Director: Wes Craven
Cast: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts
Have I Seen it Before: For whatever reason, I have a strong memory of seeing the film at some point, but just like with Scream 3 (2000) I have no memory as I begin this screening of who the killer is. So, I guess it’s all new to me again.
Did I Like It: Which clearly means the film didn’t make much of an impression at the time, right? While Craven and company probably left well enough alone for long enough after forcing the series into the shape of a trilogy, and there should probably be enough to say about the state of horror at that moment, right?
Well, is there that much new in horror in 2011? You have the Paranormal Activity (2007), and by that point even the Saw (2004) franchise, and not a lot else. Aside from some nascent film nerds/vloggers, the film doesn’t veer into the territory of found footage. There is even less to be said for the rise of torture porn. Although, if Scream 4 had come hot on the heels of Scream 3 in the early 2000s, I could easily see this sequel being weighed down by the unrelenting wave of The Blair Witch Project (1999).
We’re all got off light that stuff like The Human Centipede (2009) didn’t more thoroughly enter the collective consciousness. For a number of reasons. If there’s a reference to that kind of crap in this film, my memory blissfully omitted it.
The most damning thing I think I have to say about the film is that I reach the end of the review with not enough to say to meet the length requirements for these reviews. It doesn’t have enough to say to recommend itself, and I don’t have much to say about it in turn. An endless unravelling sequence taking the piss out of endless sequels in the film’s opening minutes don’t justify the whole affair. It’s a shame—but not an unrelenting one—that Craven ended his career with something just bereft enough of innovation to be… fine.