It’s been 11 years since Sidney last tangled with Ghostface. As Scream 4 opens we find her returning to her home town of Woodsboro as part of a book tour. Sidney is now a bit of a celebrity after writing a popular memoir about her experiences with the masked menace. Before long bodies start turning up and Sidney is quickly reunited with the now-married Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley as the trio try to figure out who is behind the latest rash of killings. Along for the ride is Sidney’s young cousin, Jill, who attends Sidney’s old high school. It is here that we are introduced to a gaggle of forgettable teens all ripe for Ghostface’s blade.
Look out, Jill!
I’m not a fan of the Scream series. I thought the first one was great when I first saw it but it has not aged well. The first 2 sequels are largely forgettable and tend to follow a paint-by-numbers formula. I had low expectations for Scream 4 and for the first two-thirds of the film it was just more of the same. Ghostface is once again exceptionally agile in his clunky mask and impossibly strong as he knifes his way through a surprisingly high body count. Once again there are meta-discussions about horror movie sequels and remakes as the “teens” try to predict Ghostface’s next move. Neve Campbell pretty much pouts her way through every scene and Arquette’s Dewey continues to bungle up everything like the Gilligan that he is.
However, in a surprising sea change the identity of Ghostface is revealed at the beginning of the third act and then things (finally) become interesting. The last 30 minutes of Scream 4 are better than anything that Craven has done since the original Scream and I actually found myself enjoying the heck out of it.
