What Do The Critics Say?

"The fact that Scream 4 introduces a completely new motive and dispenses entirely with the fallout from Maureen’s dalliances is like a breath of fresh air to me. I’d much rather see someone bumping off their friends because they want to be famous than watch killer after killer try to settle some lame, overplayed personal vendetta. My only hope is that if there is a Scream 5, it will leave the first-cycle mystery in the vaults." Brian 'Buzz' Juergens CAMPBLOOD "This movie is going to have more than its fair share of detractors. I'm not one of them. Yes, Scream 4 is self-aware to the brink of absurdity. But it's fun. "Don't fuck with the original," Sidney tells the killer. They didn't." Alexandra Cavallo BOSTON PHOENIX "Compared with so many of the rebooted slasher flicks, Scream 4 remains a cut above. No, that is not an intended pun." Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST "It's good, scary fun, a fourth installment that any franchise would be proud to call its own." David Medsker BULLZ-EYE "The body count is high, as is Craven's determination to make us smile occasionally as the blood spurts." Derek Malcolm THIS IS LONDON "I ended up going into "SCRE4M" with an open mind and no expectations whatsoever. By the time the movie had rolled through to the credits, I found that I had a hell of a good time watching it. It works as well as a comedy as it does a thriller. Not perfect for either genre, but thoroughly enjoyable." Kevin Carr 7M PICTURES "More than a decade after Scream 3, Craven and company reteam for another knowing thriller about scary movies. And by both following and subverting the rules of a reboot, they make a film that's both frightening and hilarious. As before, the movie is packed with horror references. And this being a Scream movie, they refer to all of these things as they go along, playing with stereotypes even as they gleefully undermine them." Rich Cline SHADOWS ON THE WALL

"The Casting for This Installment Also Reflects That Creative team's Continued Commitment to Top-Flight Talent, Between Returnees David arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and Heather Graham, and Series newcomers Anna Paquin. Emma Roberts, Kristen Bell, Anthony Anderson, Hayden panettiere and Rory Culkin. A worthy sequel certain to scare the bejesus out of Scream franchise fans with a strong stomach for gratuitous gore." Kam Williams NEWSBLAZE "If you like the tricks and the jolts and the jokes of the Scream series, you'll have fun at Scream 4, which immediately plunges the audience into a funhouse-mirror of suspense mixed with self-reflexive humor and doesn't let up." Alonso Duralde MOVIES.COM "As all scary movies should, Scream 4 puts craft ahead of cleverness—it knows when self-consciousness is a handy tool and when it's a lazy crutch. The last act is as good as could be expected: skillfully conceived and entertaining in its preposterousness." Dana Stevens SLATE "The meta-nature of this film's constant self analysis makes it impossible to suspend disbelief, but Craven relies on this, harvesting laughs and gasps in equal measure. There are plenty of killings to check on, each more ridiculous and gory than the last." Giles Hardy SYDNEY MORNING HERALD "Fifteen years ago Scream redefined our expectations of the horror film. The fresh bloom may have faded from the series but Scream 4 is still smart, amusing and more entertaining than the average horror film. A mischievous, blood-drenched, old-school slasher movie that tips the balance more towards black humour than edge-of-the-seat chills." DAILY EXPRESS "It's actually surprisingly enjoyable to see the decade-later return of the Scream gang, who still feel refreshingly like proper characters as opposed to machete fodder. Boasting more red herrings than a Stalinist fish farm, the script occasionally calls to mind a plate spinner. The only way this could be any more meta is if you the viewer turned out to be the killer. Welcome to the one of the best fourth parts of a horror franchise ever made." Catherine Bray FILM4

