Scream 4

Scream 4 (stylized as SCRE4M) is a 2011 American slasher film and the fourth installment in the Scream series. Directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream and Scream 2, the film stars an ensemble cast which includes Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere. The plot involves Sidney Prescott returning to Woodsboro after ten years as part of her book tour. As soon as she arrives, Ghostface once again begins killing students from Woodsboro High, including her younger cousin's friends. Prescott, Gale Weathers-Riley, and Dewey Riley once again team up to stop the murders, but not before having to learn from a new generation the "new rules" of surviving horror films.
Originally, the series was intended to be a trilogy, but film production was approved by Bob Weinstein. Depending on the box office, Scream 4 is intended to be the first of a new trilogy. Williamson had to leave production early due to contractual obligations and Ehren Kruger (Scream 3) was brought in for re-writes. Campbell, Arquette and Cox are the only returning cast members from the previous films and were the first to sign on to the film in September 2009. Panettiere and Rory Culkin were the first of the new cast to sign on in May 2010. Ashley Greene was initially the choice of the lead character, Jill, but the role eventually went to Roberts. Filming took place in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan in June 2010 to September 2010, with re-shoots in early 2011.
Scream 4 was released on April 15, 2011, and took in $19.3 million its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, making it the second-lowest opening since the first film.
==Plot==
On the 15th anniversary week of the original Woodsboro murders, high school students Jenny Randall and Marnie Cooper are murdered by Ghostface. Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro the following day to promote her self-help book with her publicist, Rebecca Walters. After evidence is found in her rental car, Sidney becomes a prime suspect in the murders and must stay in town until they are solved.
Sidney's cousin, Jill Roberts, who is coping with the infidelity of her ex-boyfriend, Trevor Sheldon, gets a threatening phone call from Ghostface, as does her friend Olivia Morris. Jill and Olivia, alongside their friend Kirby Reed, are questioned about their calls by Dewey Riley, now the town's sheriff, while his deputies Judy Hicks, Anthony Perkins, and Ross Hoss assist him in the case. Gale Weathers, Dewey's wife, is struggling with writer's block and decides to investigate the murders against her husband's wishes. That night, as Sidney stays over with Jill and her aunt Kate, Olivia is killed by Ghostface as Jill and Kirby watch in horror from across the street. Sidney herself is then confronted by Ghostface, and they fight until Ghostface is forced to flee when Perkins and Hoss arrive.
At the hospital, Sidney fires Rebecca after learning of her desire to exploit the murders to increase book sales, and Rebecca is subsequently murdered by Ghostface at a parking garage. Gale enlists the help of two high school movie fanatics, Charlie Walker and Robbie Mercer. Charlie theorizes that the killer is following the rules of horror remakes, and Gale and Sidney conclude that the killer will likely strike at the "Stab-a-thon", a screening party held in a barn where teenagers gather to binge watch all seven movies of the Stab franchise. Gale sneaks into the party to investigate, but Ghostface attacks her, stabbing her in the shoulder. Hoss and Perkins, who were assigned to guard Jill's house, are also murdered. Sidney discovers through another taunting call from Ghostface that Jill has left for Kirby's, before Ghostface attacks her and Kate, killing the latter.
Jill, Kirby, Charlie, Robbie, and Trevor arrive for an after party at Kirby's house when Ghostface strikes, killing a drunken Robbie. Sidney arrives to leave with Jill, but they are both chased by Ghostface. As Sidney calls Dewey and tries to find Jill, Kirby frees Charlie, who was bound and gagged, but he immediately stabs her, revealing himself as Ghostface before leaving her to bleed out. Sidney is confronted by Charlie and a second Ghostface, who reveals herself as Jill. She admits to masterminding the murders out of jealousy from the fame that Sidney received for surviving the previous killing sprees and desires to achieve clout as a pseudo-victim of the murders, intending to frame Trevor as Ghostface. Jill kills Trevor and betrays Charlie, stabbing him to death to pin him as Trevor's accomplice so she can be the sole survivor. She then stabs Sidney and injures herself to frame Trevor further.
Dewey and the police arrive as Sidney and Jill are taken to the hospital. After discovering that Sidney has survived, an enraged Jill goes to her hospital room and makes a final attempt to kill her, but Sidney fights back. Dewey, Gale, and Judy intervene, after Dewey learns she was the killer by the fact that Jill somehow knew exactly where Gale was stabbed. Jill subdues Dewey and Judy and holds Gale at gunpoint, but Sidney incapacitates Jill with a defibrillator and ultimately kills her by shooting her heart. Dewey calls in all police units, as reporters outside erroneously name Jill as the "sole surviving hero".
