15th in theaters nationwide, is released by Dimension Films and stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Lucy Hale, Shenae Grimes, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Aimee Teegarden, Brittany Robertson, Alison Brie, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Marielle Jaffe, Marley Shelton, Erik Knudsen, Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody and Mary McDonnell.

4/2/11

The Countdown Continues...13 Days Until Scream 4

Reboot This!


Ghostface: "Time for your last question. Name the remake of the groundbreaking..."
Kirby: "Halloween. Texas Chainsaw. Dawn of the Dead. The Hills Have Eyes. The Amityville Horror. Black Christmas. House of Wax. Prom Night. My Bloody Valentine. It's one of those, right?"
Ghostface: "NONE OF THE ABOVE!"

That Scream and it's sequels take the horror genre to task, while simultaneously celebrating it, has sort of been it's bread and butter over the years. No cliche, no genre staple, no tradition escaped it's (loving) razor sharp wit. In fact, it was this very aspect of it's story that I used to convince my mother to go and see it with me in the theater in early '97. She hates horror films more than anyone I know and she put up a mighty fight in her reluctance to accompany me (apparently, John Carpenter's Halloween permanently traumatized her when she was in high school and then The Fog tipped her over the edge) . So I bent the truth a wee bit, and told her that Scream was different. I lied and said that Scream "makes fun of scary movies" (making fun of, and observing the genre's tropes with smart ass abandon are two different things). I told her "You'll have a blast, even people who don't watch horror films are going to see it." After two weeks of back and forth debating, she relented. I still don't know if she had a good time (she's not the most forthright woman) but apparently she didn't have an awful time seeing as her steadfast hesitance for horror waned and it wasn't nearly as hard to twist her arm into seeing I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2 (the latter of which, I took gleeful delight in deserting her in the empty theater to use the restroom during 2's opening 10 minutes because well, I can be an ass like that). But the only reason I ever got that far with my mom, was because there was a kernel of truth to the lies I told to get her butt into that damn theater seat. Scream was funny. Scream did jokingly poke, with a gore drenched stick, at the same horror conventions that kept my mother away from experiencing them for nearly two decades. I believe that it was because of this refreshing and groundbreaking approach, Scream went on to be a massive, cross-over hit with mainstream audiences like nothing we've seen since Jodie Foster grasped at the darkness in Buffalo Bill's basement. Which is all rather shocking in retrospect, that Scream connected so successfully with the general audiences the way that it did. The regular mainstream theater goer ( en masse) typically not being inclined to take chances on films that are not easily definable after all.

It's so easy to lose sight of now, after a decade's worth of like-minded slasher ripoffs full of sassy, know-it-all-teens who've cynically seen it all, that initially nobody knew what to make of this little slasher film that could. Was it a horror film? A comedy? A mocking send up? Audiences weren't entirely sure (they just knew they liked it, whatever it was) and for some time, neither were the makers and stars. This confusion hung over the project from very beginning when a legendary bidding war broke out in Hollywood over Kevin Willamson's script (they didn't know what it was they were buying, but like the audiences that would later make it a runaway hit, they knew it was special). You'd think that we lived in a world bereft of horror comedies like An American Werewolf In London or Gremlins. However, I am of the opinion that it was because Scream was so thoroughly harrowing from beginning to end, that the majority of us did not know what category it fell into. Ultimately (and thankfully), the consensus seemed to be that Scream was an outright horror film, seeing as how it was so sincerely scary, with dashes of humor used to punctuate the fright. Humor of course, that wouldn't have gotten the amount of mileage that it did, if it wasn't for the fact that (in truth) the horror genre had made of itself over the years, an easy target, just begging for someone to take a swipe at it.


