SCREAM (1996) d: Wes Craven. c: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Drew Barrymore. Scream is the movie that revived the horror genre at a time when it had stalled with endless direct-to-video sequels. This smart little flick was a love letter to the fans that grew up on ’80s horror, and wisely injected its knowledge of the era into its story. When a teenager (Barrymore) and her boyfriend are viciously slaughtered, a small town is plunged into panic as a masked killer begins picking off high schoolers who all had a connection to the first victims. Does final girl, Sidney (Campbell), and her traumatic past have anything to do with the crimes? Both funny and scary, the movie works mostly thanks to its likable cast and relatable characters – for some of us, we were these characters. From its intense opening to its surprise ending, Scream is a landmark slasher movie, because it both spoofs and respects its subject matter, something later films would fail to understand. A–
SCREAM 2 (1997) d: Wes Craven. c: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Timothy Olyphant, Elise Neal, Liev Schreiber, Laurie Metcalf. The first sequel picks up two years after the events of the first film, with Campbell and Kennedy attending college and once again targeted by a killer who, this time, is copying the murders from Part 1. Surprisingly this sequel managed to bring fresh ideas to the table. Not only doesn’t it regurgitate the first movie, it steps up the suspense, especially during a terrific car crash sequence that ends in a white-knuckle getaway. It runs a bit long and a lot of the characters feel like they were created just to be red herrings, but this is still a worthy sequel and with one of the best killer reveals in the series. B+
SCREAM 3 (2000) d: Wes Craven. c: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, Patrick Dempsey, Scott, Foley, Emily Mortimer, Lance Henrisken. Another copycat killer begins picking off the cast and crew of the third movie (“Stab 3“) based on the events of the first two Screams, dragging past survivors Campbell, Cox, and Arquette into the limelight. Although this meta-take lacks the wit and suspense of its predecessors (Kevin Williamson didn’t return and was replaced by Ehren Kruger as writer), Scream 3 is unfairly named the black sheep of the series; the new characters aren’t as sympathetic or punchy as the three leads, and there’s a muddled retcon revealed in the final act. However, this is an entertaining (and often hilarious) and harmless threequel. Posey steals all of her scenes as an attention-needy actor portraying Cox’s bitchy journalist. B
SCREAM 4 (2011) d: Wes Craven. c: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Marley Shelton, Rory Culkin, Anthony Anderson. Ten years after the bloodbath that would leave her and her friends celebrities, Sidney (Campbell) returns to her hometown – the original scene of the crimes – to promote a book about her experiences, coming face-to-face with yet another Ghost Face maniac. Kevin Williamson returns as writer (apparently Ehren Kruger was brought in for rewrites) and the story is given a somewhat refreshing makeover after Scream 3 failed to live up to expectations, resulting in a movie that feels more like it belongs in the Scream cannon. Campbell, Cox, and Panettiere, as a new version of Randy, are good, but Roberts as Sidney’s cousin is completely lifeless. The screenplay is a bit too concerned with trying to get back to the roots of the series, sometimes coming off as a shell of itself, and with a rather listless explanation for the murders, resulting in a lackluster climax. Still, this is an undeniably entertaining entry and proved the series still had life in it. B–