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Scre4m

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    Ian Jane
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  • Scre4m (Scream 4)



    Released by:
    Anchor Bay Entertainment
    Released on: October 4, 2011

    Director: Wes Craven

    Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts

    Year: 2011

    Purchase From Amazon


    The Series:


    A lot may have changed in this wacky world of ours in the last ten years or so, when the third entry in the Scream franchise was released, but there is at least one constant you can depend on: people still like scary movies. This fourth entry in the most self referential slasher series of all times takes the whole 'meta' concept to an even higher level than before, but director Wes Craven makes it work. The end result? A movie that's actually pretty clever in a lot of ways.


    After a fun intro involving Anna Paquin and Kristin Bell, we catch up with the residents of Woodsboro where a series of slasher films called Stab have been made based loosely on the real life murders that took place there years back. These films have proven to be immensely popular and so the teenage population of the town is really looking forward to their 'Stab-a-thon' party to be held in just a few short days. There's only one problem here, and that's that the Ghost Face killer made famous by those films seems to be back to his old tricks and before you know it a few local teens have been sliced and diced.


    Enter Dewey Weathers (David Arquette), now the town's sheriff, and his wife Gale (Courtney Cox) - they aim to solve these murders, with some help from Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), which seem to be based around the return of Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who has been able to turn her experiences with the killer in her past to some bestselling novels which she's in town to promote. She's also keen on visiting her family, particularly her teenage cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts). Sydney's return has also caught the attention of local horror movie fanatics Charlie (Rory Culkin) and Robbie (Erik Knudsen) - but when the bodies start piling up and it looks like Emma is the killer's latest target, things start to get even more complicated, particularly as no one seems to be able to figure out who is under that mask.


    There are two elements that make this movie work - the first are the standard slasher movie prerequisites like the gory kill scenes, the jump scares, the stingers, the red herrings and murder set pieces. The film is loaded with as much of this stuff as you'd expect, and it actually compliments the second element, that being Kevin Williamson's script. Not content to rehash what Craven already did in the first Scream movies, this fourth one not only satirizes slashers that came before it but takes on the very movies that came before it in this series. By working the Stab movies (the first directed by Robert Rodriguez, according to the credits we see when the movie begins) into the script Sre4m is also able to takes stabs at endless franchises like Saw, mentioned by name more than once, while avoiding feeling mean spirited or nasty towards those movies. It also very cleverly works in the whole 'fandom against remakes' theme that is so prominent throughout genre message boards and what not, noting quite bluntly that the only reason you do a remake is to 'outdo the original' - something that this film actually comes very close to doing. The film is also clever how it works modern technology into its storyline, with web casting and text messaging both playing important roles in how certain scenes play out.


    As far as the performances are concerned, we already know Arquette, Cox and Campbell are good in their roles as they've been here three times prior. There are no surprises here, though working in some jealousy in regards to how Cox's character views her husband's relationship with his pretty blonde deputy adds a bit of additional depth. The younger cast is also fine, with Emma Roberts the stand out, particularly in the last twenty minutes or so where her character is given more to do than act scared.


    Those who didn't enjoy the earlier Scream films will no doubt dismiss this latest as more of the same, and that's fine as in some ways it is just that, but Craven and Williamson have crafted a film that does a great job of walking that very fine line between parody and serious film, somehow managing to succeed as both.


    Video/Audio/Extras:


    Scre4m looks good in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen as it's presented on this DVD. Detail is good as are colors and black levels. There are no compression artifacts to report nor are there any noticeable edge enhancement issues to spot while the picture is in motion. Skin tones generally look pretty realistic and overall the picture quality is quite strong.


    Also impressive is the English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix, which makes great use of the rear channels to heighten the more suspenseful scenes in the film and which does a very good job with the music. Some good jump scares are more effective thanks to the strong bass while dialogue is always easy to understand. Levels are properly balanced and as you'd expect from a feature this new, there are no problems with hiss or distortion to complain about.


    Director Wes Craven joins cast members Hayden Panettiere and Emma Roberts for a commentary track, with some input from Neve Campbell who joins in for an hour or so via teleconference. It's not the most engaging track you're ever going to hear but it covers all of the bases including the script, the performances, the cast, the sets, the murder set pieces and some ideas that were tossed around early on and never used once the movie actually made it to production.


    Also included here is twenty-six minutes worth of deleted and alternate scenes that you can watch with or without contextual commentary from Craven who explains the differences between what we see here and what made it into the final cut of the movie as well as why certain scenes weren't used. The alternate opening and alternate ending are cool to see but in addition to that there are also extended bits with Kirby, Gale and more of the other principal characters including Ghost Face himself.


    There's also a ten minute Making Of Scre4m segment spearheaded by Craven who talks about the project and 'putting the team back together' before moving on to some cast and crew interviews - it's a bit on the light side but worth checking out. Rounding out the extras is a ten minute gag reel, the film's original theatrical trailer, a promo spot for the Scre4m video game, animated menus and chapter stops. The DVD case is housed inside a slick looking embossed slipcase with alternate front cover art.


    The Final Word:


    The best entry in the franchise since the original, Scre4m isn't ever really scary but it is consistently smart and consistently fun. Some good kill scenes and a few unexpected twists more than make up for the fact that it's just a little bit on the long side, while the quality of the DVD from Anchor Bay is just as strong as the film that's on it.





























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