Summary: Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.

Year: 2011

Australian Cinema Release Date: 14th April, 2011

Australian DVD Release Date: 13th October, 2011

Country: USA

Director: Wes Craven

Screenwriter: Kevin Williamson

Cast: Anthony Anderson (Deputy Perkins), David Arquette (Dewey Riley), Kristen Bell (Chloe), Alison Brie (Rebecca Walters), Adam Brody (Deputy Hoss), Mark Aaron Buerkle (Dr. Orth), Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers-Riley), Rory Culkin (Charlie Walker), Dane Farwell (Ghostface), Shenae Grimes (Trudie), Lucy Hale (Sherrie), Roger Jackson (The Voice (voice)), Marielle Jaffe (Olivia Morris), Eric Knudsen (Robbie Mercer), John Lepard (Mr. Baker), Mary McDonnell (Kate Roberts), Gordon Michaels (Deputy Jenkins), Hayden Panettiere (Kirby Reed), Anna Paquin (Rachel), Emma Roberts (Jill Roberts), Britt Robertson (Marnie Cooper), Marley Shelton (Deputy Judy Hicks), Aimee Teegarden (Jenny Randall), Nico Tortorella (Trevor Sheldon)

Runtime: 111 mins

Classification:MA15+

OUR REVIEWS/RATINGS OF ‘SCREAM 4’:

David Griffiths:

Dave Griffiths’s ‘Scream 4’ Review: If you ever needed further proof that screenwriter, Kevin Williamson and legendary director, Wes Craven know horror fans better than anyone else than Scream 4 is all the proof that you will ever need. These two know that fans have been disappointed with how the recent Saw films forget about storylines and simply become “torture porn” and they know how fans feel about series re-boots. So what do they do? They reboot their own famous Scream series of films and then make fun of themselves for doing so because as Sidney Prescott so elegantly puts it in Scream 4, you ‘don’t f**k with originals’.

Scream 4 sees Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) return to Woodsboro ten years after the last spate of killings. Here Sidney finds that Dewey Riley (David Arquette) is now Sheriff and still married to Gale Weathers-Riley (Courtney Cox). In fact the only concern seems to be that Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) has her eyes on Dewey. However, with Sidney back in town to promote her book, we soon see the re-emergence of Ghostface as he begins a new killing spree this time centered around Sidney’s family, her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and Jill’s friends.

The great thing is that while Williamson and Craven do use Scream 4 as a vehicle to air their concerns about modern horror films they certainly don’t forget that they are actually making a film. While they poke fun at all the modern horror ‘rules’, they have developed a storyline that means that Ghostface is back slicing and dicing, and as usual the audience sits there, occasionally jumping, while desperately trying to work out who the killer his. And now because the audience has come to love Sidney, Dewey and Gale, the killings seem more personal… you certainly don’t want something to happen to any of them.

And while Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox don’t really do anything to show that their acting has got better over the years, some of the younger cast members do use Scream 4 to show Hollywood that they are ready to take some big steps in their careers. Hayden Panettiere has chopped off her hair and shows she is ready to shake off her Heroes-actress tag while Jericho fans will be pleased to see Eric Knudsen up on the big screen. His portrayal of the geeky, Robbie Mercer proves that he is the next Jesse Eisenberg in the making.

Scream 4 certainly does a give a voice to the disgruntled horror fans that have been disenchanted with what Hollywood has been serving up recently, now we just have to hope that they listen. And yes as you would expect from a Kevin Williamson script you are kept guessing who is behind the Ghostface mask until the very end.

Average Subculture Rating (out of 5):

IMDB Rating:

Other Subculture Media Reviews of ‘Scream 4′: This review was first published in Buzz Magazine.

We should have known that when screenwriter, Kevin Williamson (TV’S Hidden Palms & The Vampire Diaries) and Wes Craven (My Soul To Take, Paris, Je T’Aime) teamed up once again to bring us Scream 4 that it was never going to be a simple re-boot of the series. While telling a story of its own Williamson and Craven use Scream 4 to take a swipe at the current Horror Kings (those behind the Saw franchise) while pushing across the point ‘don’t f**k with originals’ (which is how Sidney Prescott so elegantly puts it), and considering that audience members have been clapping the line you can only be left thinking that it’s a popular belief amongst serious horror fans.

Scream 4 sees Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell – TV’S The Simpsons & Sea Wolf) return to Woodsboro ten years after the last spate of killings. Here Sidney finds that Dewey Riley (David Arquette – TV’S Jake And The Neverland Pirates & Medium) is now Sheriff and still married to Gale Weathers-Riley (Courtney Cox – TV’S Cougar Town & Web Therapy). In fact the only concern seems to be that Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton – Elektra Luxx, The Mighty Macs) has her eyes on Dewey. However, with Sidney back in town to promote her book we soon see the reemergence of Ghostface as he begins a new killing spree this time centered around Sidney’s family, her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts – Homework, It’s Kind Of A Funny Story) and Jill’s friends.

Like the previous movies in the series Scream 4 certainly doesn’t itself too seriously. While Craven and Williamson do make sure that it contains a story of its own they do actually poke fun at the horror genre, this time highlighting some of the “rules” in a series re-boot. You can see what you are going to get from the opening of the film when they openly make fun of the genre and then continue with outrageous scenes including one with a main character yelling “you can’t kill me I’m gay.” While they haven’t gone for a whole Scary Movie spoof they do show that the aim of Scream 4 is to give the audience a few frights while highlighting the plight of the modern horror film.

Acting-wise it is good to see Neve Campbell back in the big-screen and while David Arquette and Courtney Cox don’t offer up anything spectacular some of the younger cast certainly do step-up., the highlights being Eric Knudsen (Beastly, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World0 continues to show why he is the new Jesse Eisenberg (although anyone that watched Jericho knew he had a big future ahead of him), while Hayden Panettiere (Alpha & Omega, TV’S Heroes) sports a new look and certainly shows the film world that her career is on the rise.

Scream 4 certainly does a give a voice to the disgruntled horror fans that have been disgruntled with what Hollywood has been serving up recently, now we just have to hope that they listen. And yes you will be kept guessing who the killer is until the very end.

Trailer: