SCREAM 4 (Rated R for profanity, some teen drinking, strong bloody violence): After a decade, writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven return with a passel of producers to make us laugh & be scared all over again.
Remember, in 1996 the team updated the slasher formula by mixing satire into the horror genre - in a sense, laughing at itself. The second & third follow-ups lost momentum, but now some of the verve (and hokum) is back, with cell phones, the Internet and webcams playing new roles - the only things that have been updated, actually, along with heightened accessibility to vulgar attitudes and cheap shot profanity.
The movie begins cleverly enough to give the impression that this is going to be something new & special. Sidney (Neve Campbell) returns to her old haunt Woodsboro after a success as a writer, home to promote her latest book. She finds things pretty much unchanged, though some friends now are married and others concerned that wherever Sidney goes, so goes the murder of people around her.
And, sure enough, it doesn't take long for slashing, stabbing, maiming, vicious battling occur, just as if it were yesterday. Ghostface is back, making menacing phone calls, unexpectedly appearing behind people or creeping up on them, knife in hand, attacking men as well as the usual bumptious fems - you know the rest. All, that is, except a ho-hum surprise at the end, which suggests that there might still be one more sequel. Unless it draws well at the box office, don't count on it.
The in-jokes continue, with comments like, in the midst of a wild action moment, "Don't be silly; this is supposed to be a horror movie, remember?" It was funny, once.
The cast is uniformly familiar with its characters and goes through the variety of emotions (screams, especially) in routine style. All we have left to appreciate is the care in which the film has been put together, with Craven's experienced expertise with the genre, Peter Deming's moody photography (and frequent use of reflections), Peter McNulty's standard horror editing set-ups, backed by Marco Blutrami's traditional roller coaster musical score and sharp stabs. (Grade: C+)
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