Plot: What’s it about?
In the spring of 1997, a friend of mine told me that I should see the movie Scream. I was in college at the time and with little or nothing to do in Manhattan, Kansas I figured that it might be a good idea. Scream for those that don’t know (but should if you’re reading this review) was a parody of the cult teen/horror/slasher films of the 70’s and 80’s. As time has told, the film went onto become a commercial and critical success and obviously inspired not only three sequels but a number of spin-offs as well; namely I Know What You Did Last Summer. So after seeing the movie 127 Hours in the theater I glanced over and saw a movie poster for Scream 4 or as they spell it “Scre4m.” Re-booting a franchise is nothing new now, so the question was simply if it would work. As of this writing the movie has taken in nearly $100 million dollars and, while impressive, it’s more than the original but far less than the sequel, “Scream 2.” Enough about that, let’s see what it’s all about.
Fifteen years have passed since Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) escaped the murders in Woodsboro and she’s now written a self-help book. It’s the last stop of her tour and, ironically enough, it’s in her old home town. Not a whole lot has changed. Dewey (David Arquette) is now sheriff and is married to Gale (Courtney Cox). But the Scream movies have always been about the teens so we meet Sidney’s cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts) and her web of friends. The local A/V club is having a “Stab” movie fest with “Stab” being the fictional movie inspired by the Woodsboro murders. As we might expect our old friend Ghostface (Dane Farwell) shows up and, well, starts killing off the members of the cast. So it’s once again up to Sidney, Dewey and Gale to try and find out who’s killing the innocents in Woodsboro and bring it to a halt. But it’s been fifteen years. They’re older and weaker. Can they do it?
The thing that’s always made this franchise work is their ability to make fun of themselves or at least the genre. While the first three movies made fun of the genre, I felt that this one made fun of predecessors. That’s a novel concept. And I felt it worked. If you look at it, the movie is essentially the same as the first one minus the originality. The same team that was behind the original is back for this one with Kevin Williamson’s screenplay being directed by none other than Wes Craven himself. And, truthfully, the living members of the first three movies are all back so as much as they were trying to re-create the original but it’s just hard to do. Scream 4 is as much a part of the franchise as any other, but to me I kept wanting to put in the original while watching this one. This is passable, but it’s not a scream, baby!
Video: How does it look?
This is the first time the film has been offered in 4K and this is, by and large, a very strong transfer. As we know, these films seem to “live” in the darker spectrum of the color palette. Black levels are rock solid, detail has been improved and colors seemed bold. And as we can imagine, there’s plenty of red in this film. Flesh tones seem a bit on the saturated side, though detail is as we might expect – great. Additionally, a lot has been discussed about the way Craven chose to shoot the film with the filter. That’s not a fault of the transfer, rather his creative choice to mirror the horror films of the 00’s. There wasn’t a lot really lacking in the original Blu-ray, but this does step it up a notch.
Audio: How does it sound?
Also added is the new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Vocals are consistent and strong throughout the duration of the movie. Surrounds are quite active and the discrete effects (namely the knife being “unsheathed” though there’s never a sheath) sound simply marvelous. There are a number of ambient effects as well that occur in the rear channels like a dog barking and the like. All of this is done to throw you off and put you in the victim’s point of view and it works.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Disc One (4K)
- The Meta of Scream – There’s a lot of this in the Scream franchise and what better way for a movie to reference itself than in, well, the movie itself. Confused? It’s just a featurette. So don’t be.
- Rebooting the Franchise: Scream 4 Revisited – It had been over a decade between Scream 3 and Scream 4 which was, sadly, the last film Wes Craven directed. But we get a little “method to his madness” with this feature.
- Ghostface Revealed! – Let’s hope you watch this after seeing the film. Then again the film has been around since 2011, so…
- Wes Craven: The Maestro of Scream – More of a tribute to the late, great director and his enduring legacy.
Legacy Supplements (Blu-ray)
- Audio Commentary – director Wes Craven who’s joined by actresses Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere who offer up a decent commentary. Neve Campbell joins by phone about midway through (is she really that busy?) and the foursome do a decent job of describing what’s on the screen.
- Deleted and Extended Scenes – Nearly 30 minutes’ worth.
- Alternate Opening – Pretty much that.
- Extended Ending – The “it’s an extended ending that really didn’t accomplish what we wanted to” feature.
- Gag Reel – Hijinks on the set!
- EPKs – A trio of very brief features that really don’t add anything to the film.
- B-Roll
- Soundbites
- Junket Interviews
- Trailers
- TV Spot
The Bottom Line
Scream 4 is considered one of the weakest entries in the franchise. I’m sure there’ll be those that disagree. But this release also fills the void that left this one out of the 4K market. Well you can relax now, baby birds – you’re fed. Lionsgate’s new transfer and Dolby Atmos soundtrack along with a few new supplements make this one a keeper for those who want the set (or happen to be a fan of this film).
