Scream 4 (2011)

Color me surprised.  And "spoiler-free".

First came "Scream" (1996), the movie that gave the nearly dead horror genre a kick in the pants, setting off a seemingly unstoppable horror boom which has sustained mightily for 15 years straight.  First-time writer Kevin Williamson and legendary genre director Wes Craven provided not only shocks and suspense, but humor, strong characterizations, and a witty, self-aware perspective which gave the series its unique flair.  I've always felt that the humor and the wit worked far better than the scares, but there are still a couple of intense scenes.  Plus, I like the characters.  It's an undeniable classic.

The following year, Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven returned with "Scream 2" (1997), which comments on the tropes of horror movie sequels while at the same time, well, being one.  And, surprise, it was nearly as good as the original.  Except that they killed of my favorite character in the series, but that only ramps up the suspense - anyone can die at any time!

"Scream 3" (1999) was intended to be the end of the series, wrapping up (and commentating on, of course) the rules of all things "trilogy".  Wes Craven was back, but Kevin Williamson had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts.  This may explain why this entry is a step down from the previous two.  It's less witty, less scary, and a little bit pooped out.  Nonetheless, it's still okay.  But disappointing.

Over ten years after the "finale" comes the seemingly unnecessary fourth chapter in the series.  Wes Craven is back, and so is writer Kevin Williamson, as well as the surviving cast, plus some new victims.  I went into the theater not really looking forward to seeing it, but curious nonetheless.  After all, what more was left to say in the world of "Scream"?

Plenty, my friends.  This is my favorite entry in the series since the original.  It doesn't re-invent the "Scream" wheel or anything, but it injects enough new ideas, twists, and strongly constructed scenes into the mix to make it interesting.  It's about remakes.  Horror remakes, specifically.  Sidney Prescott has returned to Woodsboro to promote a self-help book she's written concerning her experiences as a survivor of great tragedy (3 of them, to be precise).  Sure enough, new murders begin to occur via a mysterious Ghostface killer(s), and witty mayhem ensues.

The strongest scenes in the "Scream" movies are always the opening scene and the final scene, with scenes of varying quality in between.  "Scream 4" is no different, except that my favorite line of dialogue in the entire series is spoken in the final scene here.  I cannot repeat it - spoiler territory - but it's great.  Besides the horror movie remake phenomenon, this film also skewers the self-obsessed "me" generation with razor sharp precision.  This is easily the most cynical, and critical, entry in the franchise.

I also didn't realize how much I missed the returning characters until I saw them onscreen.  I was like, hey, I remember you, I liked that thing you did that one time, and they were like, that's cool, I'm glad to be back, I'm getting a paycheck and everything this time, and I was like, heh heh, money is cool, and they were like, heh heh, hells yeah, and I was like, word, I make money and stuff too, not for acting or anything, but, you know, and they were like, yeah, I gotta go now, and I was all like, okay, I guess, I got stuff to do too, it was nice to see you again, and they were like, say hi to the family and all, and I said okay, I gotta finish this random tangent first, and they said, yeah, it's getting pretty old now so you should just stop, and I was like, sure, fine, whatever. . .

Ahem.  The new cast members are fine.  There's a Culkin kid in there, and President Roslyn from "Battlestar Galactica", and that fat annoying black dude from "Transformers".   There's one character - the estranged boyfriend of Sidney's niece - who cracked me up every time he was onscreen.  He's not particularly funny, it's just that every time he appears onscreen the other characters in the movie want him to go away.  It was a running joke that got me every time.  However, I seemed to be the only person in the audience who laughed at it.  Go figure.  There are also a couple of cameo appearances.  And while the "Scream" movies have never been very gory, there seemed to be more "flowage" on display than in the previous flicks.  A little more mayhem.

I left the theater in a good mood.   This is a great place to end the series.  It more than makes up for part 3.  However, I have heard rumors that the head honchos at Dimension Films want to make two more, to round out a second trilogy.  I say stop now, while the going's good.