Company, David Arquette, left, and Courteney Cox are shown in a scene from the horror film “Scream 4.” (GEMMA LA MANA /The Associated Press)
Usually, when a film franchise reaches its fourth installment, the end product turns out to be a misguided, almost unwatchable movie that is far from as good as the original.
However, in the case of the newly revived “Scream” movies, the fourth film just may be the best one yet.
Featuring an assortment of characters, both new and returning, “Scream 4” plays to the roots of the original movie and tells a story that only director Wes Craven could pull off.
The film follows the series main character, Sidney Prescott (Neve Cambpell), as she returns to her hometown of Woodboro, Calif.
Prescott, who is returning to Woodsboro to promote her new self-help book, “Out of the Darkness,” is welcomed by blood-covered copies of the book in her rental car, which is only the beginning of the bloodshed to come.
In fact, “Scream 4” has the highest body count of any film in the series.
More familiar faces return with the former couple, Courtney Cox and David Arquette’s characters, Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley.
Now married, the two live in a quaint country home, while Gale tries to complete her first book not based on the Woodsboro murders. Dewey, on the other hand, is now the town sheriff.
Heads begin to role (almost literally) with Sidney’s return, as Ghostface begins killing off the local high school. You know, the usual.
Playing the local high school students are “Scream” newcomers Marielle Jeffe, Hayden Pannetierre and Emma Roberts.
The trio of friends are followed around by film nerds Erik Knudsen and Rory Culkin, who end up having a larger role than expected in the film.
Staying true to its original form, “Scream 4” is full of twists and turns that would be almost impossible to explain in less than 700 words.
However, while one may think that the story would focus on its returning characters, “Scream 4” chooses instead to lend a broad focus of its story to its high school characters instead.
To watch “Scream 4” is like going back in a time machine. More than 10 years after the release of the third film in the series, “Scream 4” picks up perfectly where the last film left off.
So much could have gone wrong with “Scream 4,” director Wes Craven could have tried to blend in with the style in which horror films are shot today and made it a complete gorre-fest, but instead, Craven stuck to his famous style of directing and let “Scream 4” happen as it would if were shot at the time of the original.
Not only is Craven’s directing more than welcome, but Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers proved that she too can be missed.
As a former journalist in the movie, Weathers gets back to investigative reporting when the “Ghostface” starts killing again.
Also, Courtney deserves an Oscar for filming some of the movie’s final scenes with David Arquette; the two divorced while the movie was still in production.
The movie is peppered with scenes of Cox’s character trying to solve the mystery, and as the story progresses, you can’t help but wish that Weathers gets her own spin-off someday.
A surprising amount of “Scream 4’s” best scenes come from Hayden Panettiere as well. Tagged as the “rebel best-friend” with a short haircut, Panetierre takes her somewhat clichéd role, and makes it her own.
The typical, “cool-girl meets nerdy-boy” story line works itself out between Panetierre and Culkin’s characters. Proving once and for all that any horror film has to have at least one type of unexpected relationship
In the time when we have films like “Saw” and “Hostel,” it’s a sweet escape to see “Scream 4” revert back to just the simple stab to kill its victims.
Still using the far from believable corn syrup as blood, “Scream 4’s” stab scenes are much more watchable than most of today’s fare. As a whole, “Scream 4” is a suspenseful story that delivers on all levels.
For those looking for a film that looks and feels like the horror movies of yesteryear, then “Scream 4” is the perfect fit.
“Scream 4” opens in theaters nationwide Friday.
