Scream 4 is the franchise's most underrated film, and it is not particularly close. Dismissed on release as an unnecessary belated sequel, it has been steadily rehabilitated over the years as audiences have caught up with just how sharp, how funny, and how scary it is. Craven and Williamson reunited, took aim at the remake era with the same precision they once aimed at the slasher genre, and delivered something that deserved considerably better than the box office it received.
At a Glance
Director: Wes Craven
Runtime: 111 minutes
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin
Release: 2011
Critics Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 stars, the franchise's most underrated entry)
Audience Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 stars, sharply intelligent)
Review Breakdown
Plot
Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro to promote her memoir and finds herself targeted by a new Ghostface following a new set of rules based on the conventions of the remake. The opening sequence, a film-within-a-film-within-a-film that keeps pulling the rug out from under the audience, is the franchise's most elaborate and most enjoyable piece of meta-horror. The villain reveal is the franchise's best since the original, with a motivation rooted in social media fame and victimhood culture that feels contemporary and deeply disturbing.
Characters
Emma Roberts is extraordinary as Jill Roberts, delivering one of the franchise's finest villain performances with a wit and menace that makes the reveal shocking. Hayden Panettiere's Kirby Reed is the film's most purely enjoyable new character, a horror-obsessed film buff whose knowledge of the genre makes her the audience's most obvious surrogate. Neve Campbell is given her best material since the original, and she makes the most of it. The original trio's return feels earned rather than nostalgic.
Tone
Craven and Williamson are back in complete command of the franchise's tonal balance, delivering a film that is funny, scary, and smart in equal measure. The commentary on social media, celebrity, and the desire to be famous for surviving rather than for achieving anything is sharp and prescient, and it gives the film a contemporary relevance that makes it feel more timely now than it did in 2011.
Direction
Craven's direction is the franchise's finest since the original, with a real command of the horror sequences and a spatial intelligence that the more purely comedic Scream 3 entirely lacked. The opening sequence is a directorial highlight, and the climax is the franchise's most satisfying since the original. Marco Beltrami's score is as reliable as ever.
Cultural Reception
Scream 4 received solid reviews but underperformed commercially, which effectively ended the original franchise run. Its reputation has grown considerably since, particularly after Scream 5's success prompted audiences to revisit it and discover how good it actually is. It is now widely regarded as the franchise's second or third finest entry, and Emma Roberts's Jill is increasingly celebrated as one of the series' finest villain creations. Craven's final Scream film deserved a better fate at the box office.
Who Should Watch
Everyone who has seen the original trilogy, and particularly anyone who wrote it off as an unnecessary sequel. Scream 4 is the film that proves the franchise still had something to say. Essential viewing.
Final Verdict: The franchise's most underrated entry and a genuine return to form. Emma Roberts is outstanding, Hayden Panettiere is a delight, and Craven and Williamson's commentary on remake culture and social media fame is as sharp as anything in the series. Scream 4 deserved better. It is getting the recognition it deserves now.
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