Scream 4
Brendan Cassidy

Review by Brendan Cassidy Patron

Scream 4

2011
★★★★

Rewatched 20 Jan 2022

Gale: "How meta can you get?"
Dewey: "How 'what-a' can you get?"

Honestly might be my favorite Scream sequel, and I think it's the one that has aged the most favorably. While not the best film in the franchise, I think it was the one most ahead of the curve, even if that wasn't intentional. By focusing on the circular nature of trauma and family as it relates to Sidney, as well as Gale's own artistic dilemma of trying to "reinvent herself", Scream 4 functions less like a fourth entry and more like a "legacy sequel". While not the first long-awaited sequel to ever come out, it was released before Hollywood knew it could bank on them, whether it be The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road, or even Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It is stated here that "the reverse has become the new standard", which feels like a rather timely artistic approach nowadays.

This one also might have my favorite killer reveal of the whole franchise, and (insert actor here) gives one helluva committed performance when that reveal comes. I also dig the movie within a movie within a movie intro.

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