With the first Scream, we enter a world where scary movies actually exist, and the characters having seen every last one of them, behave accordingly in their new found situation of fighting for their lives from a masked killer that's like something "right out of a horror movie." Here, slasher films are taken down one by one for their predictability (which is promptly exploited then turned on it's head), their rigid moral codes (again, subversively brought into the "real world") and a host of other hand-me-down constructs. Scream 2's comedy moved onto more specific and focused inspections, examining through it's ever snarky lens that of the college bound slasher films (The House On Sorority Row, The Dorm That Dripped Blood etc.) and the art of (or more commonly the lack thereof) sequels. As before, it's insights were both cuttingly witty and dead on. Scream 3 sets out to take on the mother of all movie institutions, Hollywood itself, but subsequently finds that it's bitten off more than it can chew. It would seem as though by the time Scream 3 had concluded and it's closing credits rolled, that the franchise had by then effectively probed every nook and cranny of the genre and said everything that it could possibly have to say on the subject. What more could there possibly be to say? Well, as it turns out, after an ten year absence from the fright scene that has in that duration been dominated by nothing but "torture porn" and remakes of the classic titles Scream tipped it's hat at to begin with, a lot. The current fear film landscape looks drastically different from the one that the franchise vacated in 2001, but as Scream makes it's glorious, bloody return, this "new' horror genre is certainly going to be torn asunder again. Joyfully.

From what I have pieced together from various trailers, TV spots, press releases /conferences and interviews (I'll only go so far, ultimately I want every surprise and plot twist intact), Scream 4's targets are that of the remake phenom and the excessive suffering seen in the "torture porn" sub-genre. With it's first target, I am spiritedly waiting by the sidelines, ready to jump up and down and applaud every pot shot that the film takes at the tiresome reboot trend. Really and truly, I'm hoping it goes down hard. Scream 4 is apparently mirroring the state of Hollywood horror by itself being a sort of "remake"; the action has been returned to Woodsboro, the locale of the original murders, there is a passing of the baton from those who came before (Sidney, Dewey and Gale) to a new generation of younger, fresher meat and the killer's modus operandi is to fashion a real life remake of the film Stab (the series' film-within-a-film franchise), itself a retelling of the events of the first film, which by extension are now being recreated with a decidedly 21-Century bent. That modern new angle is of course, that things have gotten a whole helluva lot more bloody and vicious since Sidney and the rest of the gang naively thought they were going to put all the horror behind them and watch movies and eat popcorn with Patrick Dempsey. Rumor has it, that the killings in Scream 4 are absolutely heinous to behold. Or at the very least, the most brutal in the series. This of course, reflecting the brave new world of terror that our heroes now find themselves caught in. It all sounds terribly clever if you ask me and I hasten to wonder if the younger generations (mainstream audiences and horror fans alike) will even pick up on the subversive through-line. I only wonder because it has seemed as though only us fogey ol' curmudgeons have taken issue with the remake trend in the first place. For instance, the day I heard a young lass proclaim that Michael Bay's / Marcus Nispel's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre redux bested the original in very nearly every way was the day that my fanboy heart died for the first time. Though worry not dear readers, it has died no less than 15 deaths since and somehow I manage to still be here (though the big one of '06 aka Black Christmas very nearly did me in permanently). It would appear then in light of all the drastic changes our beloved genre has endured since Scream 3, that this refreshed franchise has plenty of things to sharpen it's satirical knives over and disgruntled fan that I have been, I say may it be an hilariously scary orgy of blood with a metaphorical body count that threatens to part the sky. Ready, steady and take aim...I'll gladly pull the trigger.


Scream 4
, opening April 15th in theaters nationwide, is released by Dimension Films and stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Lucy Hale, Shenae Grimes, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Aimee Teegarden, Brittany Robertson, Alison Brie, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Marielle Jaffe, Marley Shelton, Erik Knudsen, Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody and Mary McDonnell.

4/1/11

The Countdown Begins...14 Days Until Scream 4

Our Excitement, Celebration, Pontifications and Apprehension


Holy shitting Christ! I can't believe that it is nearly here. If you would have told me after the abysmal letdown that was Scream 3 that in 10 years we would be embarking on another bloody, body strewn journey back to Woodsboro, I would have retorted that I had some magic beans to sell you. This, even in the land of Hollywood, where nothing ever really dies and everything is up for sale, including a critically acclaimed horror franchise's dignity. Maybe that's the metaphor they should have tackled more thoroughly in the third film, as the franchise had definitely lost it's dignity in a rush to meet deadlines and make good on contracts, to the detriment of having a quality screenplay beforehand. Back in 2000, they said that part three in the series was the last, and naively, I believed them. Honestly, after the performance of Scream 3, I was eager to believe them. Though I had been conflicted over the fact that I felt as though the mighty juggernaut that the series had been up that point deserved a better written sendoff than it had received but I also felt that if this was the direction it's quality was going to head in, the better to end it then and there rather than become an increasing embarrassment or a shadow of it's former self.

