![Halloween Hype 2011, Pt. VI
Scream 4
[2011 / Wes Craven / ***]
Thought I’d include a newer film in the Halloween buildup this year (plus, it’s one that I could get my wife on board with watching as well). I’ve always enjoyed the Scream franchise for what it was - initially a fun spin on the genre for a mainstream audience, with the sequels continually out-meta-ing themselves, with young “stars” of that particular year getting killed off along the way. I never took the sequels too seriously, so I didn’t mind their repetitiveness and stunt-casting.
Scream 4 was essentially more of the same, which is all I really wanted. Craven and the gang didn’t reinvent the franchise at all and stuck to the formula of being a “who’s the killer?” slasher film, killing off the various recognizable young talent along the way. At times (especially the beginning) it’s self-consciousness went a bit far, but I didn’t really mind. It’s light on plot, though isn’t afraid of an R-rating like far too many studio horror films today. The caveman in me certainly didn’t mind all the attractive potential victims involved (Alison Brie, Kristen Bell, Emma Roberts, Aimee Teegarden, Lucy Hale, Marley Shelton, etc). And it was nice to spend time with the returning characters again, especially good ol’ Sid. I haven’t liked Hayden Panettiere in other things, but I found her character was one of the few engaging ones.
One major problem: I don’t know if it was the On Demand version I was watching specifically, but the film way too dark - and not in an atmospheric, effective way. Craven and his cinematographer really seemed to amp up the black levels or something, to the point of distraction in some cases and in contrast to the look of the prior Scream films. Aside from that, it’s certainly not a favourite recent horror film of mine but it entertained and I don’t doubt that I’ll keep watching future installments. This film also further cements the fact that it’s very hard to make a horror movie that I actively dislike.
Note: I couldn’t find a review that meshed with my wishy-washy/ blandly satisfied opinion of the film. It seems to be a like-it or hate-it type film among most critics (not surprising). Since I couldn’t find similar thoughts to mine, I linked (by clicking the title still above) to a negative review of the film that’s enjoyable and well-written.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsvrb0iSNF1qz530to1_500.jpg)
Halloween Hype 2011, Pt. VI
[2011 / Wes Craven / ***]
Thought I’d include a newer film in the Halloween buildup this year (plus, it’s one that I could get my wife on board with watching as well). I’ve always enjoyed the Scream franchise for what it was - initially a fun spin on the genre for a mainstream audience, with the sequels continually out-meta-ing themselves, with young “stars” of that particular year getting killed off along the way. I never took the sequels too seriously, so I didn’t mind their repetitiveness and stunt-casting.
Scream 4 was essentially more of the same, which is all I really wanted. Craven and the gang didn’t reinvent the franchise at all and stuck to the formula of being a “who’s the killer?” slasher film, killing off the various recognizable young talent along the way. At times (especially the beginning) it’s self-consciousness went a bit far, but I didn’t really mind. It’s light on plot, though isn’t afraid of an R-rating like far too many studio horror films today. The caveman in me certainly didn’t mind all the attractive potential victims involved (Alison Brie, Kristen Bell, Emma Roberts, Aimee Teegarden, Lucy Hale, Marley Shelton, etc). And it was nice to spend time with the returning characters again, especially good ol’ Sid. I haven’t liked Hayden Panettiere in other things, but I found her character was one of the few engaging ones.
One major problem: I don’t know if it was the On Demand version I was watching specifically, but the film way too dark - and not in an atmospheric, effective way. Craven and his cinematographer really seemed to amp up the black levels or something, to the point of distraction in some cases and in contrast to the look of the prior Scream films. Aside from that, it’s certainly not a favourite recent horror film of mine but it entertained and I don’t doubt that I’ll keep watching future installments. This film also further cements the fact that it’s very hard to make a horror movie that I actively dislike.
Note: I couldn’t find a review that meshed with my wishy-washy/ blandly satisfied opinion of the film. It seems to be a like-it or hate-it type film among most critics (not surprising). Since I couldn’t find similar thoughts to mine, I linked (by clicking the title still above) to a negative review of the film that’s enjoyable and well-written.
1 Notes