==Cast==
* Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott
* David Arquette as Dewey Riley
* Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed
* Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers
* Emma Roberts as Jill Roberts
* Anthony Anderson as Anthony Perkins
* Adam Brody as Ross Hoss
* Rory Culkin as Charlie Walker
* Mary McDonnell as Kate Roberts
* Marley Shelton as Judy Hicks
* Alison Brie as Rebecca Walters
* Marielle Jaffe as Olivia Morris
* Nico Tortorella as Trevor Sheldon
* Erik Knudsen as Robbie Mercer
* Anna Paquin as Rachel in Stab 7
* Kristen Bell as Chloe in Stab 7
* Shenae Grimes as Trudie in Stab 6
* Lucy Hale as Sherrie in Stab 6
* Britt Robertson as Marnie Cooper
* Aimee Teegarden as Jenny Randall
* Roger L. Jackson as the voice of Ghostface
==Production==
===Develoment===
Scream 4 was announced by The Weinstein Company in July 2008, with Wes Craven saying that he would not mind directing the film if the script were as good as Scream. Kevin Williamson, the writer of Scream and Scream 2, confirmed his return in January 2010, stating that the fourth film's production would begin during the hiatus of his show The Vampire Diaries and that Craven would direct the film. In March 2010, it was confirmed that Craven would indeed direct.
===Writing===
Craven stated that there had been no "real life" Ghostface murders from between the decade time jump of Scream 3 to Scream 4 but that there had been numerous sequels to the film-within-a-film Stab. He also commented on the status of Sidney Prescott, "She's done her best to move on from the events that occurred in the previous films, even releasing a successful book". Craven said that endless sequels, the modern spew of remakes, film studios, and directors are the butts of parodies in the film. The main characters have to figure out where the horror genre is in current days to figure out the modern events happening to and around them. Williamson expressed his desire to tell a story in which the audience would really care about the characters, like with Sidney Prescott, who survived the first three films, and focus on them rather than the next kill, in comparison to other horror films like those of the Saw franchise.
===Casting===
In September 2009, Variety reported that Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox would return. Craven briefly explained their roles in a later interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying "It's a total integration of those three and new kids. The story of Sid, Gale, and Dewey is very much a part of the movie." At a press conference for Repo Men, Liev Schreiber—who played Cotton Weary in the first three films—stated there were no plans for his return. In an interview with FEARnet, Williamson continued to deny a rumor of Jamie Kennedy returning, "I would love nothing more than to have Jamie Kennedy in the film. However to have Randy in the film, it sort of just takes it... I mean Scream 2 was a lie, you know? It's a false move. So I just won't do it. I can't do that. I just won't do it." In April, over 12 casting sides were released to the public to buy for auditions of the film.
==Filming==
On a budget of $40 million, principal photography began on June 28, 2010. Filming was scheduled to end on September 6, after a 42-day shoot, but instead concluded on September 24. Filming took place in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan. Scenes portraying Woodsboro High School featured in the original Scream film were shot at Woodworth Middle School in Dearborn, Michigan. The former 16th District Court in Livonia, Michigan was used as a police station.
==Release==
===Box office===
The film was released in 3,305 theaters on 4,400 screens and grossed over $1 million in its midnight previews. It made $8.7 million on Friday and $19.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office. According to industry experts, the film's opening weekend was "disappointing," experiencing the third-lowest opening of the Scream franchise. In its second weekend, it fell to fifth place, taking in $7 million ($7.8 million over the four-day Easter frame), then $2.2 million in its third weekend.
===Critical reviews===
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 190 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The franchise is showing its age, but Scream 4 is undeniably an improvement over its predecessor, with just enough meta humor and clever kills." On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.
===Home media===
Scream 4 was first released on DVD and Blu-ray in Mexico on August 5, 2011. It was later released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on August 22, 2011, in Canada and the United States on October 4, 2011, and in Australia and New Zealand on October 13, 2011. In the US DVD and Blu-ray rental charts, Scream 4 entered at #2 on its week of release. The film then spent 7 consecutive weeks among the top twenty of the chart. Scream 4 made its television debut on April 20, 2012, on cable channel Showtime. In December 2012, Showtime featured Scream 4 during a free weekend preview, where the station was available in over 80 million homes in America. On April 19, 2013, Scream 4 was added to Netflix's online streaming service. To promote the DVD and Blu-ray release, Universal Studios produced "Terror Tram: SCRE4M For Your Life" as an event featured in its annual Halloween Horror Nights throughout September and October 2011.
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