We were all made to believe it would be a trilogy but a decade has passed and director Wes Craven is presenting us with the fourth instalment of the Scream series. Hitting theatres this Friday, SCRE4M will undoubtedly be packed to the brim with copycat murders and enigmatic killer predictions but will we be left screaming for another dose or will it prove to be a deadly franchise?
I might just be a typical 90’s child with my eager anticipation for this latest slasher film, as Scream was somewhat of an iconic representation for my generation. There wasn’t a Halloween that passed without someone donning the poorly-ventilated ghostface mask. But while I’m waiting to get my scream on this Friday, I’m sure there will be a swarm of cynics branding this as Hollywood’s latest cop-out.
Fans might be a little disappointed that the entire original cast are not returning for the film, but at least we’re greeted with the familiar faces that matter. Everybody’s favourite survivor Sidney Prescott returns, along with Courtney Cox and David Arguette’s trademark characters. But they’re joined by a band of young Hollywood up-and-comers, including Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere and 90210’s Shenae Grimes.
Filming began on June 28th last year, with Craven securing a budget of $40 Million. It seems he is very confident that the latest instalment will pay off, by suggesting a further two new Scream flicks, to branch this as it own ‘new generation’ trilogy. Craven says: When I had my first conversation with Kevin Williamson [Screenwriter] about this whole thing, he had an idea for a new trilogy. And I think that was Bob Weinstein’s thing also about waiting so long – if there were to be a’ there would also probably be a Scream 5 and a Scream 6 sooner or later so we could construct a new trilogy that kind of stood on its own.”
If you think you’ll be able to catch a sneaky clip online, think again. A lot has changed in a decade, and I’m not just talking about the ‘rules’ (as the poster implies) but also the advances in technology. Taking the nature of Scream’s ‘whodunit?’ ending, it would take nothing more than a simple tweet or post to the give it all away, so Wes Craven fought hard to keep the film from 21st Century spoiler alerts.
Admittedly, I’m quite surprised that SCRE4M wasn’t a 3D contender but that might just be Craven’s way of resisting more bandwagon criticism. Either way, I’m sure many will flock to the cinema this Friday, eager to see if this highly anticipated fourth installment really is to die for…
