I saw it on Tuesday.
Honestly . . . contrary to what others have said . . . the approximate 10 to 11 year gap since the last film . . . did nothing to revitalize the franchise.
It's stale.
Personally speaking . . . it should have ended with SCREAM 3, but in Hollywood . . . the almighty $ is king when it comes to sequels.
Generally . . . horror films in it's current cycle/state have reached a peak and will probably need to "die off" for a bit before another new fresh perspective can be had from emerging new directors and writers, but then again . . . it's always the same story with a different spin.
SCREAM 4 is definitely not worth the full admission price. Catch it as a matinee or wait until it's on DVD.
I agree with Delta. Contrary to what so many have said about Scre4m (or Scream 4), I'm running in the opposite direction with this one. I truly think it was a major let down, and a failed opportunity, if that, to revitalize the franchise as planned. My biggest grudge with Hollywood, is the fact that they constantly want to make money (hello, it’s Hollywood!) by re-doing film, after film, and sequel after sequel....they’re clearly oblivious to the fact that they have a golden opportunity to find a good writer, and a slightly in-experienced director with a PASSION, to re-invent a franchise, doing so, there’s a good chance of that writer, and director coming through in their end of the deal, making a good movie, and making the studio's a TON of money. A great example of this would be, Christopher Nolan (and David Goyer), who made (and will continue to make) Warner Bros. BILLIONS with the new Batman film franchise (or Trilogy). I mean, those films are magnificent! Great storytelling, Academy Award winning performances, art direction, costume design, cinematography, score, etc. That’s how you re-invent a film franchise! And you know it’s been done right when there is sort of juxtaposition to the original, like Tim Burton’s Batman films, which are completely different than Nolan’s Batman films, but are both great to compare to one another.
Sadly, studios just go for the quick cash-in (i.e. New Line Cinema; Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.) I would know, because I have spoken to producers and executives from New Line Cinema. They green light a remake, or sequel strictly for that 20 or 30 million dollar profit--they set a release date, and BAM! It’s easy money for the studios, and it's what generates more jobs, and income.
So yeah, back to the point…Scre4m was just way too comical, NOTHING compared to the original. That’s what also bothers me, btw. People tend to forget the first Scream is not a black comedy, but a suspenseful horror film with real-life scenarios that poke fun of horror films--at the end of the day you more or less have two sick high school kids that planned out a murdering spree to “make a horror movie” of their own…hmmm, sounds like a scary movie to me, and it's so much scarier in the 90’s, too. Today’s generation wouldn’t dare concoct something of that nature, and if they did, it’s probably be with guns or bombs--not with knives (based on what's in the news). And that’s why the original Scream was so scary when it came out at the time...kids in high school never did that sort of thing. Totally caught viewers off guard.
Scre4m didn’t have the same feel, and it was almost as if they were in on their own joke, and became overly campy. I’ll also point out, that it didn’t even have good music, in fact, I thought the music was a gag in the beginning of the film, I thought it was all part of a another false opening. Which reminds me, the supposed well-scripted (SPOILER: film within a film) was off to a good start, but then made no sense whatsoever having sat through the next 5 minutes. You would think they’d make those additional openings even more undistinguishable to the audience with each take. The Ghostface killer(s)--(usually revealed at the end of the film), which nobody seemed to predict who it was based on reviews-- I pinpointed it down to two suspects in the first 30 minutes of the film. I was sitting there saying to myself "it better not be SPOILER!!"...and of course at the end I found out it was, which left me moaning and groaning out of the theatre, having envisioned a much more elaborate ending in my head, …goes to show you, the writing was stale, and predictable, despite being written by mastermind, and father of the originals, Kevin Williamson (Shame on you!).
I was just really let down…. The same feeling I had in the pit of my stomach when I walked out of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...just sheer disappointment… I strongly felt they could have done much more with the film, seeing on how they had 11 years to sit on a good plot, instead there were too many plot holes, and Sidney should have had nothing to do with this whole ordeal. No, really, it was if she were dragged in the story for no apparent reason, other than to experience, what she already has for the most part of her life--being chased by an unidentified costumed killer. Sounds pretty cliche to me. Poor excuse for a Scream sequel, and honestly, I enjoyed Scream 3 better than 4 all because the ending had a motive (“Hear that Stu?, she wants a motive”), whereas, this one was RIDICULOUS. The only way, I personally think I’ll enjoy Scre4m is if they release a Scream 5, and Scream 6, and have certain continuity within each film building up to a real plot line, and finale. There are still several suspects that can be killers in future installments, but who knows what the studio’s plans are, and more specifically, Wes Craven’s, and Kevin Williamsons creative direction for the series in general. Scream 4 is worth a rental, worth a purchase on DVD, or Blu-ray, but should be acknowledged as a low-grade entry in the series that fails to deliver the same thrills, and chills of the first film, and even the second film, us fans have come to love equally, if not more.