The Inside Story Fifteen years after the "Scream" franchise began with a terrifying phone call that changed horror forever, director Wes Craven, writer Kevin Williamson and stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette are back for a bold new entry in the beloved series. The franchises legacy is undeniable: The films smartly skewered its genre, launched the careers of many young actors, and redefined horror for a new generation of moviegoers. In an era of reboots and remakes, "Scream 4" honors its fans with a sequel as sharp and irreverent as the original. "Scream" has always been about ingenuity. Wes Craven found Kevin Williamson's take to be inventive and different and yet totally "Scream". "You have to come back with something worthy of coming back," 1997 Gérardmer Film Festival Grand Prize winner Craven ("Scream") comments, noting the high standards set by the latest edition's predecessors. "You're addressing a generation of young fans, but also the generation that has gone with you for three, as well as a decade worth of other films. You have to be as good as or better than all those films." With Craven and Williamson on board, the surviving "Scream" alumni greeted Williamson's script with enthusiasm and jumped at the opportunity to revisit their iconic roles in a completely new, ultra-modern world. The characters that were set in motion fifteen years ago were central to his pitch. "It's more like the original "Scream" than the other two that followed," Arquette ("Eight Legged Freaks") says. "It's a new generation. It's a new twist. There's more technology, more films, and more media to have fun with." 2000 Teen Choice Award winner Cox ("Scream 3") longed to become Gale Weathers once again, in part for the fun of reconnecting with her cast and crew. "People always talk about bringing things back, but this was one that I was hoping would come back one day because we had such a great time making the first three. As the landscape of horror has changed in the eleven years since "Scream 3", so have the lives of the film's unmistakable, unforgettable main characters. Dewey, Gale and Sidney are re-introduced at completely different, challenging phases in their lives. Sidney Prescott has penned a bestseller about overcoming personal trauma. "She's come to a different place in her life and has come to accept what happened to her," 1997 Saturn Award winner Campbell ("Scream") explained. "She has found a way of dealing with her history and has chosen to help people who might have a similar history in some way. At the beginning of the film she is on her book tour." While Sidney has found success, Gale has faltered. "She's just gone through a major writer's block," says Cox of Gale. "She's written six "Stab" books, and now has running out of ideas. She's in this small town of Woodsboro and she's pretty unhappy." Cox, Arquette and Campbell found that revisiting these roles was an effortless endeavor especially with the franchise back in the hands of masters of the genre Craven and Williamson. "When a director like Wes and a writer like Kevin put this world together, it's easy to fall into these roles," Arquette notes. While "Scream 4" reunites its lead trio, it also introduces a talented new group of young actors to the series as a ghost from the past meets a new generation. New cast members include Emma Roberts (Andi in "Hotel for Dogs") as Sidney's cousin Jill, who has a relationship with Nico Tortorella, Woodsboro's resident bad boy Trevor Sheldon. "Trevor has this whole energy of being the big man on campus, and the whole time he's trying to win his love back and give himself to Jill," Tortorella (ABC TV USA "Make It or Break It") notes. Hayden Panettiere plays Kirby, a quick-witted, outspoken, tough cinephile. "She's sassy, she's strong and she's savvy," Panettiere (who played Channing Walsh in "Racing Stripes") says. Erik Knudsen ("Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") plays Robbie, the most technologically adroit of the films teens. "A big part of this film is not only the effect of movies on these characters but also the effect of the Internet and the fact that movies are leeching into the Internet. He's the one who bridges those two generations. He has a lot of fun with the role," Craven said of Knudsen. Rounding out the films cast is newcomer Marielle Jaffe, Lucy Hale ("Pretty Little Liars"), Brittany Robertson ("Life as We Know It"), Aimee Teegarden ("Prom") and Shenae Grimes ("90210"). Mary McDonnell (TV'S "Battlestar Galactica") stars as Aunt Kate, Jill's mother. Alison Brie ("Mad Men") plays Rebecca, Sidney's driven publicist. "She's very ambitious. She's a little go-getter. She loves Gale Weathers. She looks up to her, and wants to be her," Brie says of her role. Attempting to maintain order in the chaos are the film's three new cops: Marley Shelton (Dr Dakota Block in "Planet Terror" & "Death Proof"), Anthony Anderson ("Scary Movie 4") and Adam Brody ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith"). Brody ("Cop Out"), a longtime 'scream fan', was excited to join the franchise. "Having liked these movies in high school, it's cool and almost surreal to act with the same actors playing those characters. It's a pretty great experience." Anderson ("Transformers") loved being part of a project so legendary and clever. "There are a lot of twists and turns along the way. was filmed during the U.S. summer of 2010 in Ann Arbor, Michigan and brought out some of the franchises rabid fans, who hoped to catch a