‘Scream 4’ is funny, and not the least bit scary

By John Soltes

Confession: Scream was the one that did it for me.

I’m pretty sure that the original 1996 horror film was the first “grownup” film I ever saw. It was certainly the first R-rated horror film I sat through (with my best friend and twin sister sitting nearby). The violence was palpable, and I definitely jumped quite a few times. I laughed at jokes I didn’t quite understand, and began to appreciate the horror genre.

That was then, and this is now.

After two fairly lousy sequels, 2011 audiences have been given Scream 4. I’m 15 years older now, and not too many films scare me anymore (one notable exception would have to be Paranormal Activity). The horror genre has gone through several revolutions and has had difficulty finding its way. Perhaps it’s the best time for director Wes Craven (of A Nightmare on Elm Street fame) and writer Kevin Williamson (of Dawson’s Creek fame) to go back to the slasher flick that started it all.

Scream 4 proves that the effort was admirable, but the payoff is only quasi-good. Perhaps if I was 12 years old again, I would love Scream 4 as a horror film. But as a 26-year-old, I find myself appreciating the movie more as a comedy than anything else.

The three original characters are all back: Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, the one who got away; Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers, the one who documented the one who got away; and David Arquette as Dewey Riley, now the small-town sheriff of Woodsboro, where the original murders took place. Campbell is still the best actor of the three, while Cox and Arquette largely go through the motions of their underwritten roles.

For those who haven’t experienced the Scream series, it would be worth checking out the previous installments. Essentially, a ghost-faced serial killer makes his way through the young and attractive residents of Woodsboro (the movie’s premise is very similar to Halloween). The conceit of each film is to figure out which character is behind the mask (kind of like the game Clue), and also to poke fun at the horror genre along the way.

Sidney is back in Woodsboro to promote her recently-published memoir. The night before her homecoming, the murders begin once again. Ghostface makes his way through victim after victim, slashing here and gagging there. Gale, who is semi-retired from the journalism business and having a bout of writers’ block over her next book, becomes determined to find the true identity of the copycat killer. Dewey is, well, just Dewey. He has more responsibility as the sheriff, but he’s still a dunderhead.

The new characters are mostly extra meat for Ghostface’s sharp knife. There’s Emma Roberts as Sidney’s cousin. Rory Culkin and Erik Knudsen play high school film geeks, essentially filling the role once played by Jamie Kennedy. Hayden Panettiere, of Heroes, is perhaps the only one worth noting. The rest are fairly forgettable.

Craven and Williamson were able to strike a brilliant balance between comedy and horror in the original, and then the concept started to go astray in the sequels. In Scream 4, the murder weapon should be a tongue rather than a knife, because these tongues are so firmly planted in the cheek that they hurt. There are more references to other horror films and the fictional Stab series, the movie within a movie, that Scream 4 becomes bogged down by its own commentary.

The writing is snappy and there are quite a few funny one-liners. But I think Williamson overdoes the story-within-a-story concept, and the constant peanut-gallery comments grow dull. Craven is still a horror legend, even if his scenes aren’t as jumpy as they used to be.

All in all, Scream 4 (or Scre4m as it’s also known) is a nostalgic trip back to a franchise that has been good to the horror genre. The original Scream not only offered audiences a good horror film, but it also skewered the genre and demanded  more of it. Scream 4 loses some of that punch, but retains enough enjoyment to satiate most bloody pallettes. Even though there’s a killer on the loose, it’s always a welcome trip back to Woodsboro.

Scream 4

2011

Directed by Wes Craven

Written by Kevin Williamson

Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette and Emma Roberts

Running time: 111 minutes

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking

Bubble score: 2.5 out of 4