Scream 4

Plot synopsis:
Sherrie and Trudie (Lucy Hale and Shenae Grimes), two high schools girls, are stalked and then brutally killed by Ghostface, but this is the opening scene to "Stab 6", which Rachel and Chloe (Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell) are watching. Rachel nags on about horror movie cliches, then Chloe gets out a knife and stabs her, twice. This is the opening to "Stab 7", which Jenny and Marnie (Aimee Teegarden and Britt Robertson) are watching. After Jenny pranks Marnie, she is killed. Jenny is threatened over the phone by a voice, and then chased through the house by Ghostface himself, leading to her demise in the garage.Ten years since the events known as "The Woodsboro Massacre," Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to her hometown as one of the stops on her book-signing tour. However, things do not go well when Dewey Riley (David Arquette, who is now the town's Sheriff) interrupts the signing, claiming that the murder of Jenny and Marnie are linked to a cellular phone somewhere in the bookstore's vicinity. Everyone is surprised when the phone is found in the trunk of Sidney's rental car, along with bloody handprints.While Dewey intends to find out what is going on, the incident quickly spreads across the town like wildfire. Gale Weathers-Riley (Courteney Cox, who is Dewey's wife), gets her old spark back and in an effort to be in the spotlight again, intends to investigate what happened.Dewey assigns a police detail to patrol the place where Sidney will be staying, which happens to be the residence of her aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell), and cousin Jill (Emma Roberts). It is here that Sidney has a deja vu moment, in going to her cousin's room, only to see her cousin's ex-boyfriend Trevor (Nico Tortorella) sneaking out a nearby window after Jill has asked him to leave.Later on that evening, Jill and her friend Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) are watching a movie, when Kirby gets a call from someone sounding like 'Ghostface.' The voice claims he's hiding in the closet, which Kirby checks, but finds no one. The voice then claims that he isn't standing in Jill's closet. In the house next door, their friend Olivia (Marielle Jaffe) is shocked when the killer bursts from HER closet and gruesomely kills her. Sidney hears what's going on, and breaks into Olivia's place, attempting to stop the killer. However, he escapes just as the police arrive.Sidney is taken to the local hospital to be checked over, but is upset when her book-signing's publicist Rebecca (Alison Brie) claims that these new killings can help the sales of Sidney's self-help book. Sidney fires Rebecca on the spot, who heads to the facility's parking garage, only to be menaced and then killed, before her body is thrown off the top of the garage onto the roof of a nearby news van.Gale is still trying to get to the bottom of the mystery, and convinces Sidney to come with her to the local 'Cinema Club' at the high school, run by Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) and Robbie Mercer (Erik Knudsen). The two claim that if the killer is attempting to kill people in a 'remake' fashion. While some things may be similar, the killer's style is not going to be exactly like the first time, and that to make the situation even more intense, they may even be recording the murders to post them on the internet.When someone brings up that the end of the murder-spree the first time was at a house party, Charlie and Robbie immediately assume that the killer may strike at their upcoming 'Stab-a-Thon,' where they'll run all the movies in the 'Stab' series (based on the original murders). Some question why hold the 'Stab-a-Thon' in the first place, but the guys assume that they aren't the only party in town, as teenagers on a Friday night have plenty of other party options.Gale manages to find the party, and disguising herself, sets up cameras to view what's going on in the party. However, as she watches from her car, the cameras start to get covered up. Gale places a call to Dewey, before sneaking back into the party. While attempting to fix the camera in the rafters, she comes across a remote webcam, before being stabbed by the killer. Dewey shows up just as Gale collapses to the ground floor, but the killer has once again eluded capture. She survives and it taken to the local hospital.Meanwhile, two police officiers, Ross and Perkins, (Adam Brody and Anthony Anderson) who are on watch outside Kate's house, are both killed by Ghostface. Sidney finds out the Jill snuck out and went to Kirby's. When Kate gets back from shopping Sidney tells her that Jill went to Kirby's. Kate attempts to call her, she does not answer. As the two attempt to go over and get her, the killer appears and kills Kate. Sidney manages to escape, and rushes over to Kirby's place. The killer manages to get