Scream Four still stars our old friends, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette) but it introduces a new high school generation of Ghostface victims.
The reappearance of the infamous Ghostface is triggered by Sidney's return to hometown Woodsboro, where it all began. Sidney is back in town 10 years after her last dealings with Ghostface, promoting her bestselling book. She meets up with all her old friends, married couple Gale and Dewey, as well as her cousin, high school sweetheart Jill (Emma Roberts). Jill heads the new generation which serves the same function as the original cast, even with similar characters archetypes, including hot girl and big boobed Kirby, played cheekily by Hayden Panettiere. Like all previous Scream films, this addition centres around the mystery of who is donning the Ghostface mask - the result may surprise you.
What makes this film so good is the way in which it doesn't take itself too seriously, and that it even parodies the previous Scream films. This addition has also been updated to match the conventions of a new generation of horror slasher films - the purpose of the Scream franchise in the first place. One thing that worked better than the original film was the fact that the teenagers actually look like teenagers, not actors who are in their mid to late twenties pretending to be teens.
There were many highlights in the film but my favourite moment (without giving anything away) had to be the opening sequence, all three of them to be exact. A great introduction to a new generation of Scream seekers.
3.5/5
