"Do You Like Scary Movies" Re-Watch: Scream 4

 "Scream 4" (2011)

Ghostface: "Alright, Kirby, then it's time for your last-chance question. Name the remake of the groundbreaking horror film in which the vill--"

Kirby Reed: "Halloween, uh, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, the Hills Have Eyes, Amityville Horror, uh, Last House on the Left, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, My Bloody Valentine, When a Stranger Calls, Prom Night, Black Christmas, House of Wax, the Fog, Piranha. It's one of those, right? Right?"

[After Olivia's death, Sidney answers Olivia's phone.]

Sidney Prescott: "What?"

Ghostface: "Welcome home, Sidney. Preview of coming events."

Sidney Prescott: "Why don't you come for me? You got the balls for that?"

Ghostface: "Oh, poor Sidney. You think this is all about you? You think you're still the star?"

Sidney Prescott: "This isn't a fucking movie."

Ghostface: "It will be."

Sidney Prescott: "These are innocent people!"

Ghostface: "Spare me the lecture! You've done very well by all this bloodshed, haven't you? Well, how about the town you left behind? I've got plans for you. I'm gonna slit your eyelids in half so you don't blink when I stab you in the face. You'll die when I want you to, Sidney, but not a moment before. Until then, you're going to suffer!"

I was very excited when "Scream 4" was announced because I didn't think that there ever would be another "Scream" movie with the original trio. Back in 2010, when the movie was announced, reboots and revivals weren't as common as they are now. So, it was a treat. There was a website that tracked the filming and shared on set photos and I followed that religiously. I saw it twice in the theaters. Once on opening night and then again a couple days later because my ex-husband, then boyfriend's friends were being a little obnoxious in the theater the first night.

Principal photography began in June 2010 and ended in September 2010. The film stars David Arquette as Dewey Riley, Neve Campbell at Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, Emma Roberts as Jill Roberts, Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed, 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 and Aimee Teagarden as Jenny Randall. The film was written by Kevin Williamson. It was directed by Wes Craven. "Scream 4" was released on April 15, 2011.

The OG Scream queen with her replacement?

I feel like I am a bit of a "Scream 4" apologist. I really enjoy "Scream 4" and my enjoyment of it has only grown over the last 12 years. I feel like every time I watch it, I get something new out of it. A little moment that maybe I missed the last hundred times I watched it. I could be wrong, but I feel like "Scream 4" is very divisive within the "Scream" fandom. I think when it comes to "Scream 4," you either love it or you hate it. I don't come across very much in-between.

In "Scream 4," it's the 15th anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders. Sidney Prescott has moved away from her victimhood, writing a book about how to overcome that. The last stop on her book tour is her hometown. She reconnects with Dewey who is now sheriff and Gale who is still writing thrillers that are becoming "Stab" films but she's suffering from writer's block. Sidney's return coincides with the return of Ghostface who has his sights set on a new, fresh faced crop of victims including Sidney's cousin, Jill.

We can't talk about a "Scream" film without talking about the opening sequence. I feel like that opening sequence can tell you a lot about how the movie is going to go. The opening of "Scream 3" is pretty lackluster so it isn't a shock that the rest of the film follows suit. The beginning of "Scream 4" features Sherrie and Trudie who are having a night at home until Trudie's Facebook stalker turns out to be Ghostface and surprise! There's two. But wait, this is actually the opening of "Stab 6." We then cut to Rachel and Chloe watching "Stab 6." Rachel goes on a tirade about how horror is going down the tubes but she's interrupted by Chloe stabbing her in the gut multiple times. We then cut to the actual opening. Woodsboro High Schoolers, Marnie and Jenny, are watching these movies and it isn't long before they are attacked by Ghostface.

I really enjoy this opening. I am a sucker for seeing more of the "Stab" movies and I think this is really clever overall. It is great. It's funny. I think where the opening drops the ball a little bit is when it cuts to who are actually going to be the opening victims. It's wild to me that Marnie's death happens completely off screen. I would have loved to see Marnie be terrorized by Ghostface a little bit instead of just having her lifeless body tossed through the door. I feel like once Jenny and Marnie are introduced things just move in to hyperdrive. It feels like their whole sequence happens in a split second. I would have loved if they had extended the sequence maybe like ten more minutes? Built that tension up a little bit more. Then the last part would have hit harder.

Look out behind you!

I think part of the reason that I enjoy "Scream 4" is that it is a nice showcase for Sidney who was absent for so much of "Scream 3." This is a Sidney who is more self actualized. She's not hiding in the California woods under an assumed identity. She's claiming her victimhood status and moving on from it. She's using her experiences to help others. I love when Gale is watching Sidney being interviewed by Nancy O'Dell. It's a great call back to "Scream 2" when Randy and Dewey watch Nancy O'Dell interview Tori Spelling while she's promoting "Stab." It's great to see Gale watching Sidney promote her really successful new book while Gale struggles with writing her newest book and with her life in Woodsboro overall.

This is a much more proactive Sidney than we've seen in previous films. When she is confronted by Ghostface, she doesn't fuck around. She goes hard. When she's attacked in Olivia's home, Sidney shows off her self-defense skills. She may be wearing a sweater cape but she will fuck you up. It's great to see this side of Sidney. As soon as she realizes that Ghostface is back, she immediately goes in to protector mode. She doesn't shrink back. She doesn't feel sorry for herself. She's ready to go into action and protect her friends and her family. It's great to see and Neve Campbell kills it. She easily slips back in to her most well known role and she shades Sidney in more which is really impressive.

