Scream 4

Arriving a decade after the last installment the Scream franchise returns to cast an eye over the state of the horror genre once more.

The first thing I'd say though is that Scream 4 is no longer a horror film in it's own right. Whilst Scream was undoubtedly a stalk and slash horror film with added commentary on the genre and knowing dark humour the latest film comes across much like an outright parody of the genre not the pastiche the first film was.

It's actually quite a funny film, the opening sequence is a great gag and it's full of brilliant lines ("The voice from the films or well, you know, your life"), but it never quite comes together as tries to balance various aspects as the original.

One of the key factors is the characterisation which was actually quite strong in the first two films. Then the main cast were people with believable lives, motivations, emotions and the secondary cast feel like, well, people rather than ciphers.

However this time around the returning cast aren't really given a chance to anything other than advance the plot or get chased around whilst the new generation of kids seem to neatly fall into either victim or suspect categories.

Emma Roberts is bland as Sidney's cousin failing to grasp the chance to be the new center of the film. Only really Hayden Panettiere's Kirby seems to have any real spark to her and as such is seemingly rewarded by having the most screen time of the new faces.

Another factor which stops the film from really excelling is the lack of intensity. Whilst director Craven still manages to pull out the odd effective moment this time out the attack sequences just don't seem to carry the same level of menace and tension as the first and second outings (probably about the same as the weaker third entry).

Interestingly whilst there is plenty of blood on show the violence here is much more theatrical in feel in comparison to the much more brutal, almost more real feeling violence of the original. That opening sequence in Scream still stands as something genuinely quite disturbing.

But perhaps the lack of characterisation and the stylisation of the slightly neutered violence is all part of the critique of the modern horror scene which this film certainly talks about. It does seem Kevin Williamson is not keen on the uptake of horror remakes and dismisses the likes of Saw within the opening ten minutes.

It is strange to watch a film which spends so much time telling you it shouldn't have been made in the first place. But it does raise some interesting points about the state of the genre the franchise did so much to revitalise in the mid-90's and it does also stir in the modern obsession with fame for the fake of fame.

So it's certainly fun (it made me laugh out loud a couple of times) but it lacks the intensity of the franchise's first steps but it's self awareness certainly makes it interesting for the film students amongst us.