to Kirby's house before she arrives.Jill, Kirby, Charlie, and Robbie are relaxing at Kirby's place when Trevor shows up. Jill claims he wasn't invited, but Trevor claims he got a message from Jill's phone. Jill explains this to be impossible, as her phone has been missing recently. Kirby suggests that Jill should go to her room to look for it, and Trevor follows her.Robbie indulges in some alcohol, and ends up going outside, where he is killed. Back inside, Kirby reveals to Charlie her penchant for horror movies, and that she finds him attractive. However, the moment is interrupted when Trevor reappears. Charlie and Trevor leave the living room, leaving Kirby alone. Jill comes from downstairs, and Sidney comes into the house, telling Jill and Kirby of Kate's death. Ghostface appears, and chases them through the house, where Jill hides under a bed and Kirby hides in the basement.When Sidney comes down to the basement to find Kirby, they both find Charlie on the porch, covered in blood. Ghostface appears and ties him to a chair. Kirby's phone rings, and the killer claims he wants to play a game with her, testing her horror movie knowledge. With the killer busy, Sidney runs up the stairs to try to find Jill, to find her missing. When the voice on the phone stops, Kirby rushes out, and attempts to untie Charlie...only to have him stab her, upset that it took til' now for her to find him attractive, which leaves her for dead.Sidney is then attacked by Charlie with the knife, but manages to escape and she starts running to the front door and is then stabbed by Ghostface, confirming that there is a second killer. Ghostface removes his mask...and it is revealed that Jill is also in on it! Jill then lets loose a torrid of hatred at Sidney, claiming that her cousin's fame was always rubbed in her face, and how sick she was of it. Jill now claims that soon, Sidney will die, and in the wake of the killer's spree, she'll become famous instead. Charlie also assumes he's going to be part of the plan, but is shocked when Jill kills him as well. She then kills Trevor with a gun, and supposedly kills Sidney.Jill then sets up the situation as if her ex-boyfriend Trevor was the true killer, planting the knife, mutilating herself, leaving bits of her hair in his hand, and smashing and breaking things around the room. Dewey and the other officers eventually reach Kirby's place, and immediately, when it seems that Jill is still alive, the press descend and peg her as a 'survivor.'In the hospital, Dewey visits with Jill, who claims that maybe one day she can write a book with Gale, since they have the same injuries. Dewey also explains to Jill that Sidney will recover,revealing that she is still alive, and everything will be fine.However, once he leaves, Jill gets out of her bed, and rushes to Sidney's room, intending to kill her cousin once and for all. Dewey manages to show up (having realized that Jill slipped up mentioning similar injuries to Gale...something she shouldn't have been able to know!), but is knocked out by Jill's use of a bedpan. Gale and Deputy Officer Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) are right behind him, but Jill manages to take Dewey's gun, and corner them behind a bed. Jill demands Judy's gun, and gets it, before shooting the her. Jill then threatens Gale, only to have Gale buy time before Sidney manages to charge up a defibrillator and use the paddles to 'shock' her cousin into submission. Everything seems to be OK, until Jill rises for 'one last scare,' and Sidney kills her cousin with a bullet to the chest.

Tags: comedy, mystery, murder, cult, revenge, violence, satire, romantic, suspenseful

Review:
No matter how mordantly self-aware the movies are (and believe me, Scream 4 gets a little tediously indulgent in its postmodern cleverness), there's an inevitable predictability to some of the proceedings but anybody who's a genre-savvy horror fan will appreciate how brilliantly everything is executed.
The opening sequences, for example, are one of the best parts of the movie and are a perfect reintroduction to the franchise and while the bulk of the story lags a little, it's redeemed by the ballsy ending.The acting is great with the core trio (Campbell, Arquette and Cox) delivering their usual, strong performances and the rest of the cast, however limited their respective roles, are just as entertaining.
Just when you start to roll your eyes, they roll their eyes.But it also stands as a good slasher flick - perhaps the LEAST slasher-y of the lot so far (it can't be everything after all) but there are plenty of jump-in-your-seat moments.The combination of old generation cast and new generation is actually seamless, again lots of self-referencing about that too.The highlights are too many to name - but the opening of the movie will have you laughing far harder than you'd have expected to.Overall, Scream 4 is excellent..
