It’s been eleven years since our last trip to Woodsboro, and many of us thought this day would never come. The trilogy was over! Dead and buried. It was great while it lasted, and as the years passed after the third installment, everyone had given up hopes of another addition ever being made. But, in 2009 Scream 4 was announced, and whereas some fans weren’t keen of the idea, many, including myself, were.

There were many ways in which Scream 4 could’ve been a complete and utter fucking disaster -- I mean, seriously, how many times have we seen a horror franchise get a reboot or a remake that turns out to be utter crap, staining the reputation of the once-great original? The answer is many times. Hell, it’s happened to Wes Craven’s own movies on a number of occasions. Just look at last year’s remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street to see how not to reboot a horror series. Of course, reboot may not be the correct term for Scream 4. It is just as much a sequel as it is a reboot, and the main evidence for that is the return of writer, director and main cast members of the previous three installments. And the return of these people, ladies and gentleman, is why the movie wasn’t a failure.

So, in terms of plot, ten years have passed since the final series of Woodsboro massacres (AKA: the end of Scream 3) and heroine Sidney Prescott (Campbell) is returning to her home town, to promote her new self help book. Meanwhile, still living in Woodsboro is Dewey Riley (Arquette) and Gail Reilly, AKA Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox). The two have been married ten years now, and ironically the marriage is getting a little stale. I say ironically because the two actors had been married in real life, and recently broke up over the Summer. I reckon there could’ve been some awkwardness on set between the two due to that. Anyway, Dewey is now sheriff, and Gail has seemingly retired from being a news reporter, with her books on the Woodsboro murders selling through the roof. So yeah, the famous Scream trio are back, and if anything they provide excellent nostalgia value for the film. It was a real boost having them in the film, and with Sidney back in town it is of course not long before another couple of bodies and racked up… and we all know where it goes from there. Ghostface is back for more fun. Bad for Sid. Good for us.

Of course, it is indeed a new decade, and with those three being considerably older now, a new set of teens needed to step up to the plate. What would a slasher movie be without teenagers, eh? So, Wes and co. took it upon themselves to hire a very nice looking cast of up and comers. Including Rory Culkin (Scott Pilgrim), Hayden Pandettiere (Heroes) , and Emma Roberts (Er…Unfabulous?) as Sidney’s cousin Jill. In addition, there is a good looking co-cast of expendable teens, rookie cops, and Community’s Alison Brie (!) who play the role of Ghostface’s victims.

The deaths themselves are fun. Seeing as it’s a new decade and all, the gore level was amped up just a little bit. Keeping consistent with the original trilogy, there aren’t all that many genuinely jumpy moments. It’s not for a lack of trying though. Wes does all he can to throw in some scares, but, after a while, you’re enjoying the film so much, that it’s much more funny than scary. And that’s why the film is so entertaining! This is what the Scream franchise does better than most modern horror series. It has the balls to be a self-referential comedy, and for lack of a better term, “take the piss” out of itself and the slasher genre as a whole. Scream 4 is no different, and in fact does this much more than any of it’s predecessors. There are many occasions when the film acknowledges that it’s a film, but doing it in a way that isn’t totally obvious or cheesey. It’s really a credit to Kevin Williamson and the writing team. Also, it wouldn’t be a Scream movie without horror movie references, and it delivers in spades. Rory Culkin’s character and his friend play the roles of movie geeks, and there’s lots of fun to be had with them. Plus, as it turns out, Hayden Pandettiere’s character Kirby is the biggest horror trivia guru of them all. Owning all 7 Stab movies and everything! There’s a funny scene where she’s on the phone with Ghostface, and has this little trivia contest. For one particular question, she names off about 10 horror movie remakes with ease, and I’m not gonna’ lie, it was pretty hot! My dream woman.

Speaking of Stab movies. You remember those, right? The Stab movies were a series of films based on the events that occurred in Woodsboro. Essentially a movie inside a movie. (See Scream 3 for a better understanding of what I’m talking about!) Anyway, the opening in Scream 4 is probably the most entertaining one to date. Alright, it’ll never be regarded as a classic like Drew Barrymore’s scene in the first, but god damn this one comes a close second. It’s so audacious and creative, I found myself thoroughly entertained within the first 10 minutes. I won’t spoil exactly how they execute it, but I will say that it involves the Stab movies, as well as hilarious cameos from Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell, among others. It’s an incredibly fun opening and I dare someone to tell me otherwise after they see it.

One of the main attractions with the Scream series is the whole mystery aspect of it. In other words, “Who’s the killer?”. Obviously I’m not going to spoil who it is this time around. He/She or even they could be anyone. And that’s the beauty. There is pretty much scarce to no clues at all throughout the movie that would suggest who eventually turns out to be Ghostface. And I’ll admit, the twists at the end, although they seem a little forced are undoubtedly unexpected. The motivation for the killings this time leave a little to be desired in the creative department, which is a little disappointing. I’m sure Williamson could’ve come up with something a little better. Still, once you get past that, there’s a couple of good final showdown scenes, which are almost a letdown compared to the rest of the film, but still have enough bloodshed and silliness to give you a kick.

Fans of the original series, primarily the first movie will immediately see striking similarities between the ending of the first and the ending in this one. Trust me though, that’s 100% intentional. It’s paying a homage to the original. But once again, rest assured it’s not all that predictable. And they definitely tried a new angle in terms of Ghostface. Whether or not it paid off, I think fans will be split on that opinion. Frankly I thought it was ballsy, if a little silly and over the top.

So, all in all, Scream 4 proved to be a superbly fun day out at the movies. Being a big fan of the series, it was awesome to finally be old enough to see one of them in the cinema. I was only 7 years old when Scream 3 came out in theatres. Hell, I probably wasn’t even aware of it! I watched the original trilogy on dvd, many a time in the past 5 years or so, and so, this cinema experience was a first for me, and something special. If you are a newbie to the franchise, Scream 4 isn’t the worst place to start. They certainly made it fresh and relevant enough to appeal to the less horror-educated and younger audiences. If they go in, expecting a bit of fun, and not an all out horror movie, they should enjoy it for sure. But the real enjoyment will fall upon those, like myself who have a spot in their heart for the series. Scream 4 brings back excellent memories, and is a worthy addition to the collection and my heart! Let’s pray it does well In the box office so we can get another trip to Woodsboro in a couple years. I’m not exactly sure how they’d pull it off, but I’m sure they can…

   -- Joe O'Brien