Scre4m

The best of the Scream sequels, Scre4m details the chaos that ensues after Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to her hometown of Woodsboro during a book tour – with the film subsequently following characters new and old as they’re pursued (and murdered) by Ghostface. Director Wes Craven, working from Kevin Williamson’s screenplay, does a superb job of immediately capturing the viewer’s interest, as the movie kicks off with a brilliant, hilariously self-referential opening that rivals the original’s justifiably legendary prologue in terms of effectiveness. From there, Scre4m hews closely to the formula established by its predecessors – with the film blending the characters’ talk-heavy exploits with impressively brutal kill sequences. (In terms of the latter, Scre4m is certainly the bloodiest entry in this refreshingly R-rated franchise since the 1996 original.) There’s little doubt, however, that the sequences revolving entirely around the movie’s fresh batch of characters – eg Emma Roberts’ Jill, Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby, Rory Culkin’s Charlie, etc – simply aren’t as engaging or engrossing as they should be, and one can’t help but wish that Williamson had afforded more screentime for the series’ returning figures (including Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers and David Arquette’s Dewey Riley). And although the movie grows increasingly uneven as it progresses – eg a fairly endless scene involving the surviving new cast members – Scre4m recovers for a climactic confrontation that’s actually quite well done and rather suspenseful. (This is despite the absolutely ludicrous reveal of the killer(s) identity, as it’s impossible to comfortably overlook the pronounced disparity in height between the killer(s) and Ghostface.) The end result is a consistently watchable slasher that successfully manages to appeal to both newcomers and the series’ fans, with the revitalized atmosphere ensuring that the inevitable Scream 5 (5cream?) is indeed something worth getting excited about.

*** out of ****