Never before have I seen a horror franchise spawn 4 movies and still be taken seriously, usually when a franchise follows this path it means that the producers are making annual cash-ins trying to milk the franchise as much as possible while it is still popular and relevant (see Saw, Final Destination), well for Scream 4 (or Scre4m)that's not the case, this movie makes an effort to continue a saga which was put to sleep for more than a decade, without it being a re-imagining, re-make or re-boot like the hideous Rob Zombie attempt at a Halloween remake(although the movie makes fun of this in a brilliant way).
Scream 4 is more than that, while a sequel, it feels like a complete new beginning, it carried the bad stigma that the failed Scream 3 left behind, yet it proved that the series is still relevant, and with the adequate script it takes off on a delightful new killing spree.10 years have passed since Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) last encountered the Ghostface killer, she has moved on with her life and now dedicates to writing her most intimate memoirs and book touring the country with her publicist, making her last stop at her hometown of Woodsboro, the place where it all started.
Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) are living their peaceful lives in that town, the same as Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) and their friends, which, begin being stalked by a new masked killer.When at it's best, Scream 4 manages to make you laugh hysterically but at the same time, in the same scene, give you heart-stopping scares, other reviewers think that the only characters you care about are the main threesome (Sidney, Gale and Dewey) but in my opinion, it is precisely the "new rules" factor that make you doubt whether they'll make it or not, meanwhile, you start caring about the other characters (specially Kirby Reed, played by "Heroes" cheerleader Hayden Panettiere) who shares her love for horror films with an unusual crush.While some of the decisions made by characters really fall into the "dumb-blonde-who-goes-upstairs" category, it is precisely the killer that takes credit for this decision making, since you don't know where he'll pop up next, thus making going outside an even scarier choice.Scream 4 is really better thought out than it's predecessor, there's no doubt about that, this time, the gore is even more gruesome, the body count is larger and the truth is that you'll never guess who the killer is, it really could be anyone, and director Wes Craven really makes this a possibility.In the end, Scream 4 perfectly combines comedy, horror, action and drama to create a new formula, while not a perfect movie, it's shortcomings become less important by one aspect, it really doesn't take itself too seriously but at the same time it makes a homage of the saga and utilizes itself as a tool to further immortalize the Ghostface killer as one of the most popular icons in the horror genre..
The fear for their lives was as real as the first time we met Sidney, Gale and Dewey.The entire films was and stayed tongue in cheek and for a sequel, it was just as refreshing as the original.Hands down to directors like Sam Raimi, Robert Rodriquez and Wes Craven, for making horror movies fun!.
"Scream 3", in particular, lacked Kevin Williamson behind the script, and not even Wes Craven could turn what Ehren Kruger wrote into gold (meaning, a good flick; it did make a lot of money, though, and Parker Posey made it hilarious at moments).So, eleven years later, a new SCREAM movie comes out, reuniting the original director, writer and the three survivors of the franchise, heroine Sidney Prescott (my first movie crush, Neve Campbell, still naturally beautiful and always a competent actress), Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courteney Cox).
The tongue-in-cheek humor works for the most part, and Williamson knows how to parody a trend that he (re)created himself, including the ridiculousness of torture porn from the likes of SAW and its annual sequels - "movies with no character development, in which you don't care who lives or dies".
That is the strongest link in this franchise: we've come to care about Sidney, Dewey and Gale, making the SCREAM movies work equally as slashers and satires.
It attempted to mock the majority of horror movies, including its own predecessors, far too hard, making it difficult to take seriously or even watch at all.The character development of "the new generation" was poor, meaning that it was hard to feel sorry for any of them given the circumstances that surrounded them.
There are still problems in this movie like how the end drags a little the dialogue could have been better at some points and right after the amazing opening seen it tries it inter dose all the characters again which takes awhile also the kills are all stabs not like saw where bones and blood are flying everywhere.