"Mmmm... corn syrup. Same stuff they used for pig's blood in Carrie."

The Scream franchise needs no introduction of course, whether you are a seasoned genre enthusiast or merely a passing, occasional fan, chances are you are already fairly steeped in the cultural phenomena . Which is why I am skipping past the protracted, drawn out history lesson of everything that the original film, and later it's sequels, achieved (also, a million other media outlets will be doing just that for the next two weeks no doubt). Most likely you don't need to be told about how the original Scream single-handedly brought the horror genre (wheezing and on it's last leg, dieing an in ignoble death ) back to life (a distinction that the "die-hard" horror fanboys are occasionally less than grateful about, which is rather snottish and sad really). Not over night mind you, but steadily over the course of months as good word of mouth increased Scream's box office, slowly but surely (a rarity in terms of movie performances, films typically drop in numbers the longer they are in release, not gain them). You also probably don't need to be told or reminded, how Scream 2 and Scream 3 performed at the box office (amazingly). Nor do you need to be reacquainted with what came in the wake of the success of the original (the ripples of which are still felt to this day). That being more modern slashers than you are likely to remember (including cheap direct to video cash grabs, the numbers are in the hundreds) in addition to opening the door (perhaps indirectly, but Scream did make horror hot again) for other viable scary projects that went on to become smashing successes in their own right (The Sixth Sense, Saw, The Ring...oh lord, there are so many it hardly bears recounting them all). So, in addition to being a trendsetter, a genre rejuvenator, a rollicking out-of-nowhere success story / cash cow and just a damn fine piece of cinema (horror or otherwise), Scream has also gone on to be a permanent staple in the pop culture landscape (the merchandising tie-ins may have died down some, but as certain as the sun is to rise in the morning, come Halloween you'll be inundated with Ghostface masks of every color in the aisles of countless stores nationwide). So as I just said, the Scream spectacle surely needs no introduction and so, we won't waste your time. Suffice to say, it is the return of such a sensational, relevant genre milestone that has us here at The October Country ready to dig in and celebrate it's resurrection at every turn and in every way. Scream 4, whether you like it or not (and there are many who don't), is bound to be a significant benchmark in horror history. For good or ill.

"You might as well come out to investigate a strange noise or something. "

That it took this long for Scream 4 to reach our silver screens and multiplexes has got to be one for the "Too Strange To Be True" history books. That the Weinsteins have restrained themselves from firing up a fourth film of their most profitable franchise before now, most likely bereft of the returning actors we've come to associate with this series, filled it with no-name "stars" and chock full of by-the-numbers plot points is something of a miracle. That they somehow managed to avoid this move and avoid driving the Scream namesake into the ground in a never ending cyclone of forgettable direct to DVD sequels (as the Weinsteins and Dimension has done with every other horror property they own, Hellraiser anyone?) is unimaginable. 10 years isn't all that long to wait really, if it means that what you are (hopefully) getting is made with the utmost care and consideration for quality. I'd take 10 years over 10 more throwaway sequels any day. I mean really, pinch me.

"The police are always off track with this shit! If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time! There's a formula to it. A very simple formula!"