glimpse of Sidney, Gale, Dewey or Ghostface. With a franchise noted for the art of surprise, everyone in the production kept quiet about the many secrets and twists of their watermarked and guarded scripts. Nevertheless, Craven expanded the set experience and occasionally teased his legions of fans on Twitter. He found himself a part of the technology that "Scream 4" lambastes. "I was tweeting all the time on this film," Craven recalls. "There are all these new technologies that are affecting our world events. That is a big part of this film. A whole generation has a whole new tool set of communicating." Bringing back the franchises trademark look is director of photography Peter Deming ("Scream 2 & 3"). "Peter Deming is the backbone of the look of the picture. He came on halfway through the first "Scream". He gives it that rich, wonderful, big look. We use anamorphic lenses so it has a widescreen, 'larger than life' feel to it. Everything is mounted beautifully. It's a wonderful thing to set off the terror. You always feel like you're seeing something special. And that very much is Peter Deming's work," Craven notes. Cox was extremely happy to reunite with Craven again, too. "I don't think he's changed a bit," Cox says of her director. "He's so funny and dry, and he makes me laugh." Craven admits he has a deep connection with Sidney, Gale and Dewey, as well as the actors who play them. "It's a relaxed family feel. I think I know how to bring out the best in them and they know how to bring out the best in me, in a way. The characters are known, and they're rich. Those three people I'd love to work with any time." "You don't get this experience that often in this business," Arquette notes. "You're working with people that you've worked with for sixteen straight years. It's something special." It is, considering Arquette's character was supposed to be killed off in the first "Scream": until Craven said; "Let's do a take where we roll Dewey out and he's still kind of alive." So, who is Wes Craven, the man synoymous with the horror genre? From the mid-western suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold visions since the release of his first feature film, "The Last House On The Left", which he wrote, directed, and edited in 1972. In the thirty eight years since that controversial film's arrival, Craven has demonstrated that he is a filmmaker with heart, guts, humor and an unbridled imagination expanding into films, television, and literature. Craven's career is marked with both creative and commercial milestones. Craven reinvented the youth horror genre again in 1984 with the classic "A Nightmare On Elm Street", a film he wrote and directed and which introduced genre fans to the infamous Fred Krueger, played by Robert Englund. And though he did not direct any of its five sequels, he deconstructed the genre a decade later, writing and directing the audacious "Wes Craven's New Nightmare", which was nominated as Best Feature at the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards and introduced the concept of self-reflexive genre films to the world. In 1996 Craven reached a new level of success with the release of "Scream. The film, which sparked the phenomenal trilogy, was the winner of MTV's 1996 Best Movie Award and grossed more than one hundred million U.S.domestically, as did "Scream 2". Between the sequel "Scream 2" (1998) and the next edition "Scream 3" (2000), Craven, offered the opportunity to direct a non-genre film for Miramax, helmed "Music Of The Heart" (1999), a film that earned Meryl Streep an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. That same year, in the midst of directing, Craven completed his first novel, "The Fountain Society", published by Simon & Shuster. Recent work includes Craven's 2005 psychological thriller, "Red Eye", starring Rachel McAdams ("Wedding Crashers"), Cillian Murphy ("The Wind That Shakes the Barley") and two time BAFTA Scotland Award winner Brian Cox (2004 & '08). In 2006 Craven deftly wrote and directed a romantic comedy homage to Oscar Wilde ("Pere-Lachaise") featuring Emily Mortimer and Rufus Sewell as a segment in the French ensemble production, "Paris, je t'aime". Over the last few years, Craven has also produced remakes of two of his earlier films for his genre fans, "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006) and "The Last House On The Left" (2009). Craven has always had an eye for discovering fresh talent, something that contributes to the success of his films. While casting "A Nightmare On Elm Street", Craven discovered the then unknown Johnny Depp. Craven later cast Sharon Stone in her first starring role for his 1981 film "Deadly Blessing". He even gave Bruce Willis his first featured role in an episode of TV's mid-80's edition of "The Twilight Zone". Amongst his earlier films are "Shocker", "Vampire in Brooklyn" & "Cursed"." His most recent film,"My Soul To Take" (2010) once again brought together a cast of up and coming young teens in whom the director saw the spark of stardom, including Max Thieriot (alongside Emma Roberts in the 2007 Andrew Fleming film, "Nancy Drew"). The film marked Craven's first collaboration with wife and producer Iya Labunka, who also produced "Scream 4" with him. Craven holds degrees in writing and psychology (1963) and a Masters from J. Hopkins University (1964). Craven (who was four when his father passed away) has two children: Jonathan and Jessica Craven; from a previous marriage to Bonnie Broecker. What's It All About?

Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour and the place where she survived the bloodied killings by Ghostface. Here she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale Weathers, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Gale has also become famous. Her series of six books have spawned a number of highly successful "Stab" movies. Sadly, now Gale finds herself struggling to find inspiration for another best-seller. Unfortunately, it seems that Sidney's appearance in Woodsboro has brought about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger. Now it appears, they are all bit players in a sick movie, as one by one, Ghostface, in signature style, relentlessly pursues and despatches each victim in a bloodied frenzy.

The Verdict "For those who are fans of the horror genre, there's only one thing that can beat a good, bloodied, slasher flick: a slasher flick that not only terrifies, but also has a wicked sense of humour. Thankfully "Scream 4" ticks all those boxes. Of course, the problem with so many franchises in this genre is they rarely, after the first edition, maintain the intensity to keep us coming back again and again. "SAW" is a good example. Initially both clever and engrossing, it soon turned plain gross and downright wearisome. Now, after an absence of more than a decade, another installment of "Scream" is in cinemas. It re-unites audiences with cast members and characters they're familiar with while injecting some new blood in the form of Emma Roberts, Marley Shelton, Nico Tortorell, Anthony Anderson and more. And the slashing good fun kicks-off right from the opening scene in two murderous tales within the tale of young women watching "Stab", who end up getting stabbed by Ghostface. It sets the pace for what is to come. "Scream 4" is not for everyone. If the sight of blood makes you feel faint: if you're not a fan of the genre; then don't waste your money. But if you happen to be a "Scream" fan, then have a go at second guessing whose killing who in "Scream 4". You'll die laughing. 4 STARS." Who Is Playing Who?

Neve Campbell Alison Brie David Arquette Courteney Cox Hayden Panettiere Emma Roberts Nico Tortorella Marielle Jaffe Marley Shelton Lucy Hale Roger Jackson Rory Culkin Shenae Grimes Dane Farwell Anna Paquin Kristen Bell Aimee Teegarden Brittany Robertson Nancy O'Dell Erik Knudsen Anthony Anderson

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Sidney Prescott Rebecca Walters Dewey Riley Gale Weathers-Riley Kirby Reed Jill Roberts Trevor Sheldon Olivia Morris Deputy Judy Hicks Sherrie The Voice (voice) Charlie Walker Trudie Ghostface Rachel Chloe Jenny Randall Marnie Cooper TV Host Robbie Mercer Deputy Perkins

The Production Team Directed by Wes Craven Written by Kevin Williamson Characters by Kevin Williamson Produced by Wes Craven & Iya Labunka Original Music by Marco Beltrami Director of Photography Peter Deming Film Editing by Peter McNulty Casting by Avy Kaufman & Nancy Nayor Production Design by Adam Stockhausen Art Direction by Gerald Sullivan Set Decoration by Helen Britten Costume Design by Debra McGuire Run Time 111 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2011 - Warner Bros Films - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2011 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian & International Copyright, Trademark Laws & Intellectual Property Rights.