After waiting over 10 years for the Scream series to return to the big screen, it finally did so on April 15, 2011, and it was well worth the wait.

     Mind you, this Scream film is far different than its predecessors. It is very comical and extremely violent: the perfect horror-satire combination.

     Scream 4 takes place 10 years after the third film, and when Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour, local killings start up again thanks to the infamous Ghostface murderer.

     MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD: I will have to say, this film is not as good as the original Scream, but it is probably the best of the sequels. Scream is arguably the greatest horror film ever created, while its sequels, Scream 2 and 3, were viewed as just above average (2) and below par(3) even though I personally loved them. Not only does Director Wes Craven do a great job at giving this film a feel similar to the first, but the new cast gives some stellar performances, as well (especially Hayden-Panettiere as Kirby). The beginning was also ridiculously funny and pretty awesome.

     While I thoroughly enjoyed the film, I did have a few problems with it. First off, the film moved way to fast. Craven recently stated that the studio took 7 scenes out of the final cut, and my first thought was why? From the looks of the pictures of those 7 scenes, I’m sure they would have added some extra character development as well as some even more gore.

     I also thought that Kirby should not have died. She was by far my favorite character (other than Sidney, obviously), and according to numerous comment threads from around the web, I’m not the only one who feels that way.

     The kills could have been a little bit more creative, too. Some of the death scenes were awesome, but others fell short. There must have been 5 people that were stabbed just one time- C’mon! Scream was brutal and Scream 2 was just as bloody. Sure, the body count was high, but they could have upped the level of blood just a tad to make it a bit more believable.

     But, despite all of that, I was satisfied with the ending. It had a great twist and was probably the best ending to all the Scream movies. It also left room for yet another sequel, and series writer Kevin Williamson has said that when he wrote this he had an idea for a new trilogy (Scream 5 and 6 possibly?!), so at this point we can only hope this film does well enough at the box office to green light a fifth.

     Overall, this is a great sequel. In fact, it is probably the best ‘fourthqual’ that I have ever seen. The plot, though very fast-paced, is pretty good and the satire is fresh and original. Don’t start this movie with the expectation that this film will be as shocking and fun as the original Scream, but watch it with a positive attitude and you’ll come out extremely satisfied and praising Craven for making the best horror film in the last few years. Now that this one is finished, bring on Scream 5!

Source: IMDb.com