New Rules...New Decade: Scream 4 (2011)

 

    Well everyone, it looks like we have managed to make it. It’s the week that a lot of us have been looking forward to for awhile. Scream (2022) is looming over us as its release this week draws ever closer. Who is excited for it? Who is ready for it?

For the past week, we have been working through our Scream retrospective series. Up to this point, we have worked our way through the first three films in the series (Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3). It’s been a very interesting time watching the films. For the first time since 2011, I have been able to watch the films in a whole new perspective. Gone are the nostalgia glasses. I am able to see the films as if it was the first time all over again. I guess watching a movie after eleven years will do that to you. Taking the films all in, it’s allowed me to focus more on each of the films on their own as well as a being a piece of this beloved franchise. It’s also allowed my rankings for the films to change as well.

Today, I am going to be talking about Scream 4. Scream 4 was released in 2011. When I looked back at the film, I was honestly pretty shocked about it. For some reason, my memory had kept telling me that it was released in 2012. The major thing that I remember about that time was the hype for the film. Scream had returned and was just everywhere. There was a lot of marketing for that film. Honestly, there’s probably a few people that would agree that it may have been too much marketing. But we had Wes returning along with the original trio of Sidney, Dewey, and Gale. That was a pretty fantastic feeling. And Kevin Williamson had once again returned to his franchise after sitting out on Scream 3. It seemed like things had fallen into place.

Looking back at this film now, I wish that I hadn’t paid much attention to the discussion about it. I had been checking out almost all of the well traveled Scream sites in search of information. (One cool aspect of doing that was that I found one that housed fan scripts for films. Yeah, there were a few that were Scream related. But for the most part, it was just people crafting interesting takes on Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, even Black Christmas. They were all new telling of the films that worked very well. It’s fantastic what the fans can do that Hollywood can’t with remakes or reimaginings.) But all of the information I read about and discovered, it managed to set my expectations pretty damn high.

When I sat down in the theater to watch the film, it felt like Scream. It felt like we were taken back to a more modern Woodsboro. The original characters felt very much like we remembered them. The new characters, however, felt a little too much like retreads. I get that with this installment, Wes and Kevin were taking a look at remakes and reboots. So it is very appropriate. But overall, it felt like something was missing in the film. The pacing for the film is a bit of an interesting beast. It manages to fly like a rollercoaster, but at the same time not. It felt a bit more straight faced than many were prepared for.

Once I began to see what they were attempting to do, I began to appreciate Scream 4 more. It’s a film that manages to take a lot of expectations that people were hoping for and just throws it in a whole new direction. It definitely makes things a bit more divisive. For me, it works beautifully. However it was also made apparent that the film was another product of studio meddling, a lot of the more detailed aspects of the film ended up being cut. If you check out the deleted scenes, there are quite a few of them that have callbacks to the original film while also being grounded in character. And then there’s the alternate opening. The theatrical opening is a bit of fun and plays a bit more like parody. The alternate opening was a whole another level. It honestly was a bit more bold in its approach. And without music, it’s absolutely terrifying. Part of me wishes that it would been the one used and not have it with music. The studio probably felt a safer approach was more appropriate.

A lot of the aspects that we have come to know with this franchise are evident in the film as well. It just happens to have a little more humor to try to balance the brutal, more cold nature of this new Ghost Face. Ghost Face in this film is more in the vein of the second one. Honestly, it makes so much sense after the reveal in the end of the second act. We have Charlie, who is trying so hard to be a ‘Stu’ stereotype that he ended up in the ‘Billy’ side of the Scream spectrum. It is a pretty brilliant flip of the script. Charlie’s whole motive was to try and help recreate the murders. In his mind, he’s trying to live out his dream of one day directing. Then there’s Jill, Sidney’s cousin. She’s a complete loose cannon that is 100 percent off her rocker. I mean what she does in the end of that second act is just mind-blowing. That’s honestly highlights the brilliance of Scream 4. Everything we thought we knew, it was wrong. Wes and Kevin had brilliantly subverted so many of those expectations. And at the end of the day, that’s why I think a lot of people were against the film at first. It wasn’t what they were expecting. But ya know, you have to progress somehow or bring something new to the table. That’s how the first film was crafted as well as this film.

Overall, yeah there may be some pacing issues with Scream 4. It feels like a large reason is the fake-out with its second act. But this is still Scream. It does feel a little more studio-polished, but at the same time not. It doesn’t feel like as much of a cookie-cutter product as Scream 3 was. It honestly feels like Wes was even playing up the reboot angle with the cinematography. Ghost Face is a bit more tense as literally the film doesn’t fully address the rules. And that’s something that highlights what horror was about at that point in time – a lot of it wasn’t following any set rules. They were trying to shock audiences by doing something completely clear out of left field. I feel like the only thing that the film is missing is the use of Red Right Hand, as that has become a bit of a theme for these films. Even though the film lacked a bit of character, it still managed to stick the landing for me and lives up to the original. It's also a fitting epilogue for Wes as well as he gave us one last good scare.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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Someone Has Taken Their Love For Sequels One Step Too Far: Scream 2 (1997)

 

    After I saw Scream, I was wondering if there would be a sequel. I mean at this point in horror, sequels were something of a scarcity. Mostly because again people were kind of afraid to take chances. And if there was a sequel, would it be able to be as good as the first one? Or would it take the route that most sequels seemed to and trying to cash in on the lightning in a bottle? One of the big things that I remember bout this time was the fact that the internet wasn’t as huge as it is today. So movie news was something that was a bit hard to come by. When it was announced that there would be a Scream 2, well it was a big deal. Everywhere seemed to be talking about it.