Words fail me at the moment when trying to articulate the jumble of emotions and feelings I have been experiencing over it's impending release. Despite my own fanboy jubilation that threatens to run buck-wild if not kept in check, Scream 4 has yet to actually prove itself. From the outset, there are already apparent reasons to both jump for joy and simultaneously chew one's fingernails to the bone. There are the pluses; Stars Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), David Arquette (Dewey Riley), director Wes Craven and screenwriter / creator Kevin Williamson have all returned. I'm still in shock that they got Campbell, who's been pretty adamantly opposed to participating in the series since Scream 2 (Williamson was initially already prepared to write around her absence, if she refused to sign on) and Cox and Arquette whose marriage was dissolving prior to and during the filming of Scream 4. Then there are the minuses; Scream 3 scripter Ehren Kruger is the one responsible for the rewrites after Williamson's prior commitments and television obligations (legally) required his attention and took him away from completing his duties on 4. Though Craven has attempted to assail the fan's concerns about just whose movie this is, Williamson's or Krueger's, by stating that “Ehren did some great secondary work and some additional scenes that needed fleshing out and I did some writing, too, but this was Kevin’s baby.” Okay, assuming that isn't a bunch of PR bullshit, my worries have been quelled, slightly. Sort of. Initially, another plus was the length of Scream 4's script, rumored to be somewhere around the 138 page mark, which would make for a rather involved story me thinks. However, I did say initially. Scream 4's runtime was revealed last week for theater chains so that they can book and budget session times and it comes in at a very slim 1 hour and 43 minutes, making it the shortest film in the franchise (Scream clocks in at 111 minutes, Scream 2 120 minutes and Scream 3 116 minutes). I find this news worrisome to say the least and here is why. The cast this time around is utterly massive and unlike say Scream 2, which boasted an equally enormous roster of names but whom for the most part were used as either cameos or peripheral characters with no real presence in the plot (Rebecca Gayheart, Portia de Rossi, Heather Graham, Joshua Jackson, Marisol Nichols, Tori Spelling, Luke Wilson, David Warner and Selma Blair, respectively), Scream 4 is involving everybody in the action (judging by the trailers, TV spots and stills). I think I've seen a clip of nearly every billed actor having a run in with Ghostface in one way or the other and taking into consideration that we only have 1 hour and 43 minutes to get to know these new faces (arguably less, if one assumes that the last act is going to be nothing but a protracted climax with little time for character development, as is usually the case), I find it hard to believe that with so many people vying for screen time (in a film with so little of it, comparatively), that their characters are going to make much of an impact, and by extension, nor will their deaths. Which would be a shame, because if there is one thing the Scream franchise excels at, it would be crafting believable, sympathetic characters to root for. Remember the emotional wallop that the deaths of Tatum and Randy packed and the disbelieving hush that fell over the theater when those characters breathed their last?. Yeah exactly, this franchise is better than throwing two dimensional, dispensable fodder onto the end of Ghostface's blade.

"No, please don't kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!"

With many other fans also nervous about this exact issue, once again Craven piped in with more words to sooth our uneasiness. “The script was never bound to a lean and mean page count. It was always high,” Craven has said. “We shot a script that was a 138 pages or something like that, so we had a lot of scenes that had to go on the cutting room floor. Some were kind of redundant. Sometimes we were pointing too much at a character as a red herring." Again, I'll take a leap of faith and assume that this isn't PR claptrap. However, I can't help but fear that sometimes one's alleged "tightening" of a script is nothing more than making it "more accessible" to a younger generation's easily bored, ADD addled minds. I really hope that that isn't the case, because if you asked me what I thought was the chief offense responsible for sinking Scream 3 like a lead balloon (we're all on the same page here right, you know you thought it sucked too), I would say that it was the characters; every last one of them seemed like a parody of themselves to the point of being either annoyingly grating (Jenny McCarthy and Heather Matarazzo as dearly departed Randy Meeks' sister, whose sudden presence stretches believability to the breaking point), over the top ridiculous (the usually reliable Parker Posey, while an amusing hoot to behold eating away at Gale's last nerve as she does, overplays things so badly you'd think she was in a different film entirely) or just tired (Deon Richmond's recycled "black man in a horror film" comedy routine really was screaming out to be taken behind the barn and put out of it's misery by that point) and so on. The point is, every attempt at comedy and horror (admittedly lame efforts at that) missed the mark because the characters didn't land anywhere near a place of sympathy or credibility. Add to this issue Sidney's reduced presence (Campbell was distracted by prior obligations and was barely available to participate) and everyone just seems...off. Arguably, the only two characters that shone were Dewey and Gale, who both got beefed up roles in Campbell's absence and whose chemistry it should be noted, had never been stronger. Anyway, hence my concern as to what Scream 4's abbreviated length might mean for the characters and the emotional weight they may or may not carry. And as far as I am concerned with this franchise, if the characters miss the mark, the whole endeavor crumbles. Because at the end of the day, if the characters aren't strong, ultimately what one is left with is just another slasher film and Scream, as it turns out, isn't just another slasher film. Blessedly, it is so, so much more.

