Writer's Note: In honor of Matthew "Shaggy" Lillard's birthday, one of the O.G. "Scream" guys, here's a review of the more recent "Scream 4," in which he has a tongue-in-cheek cameo. (He also crops up briefly in "Scream 2," FYI.) This review was originally published in UAB's Kaleidoscope on April 16th, 2011.
My sister & I grew up on a steady diet of horror movies. We’d stay up past our bedtime and scare ourselves silly watching the antics of slasher anti-heroes like Michael, Jason, and Freddy. The slasher film was dead in the water by the time we were old enough to see them in the theatres, and then- brace yourselves to feel old- 15 years ago, we finally got our chance: the original “Scream.” Finally, a horror movie written by a fan for fans- it was the first horror fanboy movie, really.
When the killer asked Drew Barrymore who the killer in “Friday the 13th” was, my sister & I looked at each other knowingly. We knew Drew was gonna bite it, because it’s a horror geek question: it’s Jason’s mother, not Jason who does the killing in part one, and only a fan would know that. “You’re such a Randy,” my sister said, when he started going on about “rules”- I would later turn my version of the speech into a Public Speaking topic and bag myself an “A”- who says being a geek never led to good things?
“Scream” was the kind of horror film you don’t see too often these days, a slow burner. It opened with small box office, before building up steam through word-of-mouth to become a huge sleeper hit. Kevin Williamson’s brilliant script reinvented slasher movies for a new generation, and director Wes Craven was already a legend for inventing Freddy Kruger years before. Now he had two major franchises under his belt, as the two sequels, both of which Craven directed, became big hits in their own right.
The third installment saw Williamson leave the fray, with middling results, so fans were kind of hoping that there would be another to wrap things up in a more satisfying way. Now, the new re-boot is back to update the “rules” for another generation. The hilarious thing is that, as ever, Williamson saw exactly how to handle the material in a way that pre-configures exactly what mass audiences will be expecting, as well as the hardcore fans.
Just as me and my friends did, so do some of the characters in “Scream 4” have a “Stab” fest, watching the faux “Scream” movies within the movies, marathon-style. Those going in with the previous entries fresh in their minds will find a small arsenal of references to the preceding films, down to certain scenarios within the new film.
I suspected “Scream 4” would take full advantage of modern technology, down to perhaps even streaming the deaths live as they happen, or, at the very least, recording them for prosperity. Done and done. I also suspected an even more “meta” approach than previous entries, which is to say, an even more heightened self-awareness.
Well, not only is that true, but the opening alone is damn near worth the price of admission in this regard, and then some. Indeed, it was, at times, as if someone had recorded our conversations and put them into the movie verbatim.
The film features some genuinely choice moments, and great laughs all around, save a few pre-death comments that were a bit too joke-y for my tastes (i.e. the whole “I’m gay” thing was a bit silly, as was the Bruce Willis reference). Still, the fact that Craven can still wring scares out of an audience after three films worth of this stuff is a bit remarkable in and of itself.
I attended the midnight premiere, and not only did people jump at the scares left and right, some of the diversionary tactics Craven uses to fake people out and get a scare out of them are downright brilliant. How he can still manage to stage this stuff so effectively after all this time is a testament to his skill as a director, to be sure.
The in-joke references range from unexpectedly touching (i.e. the fact that the married Dewey and Gale characters, played by David Arquette and Courtney Cox, are on the rocks…just like in real life) to hilariously reflective of the state of the horror industry (i.e. the “torture porn” jokes, the jokes about the non-stop remakes that have cluttered the screen in wake of the original “Scream” trilogy).
Without giving too much away, I not only didn’t see the identity of the main killer(s) coming, but that identity itself both functions as a clever in-joke and the film’s amusing raison d’être for the killer’s motivations. In this film, nearly everything has a hidden, secondary meaning, and the film consistently surprises by using comments about what is happening within the film as it is happening as a distraction so you forget that anyone could go at any moment, and thus are that much more surprised when they do.
The body count is extremely high and the film is perhaps the most gory of the series, with set-ups that are often elaborate and complex in nature, proving the late Randy’s predictions for future entries true where “Scream 3” did not. Reportedly, Williamson has already sketched out the storylines for the next two entries at the same time as he came up with the storyline for this one. (Naturally, the film itself pokes fun at this very conceit before the viewer can.)
While I would have to say it isn’t readily apparent where the potential sequels will be heading- the film doesn’t really end in such a way that it is obvious; which is to say, it doesn’t end on an obvious cliffhanger- the fact that “Scream 4” is not only better than the last entry, but on a par with the first two is reason to celebrate as it stands.
“Scream 4” could have been just a blatant cash grab. That it isn’t is a testament to both the writing and directing, which are top shelf for this sort of thing, and bodes well for the future entries, should this team remain intact. The great thing is, even if it doesn’t lead to two more sequels, this is a far better place to end the series than the last installment- also a reason to celebrate. The cast is endearing and though the film skips on characterization a little bit more than the first two films, most everyone is so likable that you forgive it.
Probably my biggest complaint would have to be that all the new characters lead to the main three survivors of the series thus far getting short shrift to a certain degree. I get that sometimes characterization can fall by the wayside in films like this, but we have come to expect a certain level of excellence in these films that makes the limited roles of the main cast we know and love suffer as a result.
Still, the film is so entertaining that you forgive it in spite of these things. The running time may be a bit much, especially by horror movie standards, but the film really earns its length by keeping things moving and interesting nearly every step of the way. All in all, it may not be as good as the original- what sequel is? - but it gets the job done just fine, and I can’t imagine audiences will leave with any complaints.
No comments:
Post a Comment