Scream 4

After 11 long years of waiting, director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson finally caved and attempted to correct all the errors made in the franchise's previous lacklustre, gore-free instalment with Scream 4. Often noted in the film as being a "shriekquel" or "screamake," the latest instalment follows a surprisingly vice-free Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who visits hometown Woodsboro for the final stop on her self-help book tour, which conveniently falls on the 15th anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders. Unfortunately for Sidney, there is a new Ghostface killer in town who's hell-bent (as always) on killing her, her friends and family. Once again, Sidney, formerly gimpy Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and his hilariously bitchy and bored wife, Gale Riley (Courteney Cox), must fight to stay alive while the killer(s?) attempt to recreate and out-do the previous murders. Kevin Williamson's original script template for Scream 4 is ambitious and commendable, as the film is easily accessible to fans of the original trilogy who watched the WB, and to the younger generation, who now watch the CW. Although it's quite apparent that Williamson's original grisly script was toned down (due to Ehren Kruger's teen-friendly rewrites), the film still manages to cleverly make fun of its overdone, self-referential theme and its younger, social media-obsessed viewers while also providing genuine scares. No scene in Scream 4 has the terrifying power of the original's opener, but it effectively manages to combine all of the best qualities of the previous entries. If you're looking for gruesome stabbings shown in Scream 2, the quirky humour in Scream 3 and an over-the-top, gory denouement laced with social commentary like in the original, Scream 4 will not disappoint. The DVD features a half-an-hour of deleted and extended scenes, including an alternate opening that's superior to the theatrical version, a repetitive gag reel full of unnecessary boo scares and a mediocre making-of featurette. The commentary features director Wes Craven and stars Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere, and when Emma Roberts is not talking about how brown her hair is or when Hayden Panettiere isn't in awe by all her scenes, Wes Craven manages to provide very interesting titbits of trivia in between the teenage girl cackling.