"Well I don't really believe in motives Sid, I mean did Norman Bates have a motive? "

One thing that I am not worried about, is how Scream 4 is going to perform at the box office. Not to get anyone's hopes up, but box office tracking from Reel Source Inc. and various other expert projections all foresee the fourth film taking in at least $50 million on it's opening weekend - and more than $100 million overall and I'm inclined to agree with those projections (based purely on my own observations of internet hype, a truly telling barometer in this day and age). What this will mean for the franchise and the genre as a whole if this does come to pass (and it will) is anybody's guess. Williamson has already stated on the record that he saw part 4 as the beginning of a new trilogy (hence the inclusion of new, younger blood, er, characters). But that was before the reality that apparently he can't simultaneously run a successful television show (The Vampire Diaries) and script a big screen return to the film series that put him on the map (the exact same issue that vexed his involvement with part 3 actually). When asked what he thought of further adventures in Scream's world of witty zingers and beautiful, dead teenagers, Craven remained noncommittal, stating “You know, it’s so far in the future. It’s gonna be a year [before production would even start on Scream 5] at least, I would think, because even though Kevin sketched out the general notion for 5 and 6, it was not like he had a…ten-page beat sheet. So it’s gonna be a matter of if Kevin is of the mind to write again in this franchise, and when will we write? My approach to [Scream 4] in general…[was] I love[d] the element of Kevin, I love[d] the element of Courteney Cox and David and Neve…I knew everybody had pretty much signed up, but until I saw a substantial amount of the script I didn’t say yes. So that’s my approach: ‘let’s see the script, let’s see what they come up with, and then I will or I won’t.’” The more pressing question however, is what will Scream 4's (inevitable) success mean for big ticket, Hollywood horror offerings? As before, will Scream reignite the slasher craze that dominated the movie landscape in the late nineties? Probably. Am I happy about that? No. Would it be a welcome respite from the glut of continuous remakes that still won't relent (despite nearly everybody screaming in unison "STOP already")? Yes, it kind of would, just as long as it doesn't mean an influx of even more slasher remakes. Though truly, they've nearly run out of worthwhile titles to ruin haven't they?. Yes they have and I can't wait for some smart ass in Scream 4 to take them to task for it.

"If I'm right about this, I could save a man's life. Do you know what that would do for my book sales?"

Whatever Scream 4 ultimately ends up being, good or bad or somewhere in between and whatever its impending box office domination means for our beloved genre, we here at The October Country will be celebrating the franchise's (hopeful) return to it's rightful glory for the next two weeks until it's anticipated release on April 15th. We hope you come along for the nostalgic ride. And ultimately, here's hoping, here's praying, that the 11 year wait has been worth it and that the film doesn't suck. Dear, sweet Jesus Scream 4, please don't suck.

"What's the matter Sidney, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Scream 4, opening April 15th in theaters nationwide, is released by Dimension Films and stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Lucy Hale, Shenae Grimes, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Aimee Teegarden, Brittany Robertson, Alison Brie, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Marielle Jaffe, Marley Shelton, Erik Knudsen, Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody and Mary McDonnell.

A previous article relating to Scream 4, detailing our gripes with Dimension Films opening the film up to test screenings, may also be of interest to you and can be found here.

Below you will find Scream 4's teaser and theatrical trailer. As if you haven't already watched them dozens of times over, we certainly have.

Scream 4 Teaser Trailer



Scream 4 Theatrical Trailer

Scream 4 - Official Trailer 2. Watch more top selected videos about: Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...