With all the rubbish horror/slasher films out there, it's nice to see one with decent characters and that's well written.All the principal/surviving characters return for number 4, which gives it a familiar feel, plus they're all decent actors, meaning you don't have to put up with a gaggle of teenage nobodies for an hour and a half.Basically, if you liked the previous three Scream movies and you don't mind that this is simply more of the same, then give it a go.
Being the "angel of death" that she is, the bodies begin to pile up as a new killer sets his sights on "remaking" the original events, recasting Sidney with her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts).From the opening sequence to final shot, Scream 4 definitely lives up to its tagline New Decade New Rules, and is even more brutal than before, of course we get the usual death then credits start, but this time we get 5 deaths before the title actually comes on, but with a twist, a pretty awesome one.
We get 14 deaths in this one, definitely the most out of any of the Screamquels.The returning cast were again as I already said eased back into they're roles with pure ease, especially Courtney Cox who quickly became the fame hungry bitchy Gale Weathers, and the new cast were also enjoyable Emma Roberts (Jill) did seem a bit of Sidney No2 at first but she really became more and more enjoyable by the end and really came out on her own, Hayden Panetierre (Kirby) was easily the stand-out out of the new cast, she was fun sexy and quick witted, I loved the part when she was naming all the remakes in scene that bears resembles part 1.
But other than that the cast were top notch.In my opinion Wes Craven has always been a bit of a bit and miss for me with greats like (Scream Trilogy, Last House On The Left, The Hills Have Eyes) and misses like (Deadly Friend, Cursed & Hills Have Eyes 2) but here he delivers his best film in many recent years and has a way of timing out scenes that build up the tension and suspense that goes beyond a simple jump scare.
Even after an eleven year absence, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson prove that they are still at the top of their game, and intelligent and original horror can still exist, even in these dark times full of repetitive sequels and remakes, something that the film comments on heavily.The basic premise of the film is that Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro after ten years to publicize her new book on her experience with the killer.
The three veteran actors from the trilogy, Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox reprising their roles as Sidney, Dewey, and Gale Weathers respectively, play their roles very well, even amongst all the younger stars who more often then not, are in the spotlight, and it feels like they've definitely changed since the events in Scream 3.
However at the same time, there wasn't much they could really do, since a lot of the focus had to be on the younger cast members, who actually put up some pretty good performances, though cannot be compared the cast of the original, but still fare a mile better than the characters introduced in the previous sequels.I really liked how the actors from the two generations interacted, adding to the commentary on how not just horror movies have changed over the years, but our culture as well.
The years since the slightly underwhelming "Scream 3" have given the original creators- director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson- fresh fodder for another distinctive entry in the franchise, and it shows amply right from the film's diabolically funny beginning.Besides being an intriguing whodunit, part of the fun of the "Scream" series was its self-referential cleverness, and "Scream 4" is no different.
Both are acutely aware of how quickly things have changed within the last decade, especially how social media and technology would have since changed the rules of the stalking game that they had once so cleverly turned on its head in the original "Scream" (remember that Drew Barrymore opening?).And so amidst countless other slasher sequels that have come along since the last "Scream", Williamson and Craven ensure that each one of the killings here remain as sharp, fresh and thrilling as ever in this era of iPhones, caller IDs, weblogs and live streaming.
Indeed, two of the most suspenseful moments in the film are thanks to the latter- first, when our favourite goofily charming sheriff Dewey watches a live feed of Ghostface appearing right behind his wife Gale; and second, when one of a pair of high school nerds (Rory Culkin and Erik Knudsen) gets his strapped-on camera turned 180-degrees to film what's behind him.These last two characters are part of a new group of young nubile teens which Williamson introduces as fresh blood to spill, including Sidney's cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her two BFFs, Olivia (Marielle Jaffe) and Kirby (Hayden Panettiere)- of course, no "Scream" is complete with the original survivors, Dewey, Gale and Sidney Prescott who returns to Woodsboro to promote her new self-help book a decade after the last Ghostface murders.
