Anyone seen Scream 4 yet?

[JDFP]

I'll post this in the "Horror" section in a type of tongue-in-cheek way as it is technically labeled as a "horror" film.

I watched it earlier tonight. I thought it was an entertaining comedy (just like the first 3) and a good rip on horror conventions. Of course, there was one scene of "Hello?" "Is anyone/someone there?" which made me want to rip my eyes out of my head (Dear God, will that cliche EVER stop in films? I'm officially listing this as #1 in films to piss me off).

Emma Roberts was highly yummy looking (hey, she's over 18, I can say it!) to me and it was like a teenager trip back to nostalgia in seeing it. My biggest complaint about this comedy flick was that "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave wasn't present. I felt a bit cheated without the song being somewhere in the film as an homage to the original trilogy.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I always get a kick out of the "Scream" franchise for a great laugh in poking fun of the shit that Hollywood creates these days. I appreciate how these films don't take themselves seriously at all and aren't afraid to poke fun of themselves as well (the opening few minutes of it does a great job of this with Kristin Bell and Anna Paquin who looked like washed up whores with their dyed blonde hair but I digress...).

Anyway, for folks looking for a good laugh at a satire on our current society, I recommend seeing this. Because face it, we can either bitch and cry about the current state of Hollywood shit or we can have a good laugh about it.

j.p.

[Danny]

.....

......

....why would i want to watch the same film for a 4th time?

[MoonSylver]

I love Slasher movies. I liked the "Scream" franchise. I thought it did a great job of codifying/exploiting the conventons of the genre. I really like how the original 3 movies played out, much like a 3 act play. So even though I have some reservations about the 4th one, I am interested at the same time.

So there. :p

[JDFP]

.....

......

....why would i want to watch the same film for a 4th time?

Did you ever see "Halloween 2" (the first Halloween 2 or the second one?). Did you ever see "Friday the 13th: Part 2"? Did you ever see "Terminator 2"? Did you ever see "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2"? Did you ever see "Aliens", "The Empire Strikes Back", "Poltergeist 2", "Ghostbusters 2", etc. etc.

Any film that's a sequel is basically the same or similar type premise. It's a continuation of the story from the first film. So your argument is valid but would have to go for just about any film for which there is a sequel.

I suppose re-makes are better? :p

j.p.

[blind2d]

I missed a promo spot on TV for this, but I thought I heard someone mention Shaun of the Dead in there, true?

[bassman]

Did you ever see "Aliens",

Not a very good example, dude. Aliens is a totally different film than Alien.


But to answer the OP, no I havent seen it. I don't really care to. I'll check it out for free, but i'm not going to buy a ticket or dvd....

[slickwilly13]

I missed a promo spot on TV for this, but I thought I heard someone mention Shaun of the Dead in there, true?

Yes, Shaun of the Dead is shown and mentioned.

[MinionZombie]

Just saw it this afternoon.

Actually it was pretty decent. It's very meta, but it's also good fun - although it's not really scary - but it is a good sequel, and has plenty to say about the genre - and it's own universe - a decade on from the last flick.

[MoonSylver]

Just saw it this afternoon.

Actually it was pretty decent. It's very meta, but it's also good fun - although it's not really scary - but it is a good sequel, and has plenty to say about the genre - and it's own universe - a decade on from the last flick.

That's what I was hoping to hear. :D

[zombie04]

I'm looking forward to seeing it. I can't say I really have great expectations for it, but I'll be looking to kill two hours in a theater with it in a few days. Besides, after the third I don't think they could really screw up the series any more. Sure the movie is pointless, but if it's "fun" I suppose it's worth a view. And on another note, Scream 2 was the first dvd I ever owned back in 1998. My how the time goes by.

[MinionZombie]

My thoughts on Scream 4:

http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2011/04/triple-bill-mini-and-cine-musings.html

The original Scream came out when I was around about 12 or 13, so I saw it on rental VHS, and at first I really enjoyed it - indeed, I was fairly new to the horror genre (although the Scream franchise has always been more thrillers than horrors) - but then I came to resent the franchise after the sequel (which I also enjoyed initially). However, I was actually resenting the fallout from Scream - the dreadful copycats and how there were no horror movies anymore, only gory thrillers. Then Scream 3 came out and it had descended into self-parody and it didn't have anything to say anymore and indeed it had quickly become old hat.

Now, more than a decade later, we have Scream 4 - and the good news is that the Scream franchise finally has something worthwhile saying again. Inspired by an endless succession of remakes, reboots, and the derisively-termed "torture porn" movement, Scream 4 still isn't all that scary - it's still more a murder mystery thriller than anything else - but it takes its trademark meta-smarts to entirely new levels, best summed-up by the opening pre-title sequence.

There's perhaps too many characters thrown into the mix - the original trilogy survivors, the new kids on the block, a succession of new cops, and a handful of side roles - but even still, the sense of re-invigoration permeates each successive act of the script. On the down side though, I had a little trouble with the final act reveal - for me, there needed to be not only more exploration of motive, but a certain key player couldn't quite sell their character's about-turn. Furthermore some of the red herrings are a little undercooked and/or overplayed, and some of the smaller roles lack enough screen time to really make an impact that's anything beyond fleeting.

However, there are plenty of knowing, self-aware gags along the way - yet amazingly, it doesn't become eye-rollingly dull or predictable - it's an entertaining ride and it really benefits from the nostalgia factor, and more than a decade of development in the horror genre, upon which it could structure its motivations.

Is a fifth, and even sixth, movie necessary however? I really don't know ... it might be best to leave the franchise on a high note, rather than end up closing a second trilogy with another Scream 3, you know?

[MoonSylver]

Don't know for sure if you'll have to worry about a 5 & 6. It opened last weekend to the tune of about $18-$19m domestic, little over $49m global, off of a budget of $40m. So it is going to make money, but nothing like the $34-$36m openings of 2-3, or the $100m+ the 1st made or even the $80m the 3rd ended up with. :(