Scream 4

"Scream 4" is a complete and utter money grab, a horror sequel that's sucking out the blood of its very own franchise, feeding off of itself in a desperate bid to survive. It's just as cash-grubbing as all the other countless horror sequels out there, not even bothering to cover up its wallet-picking intentions. The slasher series has been rebooted for reasons of finance, to snatch the publics' dosh during these relaxing Easter Holidays. It's back, and it wants the pennies sitting in your trouser pocket. However, this does not strictly stop "Scream 4" from being a heck of a lot of fun.

You see, while the fourth chronicle of director Wes Craven's scare-em-up saga is as financially craving as any other sequel/prequel/remake/reboot, it manages to still be a thrilling and slashing Saturday night out at the multiplex. So, put on your black cloak, sharpen your knife and charge up your mobile phone, 'cause Ghostface is back, and he's thirsty for blood.

It's been ten years since the murderous events of the third "Scream" movie, and Sidney Prescott (scream queen Neve Campbell) is back in the town of Woodsboro for the first time in a decade. Now a celebrity for her cunning survival skills against knife-wielding hooded figures, she has written a book on her experiences and how she's learned to cope, currently promoting it in the infamous town.

This coincides (or does it?) with the brutal double murder of high school students Jenny (Aimee Teegarden) and Marnie (Brittay Robertson) in a Woodsboro home. It looks like there's another stabbing, gutting, speed-dialling murderer (or murderers) on the loose in the neighbourhood, and (s)he's playing by the rules of horror movie lore. Just another typical day in Woodsboro, then.

As a result, Sidney teams back up with series regulars Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Dewey’s ex-reporter wife Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) to hunt down the stalk-and-tease killer as they themselves are hunted by the determined masked slasher -- they've done this three times before, I'm sure everything will go perfectly swell.

Also up for some gruesomely bloody butchering are a gang of adolescent newcomers to the saga, all suspects and red herrings. These include Sidney's younger cousin Jill (Emma Roberts), a sassy film buff named Kirby (Hayden Panettiere), their friend Olivia (Marielle Jaffe), two male horror fanatics Robbie (Erik Knudsen) and Charlie (Rory Culkin), and Jill's douchebag cheater of an ex-boyfriend, Trevor (Nico Tortorella). There's also sponge cake-making Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), Sidney's intrusive publicist Rebecca (Alison Brie) and Sidney's dear Aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell). But how many are going to make it to the end credits with their hearts still beating and their insides remaining on the inside? I'd go with a low number if I were you.

Yes, the bodies are piling up in Woodsboro yet again, and in "Scream 4" (or "Scre4m," as it's being advertised), the kills are frequent, frantic and as bloody as a used tampon (sorry). Characters have their throats slit, their guts exposed, their brains stabbed and their bodies thrown off rooftops. It's almost overwhelming how many are sliced and diced throughout the runtime of the third sequel in the franchise -- Ghostface definitely has his/her work cut out for him/her.

Back for this fourth "Scream" is writer Kevin Williamson, who was sadly missing from the series' weakest link, "Scream 3" of 2000. The newest chapter's script is jam-packed with self-references and prods at itself and its own genre, with talk of "new rules" and recent reboots having to up the ante, the film partly a commentary/rant on contemporary horror. The genre-mocking dialogue here is amusing (from jabs at "Saw IV" to pointing out general horror cliches), albeit overdone and at times a tad annoying. There's a certain point where taking the piss out of yourself makes you hard to take seriously anymore. And when your characters are complaining about the predictability of modern-day horror films, it doesn't look good when your film is itself rather predictable.

Nonetheless, "Scream 4" succeeds in thrilling and sending audience members into nail-chomping suspense. Ghostface lurks sneakily in the shadows, disappearing through what can only be described as supernatural teleportation, and phones up some local residences to enquire about the most popular scary movies amongst teens aged 18-19. Again voiced by Roger Jackson, Ghostface is still as clumsy as an octopus on stilts, at one point getting kicked down half a set of stairs, but can still amazingly predict the actions of the petrified protagonists with rare fault -- though it doesn't take a genius to do that.

Cheap "gotcha!" jump scares are aplenty here (people really like to lunge out of open doorways in horror flicks, don't they?), and the film sustains its whodunit premise right up until the big reveal in the grand finale. I must admit I was clueless as to the identity of the carnage-inducing murderer, and its revelation was a satisfying shock in the tense climactic scenes. Ghostface’s motivation is laughably far-fetched, but I guess we shouldn't expect much when we're four movies into a slasher saga. And fret not, dear reader, I'm not going to give anything away.

With its heroic trio starting to display some wrinkles (we'll call them scream lines) and the first film now 15 years old, the "Scream" franchise struggles to remain fresh and original, but the fourth instalment is still an entertaining slice of popcorn horror. For all its self-parodying monologues and unsubtle nudges to the nacho-munching audience, for all its never-ending jump scares and jugular spurts, "Scream 4" is a scream, baby!

7/10