Scream 4 Review

Disappointment is a sad thing!

We have all experienced the harshest forms of disappointment.

For a child it is dreaming of being a Ninja Turtle when you grow and slowly discovering it is not possible.

Tragedy

For a teen it is praying for a new XBox and getting a T-93 Calculator.

For an adult it is buying your loved one expensive jewelry and getting a gift card to Applebees in return.

Disappointment can suck.

It is the definition of a sad feeling. You only experience it when your expectations are at its highest and when you truly expect greatness. I experience this a lot being a Kansas City Royals and Chiefs fan. I also experience this a lot because I am tall, awkward and terrible at picking up girls.

This past weekend, I experienced another level of disappointment, disguised as a cliche, unoriginal horror film. 

If you read my past Friday's column I talked about how much I loved the original Scream. So many elements of the original make the film a classic. Wonderful and hilarious characters thanks to solid performances, led by David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Mathew Lilliard and more. The opening of the film was genius, it shocked the audience and completely set the film up for what it winds up being, something never before seen.

What Scream did was change the game for the horror genre. It raised the bar for what people could and should expect. It's level of self-awareness, creativity and overall solid film making made it more than just a good horror, but a good movie.

Other films followed Scream like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legends trying to duplicate the success but none could. Scream followed its success with sequels that in my opinion failed to live up to the original. They weren't terrible, but they were just desperate attempts to repeat what they achieved in the first.

When I first heard that they were bringing the Scream franchise back to life, I was equally excited and perturbed. Why? Is it necessary? Was it possible that it could be good? I had no idea. Then I started to think maybe this was the right time, maybe since the horror genre has changed recently just maybe Scream 4 could repeat it's success from the mid 90's and change the game again.

It didn't.

Scream 4 is a disappointment. It is an exercise in overindulgence. There are too many characters, too many cliches and way too many exercises in poor judgement.

My biggest problem with the film were the characters. One of the reasons I love Scream so much are the characters. You love Dewey, Randy, and Sydney, and you really are entertained by Stu and Billy. You get to know these characters, you want them to survive, you care about them.

Scream 4 brings back Courtney Cox and David Arquette, and Neve Campbell and introduces about 142 new characters that we get to see on screen for about 45 seconds before they get the ax. This overpopulation of characters takes away from the heart of the film. It is like Wes Craven needed new characters so he can triple the death toll of previous Scream films because that would make this version edgier.
The audience doesn't have any time to connect with any of the characters and the returning actors have zero time to reestablish themselves and convince me why I should care about them. For example, Deputy Dewey is extremely likable and sweet in the original films. In this film, he just seems overwhelmed, bossed around, shy and soft spoken. I can't remember a single line of his, and David Arquette's performance is extremely forgettable.

I will be honest in saying the film was entertaining. At times it was fun and it did take me back to the enjoyment I had watching the original trilogy. But towards the end of this film it just unravels.

My biggest disappointment with the film is how it ends. Beware, I am trying to be as spoiler free as possible when explaining this point but the film has two endings. If the film would have ended when I thought it was, my opinion of this film would be drastically different. It would have caught me by surprise and it would have been something different and original. But no, it doesn't end, it begins to spiral out of control into mayhem and one of the most ridiculous kills I have ever seen.

Scream 4 isn't a complete disaster. It's not Wolf Creek or Jack Frost. But it isn't The Crazies or anything near the original Scream. It is not inventive. It is not something I haven't seen before. It is not something new. It is just the same ol same ol. I am very disappointed to say the least and I just hope this is the last Scream we see.

Nathan Star Rating- 2 stars