Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Ghostface is Back for More


Scream 4 (2011)
Dir - Wes Craven

I heard bad things from most people who saw this and wasn't shocked. A few years ago I really started to shove my expectations of franchise films, especially when a large gap is between installments. This happened about the time Land of the Dead came out. I waited for so many years to see another Romero movie that even if it was awesome, which it wasn't, it could in no way live up to the hype I created in my head. I have never been a big fan of the Scream films. I did really like the first one and thought it had some clever stuff but before watching it again last week I had not seen it in many years. As for parts 2 and 3 I think I only saw them once or twice. With either of the sequels I could take and leave parts of them and nothing really special was there, not to mention the decrease in the bloody bits. Now after seeing part 4 I can say it was pretty much what figured. Some good moments, some bad. I just ask all of the other people who saw this and were so disappointed what were they expecting? How often is a fourth installment that good?

The scares are pretty much the same with the others, which I never really found all that scary, but maybe with a few more cheap jump scares. There was some great gore scenes, probably some of my favorite of the series. Glad to see Arquette, Cox and Campbell returning, but Courtney Cox could do pretty much anything and I'd be happy to see that. I'm hopeless that way. Another lovely lady cast was the almost unbearably adorable Alison Brie. I can't get enough of that girl! Rory Culkin is great, but I do love the whole Culkin family.

I do have some problems with it, of course. Had a motive and killer picked out quite early. Really wish that a fun killer idea I had during the movie would have happened but that will have to wait for another time. Ask me about it if you really want to know. I also have some logistical and teenage hierarchal problems with the Cinema Club but I guess you could say that's nitpicking.

There is more that I would like to talk about but don't want to tread into spoiler category. I would say it's definitely better than Craven's last, My Soul to Take, which was very flat but I could be saying that because I am so much more invested into the world of the Woodsboro Murders. See it for yourself, just don't expect it to blow your mind.

2 comments:

  1. I'd definitely agree with that. It's not brilliant - but I don't think anyone expect it to be. It *is* fun, which is what I like about the rest of the Scream franchise. The movies don't take themselves so seriously that I feel I have to. It's just plain entertainment. Is it always the best? Nah. But it's a lot better than some of the other crap that gets served up and called horror. At least I feel like they're making an effort... most of the time. Plus, like you said, some great actors in the smaller parts were a lot of fun.

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  2. I liked it a lot, and agree with you when you ask "What were people expecting?". I guess it could have been better somehow, but I had a great time. I was surprised to hear that so many folks were let down. It's a fun, somewhat fast-paced slasher flick with some good laughs, a jolt or two and some decent gore. What more do folks want with their slashers (other than boobs, of course)?

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