Each one of the new characters is a suspect until they get killed, and let us reassure you that the final reveal at the end of Williamson's teasing packs a wallop by not only taking the "Scream" series in a whole new direction (moving away from the connections to Sidney's mother which formed the backbone of the first three movies), but also by doing so in an intelligently vicious manner.Nevertheless, the challenge of balancing screen time between the new and the old characters means that there are less opportunities for the previous generation of "Scream" fans to catch up with Dewey, Gale and even Sidney, whose roles are much less defined than in the earlier films.
I won't tell you who the killer is but in recent Scream movies they are usually twisted and full of rage but the revealed Ghostface here is kinda low key.Overall, it's fun to watch because of the characters and it's more violent but the version I saw here in the Philippines has cuts which kinda ruined the film.
"What's your favorite scary movie?" whispered a faceless killer in the opening line Wes Craven's original Scream.
This is one of the cleverest, funniest, scariest horror films to come out since the original movie in 1996!This isn't a reboot, it is a direct sequel but with a very modern and current feel to it that makes it accessible to a new audience while also delighting the fans of the original.We have a fantastic returning cast of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette and also the re-teaming of Craven and Williamson who made the originals (let's forget Scooby Doo Scream 3)!
The way that Scream 4 is constructed is so smart- they subvert expectations but also satisfy and play with structure so you really don't know what's going to happen next.The killer/or ers reveal is masterly done- Craven throwing red herrings at the audience right from the get go, so when you do learn who has been donning the Ghostface mask and hacking and slashing there is a genuine gasp of surprise.What makes this film possibly the best sequel since the original is that where the first film benefited from the teens being aware of the classic slashers of the 70s and 80s, these teens are completely aware of the 'Stab' series and live in the same world that we do- we know who Ghostface is and so do they and the fact that they have become flippant about it just adds to the realism.I am a massive fan of the original and was very prepared to be disappointed with this instalment but I have to say I loved every minute- from the clever (and very funny) opening right until the end credits- this is a must see for anyone who enjoyed the original and just wants a roller-coaster ride of a film.Try and see it in the cinema with a packed audience - that's how these films should be seen and prepare to cheer at the end- cos it's a SCREAM BABY!.
RELEASED IN 2011, Wes Craven's "Scream 4" chronicles events 10 years after the previous film (from 2000) when author Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns home to Woodsboro wherein she reacquaints with Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courteney Cox), who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her Aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell).
So the remakes can try to ruin the original's as much as they like, because there's nothing stopping the master of horror from making a damn good movie.Sidney Prescott, the Laurie Strode of the 'Halloween' movies, is now finally concluding her book tour in her home town of Woodsboro - which only triggers another series of grizzly murders by the alias killer 'Ghostface'.
This film is a great example of what can be achieved within the horror genre, and it shows up the ridiculous remakes that studios are currently churning out thinking that they will be good enough to satisfy horror-fans.WOW it's already be 10 years since the last Scream movie was released how crazy is that?
Naturally, it doesn't take long before she and her old friends, Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and former reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), end up on the killer's radar, and with the new trends in horror cinema, there are some new rules to pay attention to...The big risk with Scream 4 was that it could all too easily turn into a bad joke, given the genre's lackluster form of late (a phenomenon Craven is well aware of, having even produced two remakes of his own films, although it must be said those were slightly better than most of their peers) and the fact that the first movie was itself made fun of in the inaugural Scary Movie (funnily enough, one of the new characters is played by funny-man Anthony Anderson, who had a prominent role in Scary Movie 3).
Throughout the most part of the movie the atmospheric shots and music score definitely created a classic horror movie feel to Scre4am making it scary and enjoyable to watch All in all I felt Wes craven did a great job on this movie and it really has given a new lease of life into the slasher genre..
I also liked it because of the interpretation of Neve Campbell who I think that she was outstanding and David Arquette who played as Dewey Riley.Finally I have to say that if you want to see a horror movie with suspense, nice plot and good cast then you just have to watch this movie..
All you can do is watch.¨ Wes Craven is back again for yet another Scream installment 15 years after the first film of the franchise, and he has brought back with him all the stars including Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and of course Ghostface, who have all stared in the four Scream movies.
From the opening scenes with all the Stab sequels we are reminded that this franchise is not just a horror film, but a satire on scary movies as well.Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is back at Woodsboro after ten years and is promoting a self-help book she has written.