    It was a big sign that Scream had become something of a massive entry in Pop Culture. I remember there being lots of press junkets. There was lots of MTV News bits that talked about the film. Lots of guest appearances on Total Request Live on MTV or VH1. It was a bit crazy that there was this amount of hype for the sequel. Looking back on things, it actually shows how special it was. Williamson had tapped into something that everyone was looking for and had helped revive the genre that he loved.

    Now that it was more in the public eye, everybody was scrambling for info about the sequel. One of the big things that happened was that the script had leaked. No one knew who it was or how it happened. But quickly, everyone was scrambling to change the ending – thus creating at least three different endings to the film. One of the alternate endings involved a conspiracy that had Hallie, Derek, Debbie, and Mickey all working together to try and bring Sidney down. Another faux ending had Dewey being the one responsible for the all the murders. After hearing about these, I am absolutely surprised at hearing these. These endings would have been crazy.

    Scream 2 managed to become even more of a bigger deal than the original. Everyone that had survived was returning on-screen and behind the scenes. It was attempting to capture the lightning in a bottle twice. And honestly, that was pretty cool. The many times of re-watching the original only fueled my hype for the sequel.

    During its opening weekend, my parents had decided to surprise my sister and I with a trip to the movies. They had thought that I was ready to see my first horror film in the theater. This was a bit of a massive deal for me. I mean at this time I was 9 years old. It was definitely a completely different time to live in. Back then, you only needed to have parents along with you to attend the movie. These days, it feels like that’d be a lot harder to do potentially.

    I sat there in the third row of the theater. The screen lit up and began playing the previews. Quickly the previews flashed by and the film started, I sat there engulfed in the film. The film was awesome. It was everything I had hoped it could be and more. It not only managed to stand toe-to-toe with the original film. 9 year old me would have ranked Scream 2 higher than it. It left me floored. I was thrilled and at times I was wondering where things were going to go next. Then the moment happened, it was one that hit me so hard. Randy, Dewey, and Gale searching through the campus trying to figure out where the killer could be. It’s a moment that made me believe that no one was safe. When Ghost Face opens the van door and snatches the unsuspecting Randy, I was not ready. This here was my favorite character in the film. He was the movie lover. I gravitated towards him because of his humor and love for the genre. So losing him, it shattered me. I was left sitting there in the theater – in shock. I was quietly thinking to myself that if another of the main cast died – well, I was done.

    Then again, Wes set the scene as Gale witnesses Ghost Face attacking Dewey in the sound booth. We had already lost Randy. What the hell was going to happen if we lost Dewey? If that happened, was there a chance we could lose Sidney too? What was going to happen next?

    And brilliantly we entered the final moments as the killer was revealed, it was Mickey the freaky Tarentino movie lover. Of course, it was. Looking back at the film now, it makes so much sense. Especially with how Ghost Face operates in that opening sequence, it was Mickey creating his movie. He was so sure of himself and loving every minute of it. That opening alone showcases just how off the wall and insane he was. Yeah, Debbie Salt had to help here and there. But for the most part, I definitely feel like Mickey was the one responsible for a lot of the murders. Well except for Randy. Mickey works so well as a character because he is the anti-Randy. He’s one of us. He knows the rules and gladly throws them out the window. His only goal is to create as much havoc as possible to craft something of a ‘film’ in his mind. And then Williamson managed to callback to Friday the 13^th with the reveal of Billy’s mother. That was pretty interesting. I mean it definitely sets itself apart from taking what you think you know and twisting it. The safe bet would have been to have Derek involved or just Mickey by himself. It would be something that the audience would expect. But not Billy’s mother, so I applaud Williamson and Craven on that.

    After the movie ended, my parents asked me what I thought about the movie. I told them that it sucked that Randy died. The movie was great but that was my biggest gripe with it. I didn’t wanna see Randy go. There was still a lot of places that he could have went. But his story was cut short – because of his actions. If he hadn’t been badmouthing Billy and was so sure of himself, there may have been a chance he would have survived. But again, he thought he knew the rules.

    In the years since that first view, I had watched Scream 2 a lot. It still manages to hold my attention. There is some aspects of it that kinda don’t click with me. But for the most part, it is a solid next chapter. I definitely have broken down the film a few times. Does it capture the spirit of the original? Yeah, I would say that it does. Is it as good as the original? Honestly, I don’t think so. So in my ranking of the films, I would rank this below the original. But on another note, Grandma loved it as much as the first one.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.

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