Gale was the star of "Scream 3" but in "Scream 4," she sort of is put a little bit on the back burner. Don't get me wrong, there are still a lot of great Gale moments. And Courteney Cox has never looked better. Honestly, stunning. Her long black hair. That purple dress. There are some really fun Gale moments. Her verbal altercation with Rebecca, Sidney's publicist. Her disdain when the cinema club kids won't work with her as she shuffles Sidney out of the room. Gale does get her moment to shine when she goes to the Stabathon to set up her hidden cameras and has a Ghostface encounter that ends up with her stabbed in the shoulder. It's still a bummer that she is sidelined for the rest of the movie for the most part. I always want more Gale.

The new kids are relatively generic with a couple of exceptions. The standout of the new crop is definitely Hayden Panettiere's Kirby Reed. There is something about Kirby. She's super spunky and fun. She is immediately someone that you're drawn to and it's no surprise that she became a fan favorite. Her fate at the end of "Scream 4" is left pretty ambiguous and so it was a great moment when it's revealed that she survived in the next film and then comes back as a primary character in "Scream VI." Kirby is such a great character that I would have loved to follow her as a POV character in future films.

They are showing that mask who's boss.

The kills in "Scream 4" are either really cool and exciting or kind of lame. We've already talked about the opening. There are a couple of really great murder scenes in "Scream 4." The best one is probably Olivia's. It is definitely the most brutal of the film. She gets stabbed multiple times including through the hand which is wild. She gets smashed through her bedroom window and when Sidney finally gets up to her room it looks like her bedroom is a slaughterhouse. Her body is laying on it's side with her intestines spilling out. That is probably one of the most graphic scenes of the franchise since Steven Orths was gutted in the original.

The other kill scene that is great is the parking garage murder of Rebecca Walters. I love Allison Brie and she is great in "Scream 4." She's like a baby Gale but even more ruthless. I love when she calls Sidney's readers "downtrodden little fucks" and tries to get Sidney to embrace her victimhood. It's so out of touch and I really love it. Rebecca's kill scene feels like a classic "Scream" kill scene. We get the phone call to the victim which is weirdly absent from a lot of "Scream 4." And the "Scream" franchise has never had a parking garage kill which feels like a massive oversight that is finally rectified. The cherry on top of the scene is Ghostface chucking Rebecca over the side to interrupt Dewey's big press conference.

The rest of the kill scenes are just... fine? Robbie's is perfunctory though I did love the declaration that he is gay to try to save himself from Ghostface. Hoss and Perkin's kills are maybe played a little too much for laughs, particularly Perkins. He gets stabbed in the forehead and does this whole routine where he's punching the air while he's bleeding from the forehead. And then he caps it off saying "Fuck Bruce Willis" which is a call back to he and Hoss's cop movie conversation. I like the comedy in the "Scream" movies, but this is maybe not the moment for that.

Kirby Reed: Trivia Master.

Emma Roberts has two modes in "Scream 4." She's put up as the Sidney replacement. You fully expect her to pick up the reigns of the franchise. Which is one of the things that I love about "Scream 4." It does the thing that I think this franchise is great at, it upends expectations. At the end of the film, we are left with our three mains still alive and everyone else seemingly dead. It's awesome. 

But back to Jill. Initially Jill is rather generic when you think that she's just going to be this Sidney clone. She's fine but nothing to write home about. It's not until she's revealed as the killer that Jill really comes alive. Emma Roberts is completely unhinged in these scenes and it is amazing. We haven't seen something like this since Billy and Stu and I'm here for it. After she seemingly kills Sidney, Jill has to position herself as the sole survivor and she has to make it look like she's been through some shit. And watching Jill inflict harm on herself for like five minutes is cringe, brutal and funny all at the same time and that is not a criticism at all.

Where "Scream 4" kind of goes off the rails is once they get to the hospital. I'm not sure why they decided to not end the movie at Kirby's. Once they get to the hospital, it's crazy. Jill and Sidney are both in a bad way and yet they both somehow find ways to fight each other off. Jill apparently gains superhuman strength between the time that she leaves Kirby's to the time that she gets to the hospital. How else to explain her grabbing Sidney and like throwing her into the glass cabinet. Not pushing her but like picking her up and tossing her? The less said about Dewey getting the shit beat out of him by Jill with a bedpan the better. I do like the line about the first rule of remakes being not to fuck with the original, but there is definitely a way they could have had that at the house. There could have been a fake out with Sidney "dead" and she somehow took out Jill. I do agree with Jill that this new ending at the hospital is "silly" but that self referential moment doesn't save it.

All in all, I like "Scream 4" and I enjoy it as a potential series capper for the originals more than "Scream 3." But, this isn't the last "Scream" movie. We just had to wait another decade.

Next up, a brutal attack rocks Woodsboro yet again but the new main character in our little drama has ties to the original killings in "Scream" (2022).

What do you all think of "Scream 4?" Are there any other fans out there? How do you feel about the hospital scene? Let me know in the comments.