Scream 4

Name: Scream 4
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Released: April 15, 2011
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 52
Cast: Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell

2011

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 518 Ratings

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6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 518 Ratings

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Scream 4

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Movie Details & Credits

Dimension Films | Release Date: April 15, 2011 | R

Starring: Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell

Summary: Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney's appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey,Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney's appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger. (Dimension Films)

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Director: Wes Craven

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 103 min

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Critic Reviews

Steve Persall

Apr 13, 2011

It's about time that another Scream flick came along to gouge the new cliches out of their sockets. Scream 4 does it in grandly Guignol style. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Apr 14, 2011

A strange concoction, clever and self-knowing in the extreme and yet operating in primal ways that bypass wit. Something about it feels very modern. Read full review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Apr 13, 2011

Some of the riffs are really funny and/or expertly scary. Others have the feel of awfully snappy dialogue crafted by middleaged people trying a little too eagerly to sound like the young people from whose mouths the banter flows. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

Apr 14, 2011

It's rare for a sequel to extensively acknowledge its own pointlessness, let alone make the unnecessary nature of its existence a recurring theme, the way Scream 4 does. Then again, the Scream franchise has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to deconstructing itself and the rules of the slasher genre. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Apr 19, 2011

Scream 4 is so obsessed with the self-referential element that made the original Scream unique that it loses the capacity to be genuinely scary or funny. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Apr 21, 2011

Too self-referential for its own good by half. Read full review

Nick Pinkerton

Apr 12, 2011

The enjoyable moments are limited to Alison Brie, funny as Sidney's publicist, and the final recasting of the movie as a backstage diva drama. As ever, the self-reflexive horror stuff is superficial, loveless, and constant-a ladled-on sauce to disguise what you're eating. Read full review

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User Reviews

NateJax81

Apr 15, 2011

I definitely have to say..speaking as a HUGE fan of the first 3 films that 11 yrs later in Scream 4...i was definitely thoroughly entertained. It was an amazing opening and ending that still has me thinking WOW! I highly recommend this to any horror fan and any fan of the first 3 films...wayI definitely have to say..speaking as a HUGE fan of the first 3 films that 11 yrs later in Scream 4...i was definitely thoroughly entertained. It was an amazing opening and ending that still has me thinking WOW! I highly recommend this to any horror fan and any fan of the first 3 films...way to go Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven...cant wait for Scream 5 and 6!… Expand

10 of 16 users found this helpful106

applemon26

Oct 28, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the opening of the movie was great, creative, and kind of funny. and i really like the whole story, it's pretty predictable, but still shocking. i love the idea of "usually, in a movie, what will happen next is..." or something like that. it's creative and it makes the viewer to think and guess, who was the killer. the characters were pretty much classic, Neve Campbell was predictable, Hayden Panettiere as well, but Emma Roberts was awesome. it's a joy to see her acting as a psycho, not just a sweet good girl like i always see on tv. she has proven the viewers that she is a great actress. the whole movie was entertaining to me and i enjoyed watching it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Movie3

Jul 15, 2018

"It was too much of a remake of the first one!!" ...yeah, that was kind of the point, and the horror movies they were making fun of. In my opinion, this making a remake of their first Scream with the characters of scream and newbies was actually genius and I could totally laugh at the"It was too much of a remake of the first one!!" ...yeah, that was kind of the point, and the horror movies they were making fun of. In my opinion, this making a remake of their first Scream with the characters of scream and newbies was actually genius and I could totally laugh at the "remake" jokes which were scattered throughout. VERY fun and entertaining.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Meth-dude

Sep 15, 2015

I can't decide which is the weakest, the second or the fourth. While this one has one of the worst acting of the franchise, the kills were entertaining and kind of gory.As a fan of the Scream franchise, I was kind of let down by this final instalment. But, overall, a good film. Nothing more,I can't decide which is the weakest, the second or the fourth. While this one has one of the worst acting of the franchise, the kills were entertaining and kind of gory.As a fan of the Scream franchise, I was kind of let down by this final instalment. But, overall, a good film. Nothing more, nothing less.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

rotku

Mar 25, 2012

Scream 4 does exactly what is expected, roll the first three movie together, add a twist (although hardly a surprise when it does happen) and let the body count rise. Worth a watch if you enjoyed the first three.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

ZacharyMatson

Apr 24, 2011

I thought the first Scream was very good, but as for two and three, it's like they said i this one, "They keep recycling the same **** over and over again..." but I think the fourth redeemed the series. I didn't love this film, but I didn't hate it at all.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

BerC

Jul 4, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The artistic medium of film is very subjective. Every audience member has a different set of criteria they use to measure their viewing experience. Not everyone shares the same set of criteria. If we did, what a bland and uninspired world this would be.

What I Personally Liked About "Scream 4":
Um. Give me a minute. I'm thinking. I'm thinking!!! It's saying something when even the normally reliable Neve Campbell seems like she's just going through the motions to grab a quick paycheck. Well, here's one thing I do like: Hayden Panettiere. She always deserves more credit than she receives and has the propensity to be a serious actress if given the opportunity. She's easily the best part of this sorry excuse of a "film." I suppose Emma Roberts is okay, too. She's certainly not horrible, she just feels like she's holding back for some reason, even in the finale. She needs to learn to cut loose a little.

What I Personally Disliked About "Scream 4":
It's hard to pick a place to begin with this one. I will say that the triple false opening is a mind-numbingly tedious experience that should have been scrapped. There is a lifeless pacing to the entire production and there are too many stretches that rely on cliches instead of actual substance. There are no really solid supporting characters. While a lot of the ancillary characters weren't exactly fully formed in the original trilogy, they were still more interesting and had more personality than the ones seen here. The relationship between Dewey and Gale that was so unbearable in the third chapter has become rip-your-eyeballs-out-of-their-sockets-so-you-don't-have-to-witness-it-anymore bad. But the biggest drawback to this film is the one missed opportunity that could have saved the entire movie: Sidney Prescott should not have lived. Seriously. This was a monumental oversight by the filmmakers that could have brought about something unique within the genre. Having Jill Roberts get away with murder could have opened new doors for the franchise. Focusing on how a serial killer secretly maintains her "survivor" fame while trying not to get caught killing future victims would have been a superb idea for a fifth installment. "Scream 4" should have ended after Jill beat herself up and was being carted out of the house through the flashing of the paparazzi. Fade to white. End of film. However, mediocrity reigned supreme, Sidney lived and the whole shebang wound up scraping the bottom of the cinematic barrel.

My Overall Impression of "Scream 4":
This is an inconsequential sequel that exists solely to appease the almighty dollar. Why tarnish a decent legacy for the sake of being greedy? It never works out well in the long run. I guess, to paraphrase a line from the movie (which came from Dewey no less - ugh!), "One generation's classic horror movie is another one's joke." This film is the joke and it is one that fails miserably.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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