That’s pronounced (Scre-Four-Em) in case you weren’t aware. This was the era in which Hollywood would occasionally do that stupid thing of inserting numbers in a clever way into their titles but I digress. Coming off Scream 3 which I consider my least favorite film of the franchise, Wes Craven decided to go off and make different films leaving the Scream franchise in the wake. In my opinion this was needed given the meta/self aware nature of the series started to wear thin a bit. Eleven years after the release of Scream 3, Wes Craven would be back in the director’s chair with the big three (Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox) and return to the fan favorite franchise. Let me say again, the choice to make this film 11 years after the last entry was the right choice. Because now, there is plenty of new material to rip off.

First off, it’s delightful to see the returning cast back after all these years. Second, I love the return to Woodsboro after all this time. Dewey, now the sheriff, and Gale have finally settled down. Only interestingly it’s Sidney who’s coming off the successful book launch while Gale is suffering from writer’s block. Third, the choice riff off remakes was the appropriate choice. Especially given at the time we were getting an insufferable amount of remakes, only right that the Scream franchise would do the same thing. As a new killer emerges who in a weird way seems to be murdering in the same was as done in the original.

By now you know what you're getting with Scream. It’s funny, thrilling, and self aware. With the 4th entry into the franchise, I definitely view this as an improvement over the 3rd entry of the franchise even if the magic of the first two isn’t there. Scream 4 might be the most violent of the bunch so far. (Seriously there’s some pretty gorey kills this time around). And of the 4 I think this has the quickest pace. This film wastes no time going from kill to kill. But even then, what I’m most impressed by is that Craven and the writers still manage to surprise me even after all these years. New Decade, New Rules. Playing off remakes, the film ultimately can surprise you because it goes against stereotypes. For example by killing off the more famous members of the cast you wouldn’t expect, or setting a kill up one way, a more traditional way but then doing it differently. Might I say before ending this, speaking of surprises… I love the direction this film takes the killer. Again not at all what I was expecting going in but the motivation is one that I totally buy. I will say, this film which ends with a hospital showdown felt a little like overkill to me. I think it ran a little too long. If the confrontation ended at Kirby’s house I think the film would’ve worked a little better for me. Overall though, a fun time and welcome addition to the Scream franchise. Even after all these years, there’s still fun to be had with Scream.

Scream (2022) Review: boxd.it/2u9uyr