Where I Watched it: Paramount Plus

English Audio Description?: No

Scream 4 is kind of brilliant. It doesn’t have audio description, but I’ve been a fan of this since the beginning. Taking a leap forward in time, and bringing in a fresh cast, Scream 4 played off the rules set forth by a slew of horror remakes that came out in the 2000’s, as well as the rise of the torture porn sub genre started with Saw, and doing it all while feeling very much like a Scream movie.

I’ve seen Scream 4 before several times, and since Scream 5 introduces a new cast, I think Scream 4 did it a little better and had a lot more fun with it. It seemed like the movie everyone wanted to be in, from the opening kill sequence cameos by well known stars like Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell, to Anthony Anderson and Adam Brody showing up as cops. Not only does this feel like the new generation of slashers, but it also had quite a few surprises.

Basically, in 2011, everyone is a Randy. With the introduction to the presence of a film club, this arguably has three film nerds who all understand horror cinema and the rules. That’s not the only change. The aforementioned opening sequence throws you off by being a scene within a scene within a scene. It’s the first and only time this format has been used. In Scream 2, the targeted couple does watch part of Stab unfold on film, and Scream 6 does have a really fresh take on an opening kill sequence. hell, Scream 5 even changed the game by having a survivor. Gotta keep it fresh.

But the true brilliance here is in the killer. Having made my way back through these films, I’ve sat there and said “Of course it’s Stu. he’s so obvious.” Or “Mickey is so obvious.” But Scream 4 takes the one person you assume out of the new cast is least likely to be the killer and transforms them into one.Emma roberts as Jill is a brilliant move. Of course, Kirby is the one we all loved. Her attempted death sequence did so poorly with test audiences that they had to have her pull through. Technically, Kirby played by ghost faces rules, and i think the betrayal upset fans who had been wanting to see someone strong go toe to toe with the voice on the other end of the phone.

Of course, you miss most of this, since there’s no audio description, because Paramount is too lazy to provide audio description for the entire franchise, despite the clear need to attract fans to the original films since Scream 5 and 6 are dipped deep in lore of the franchise, and the backstory actually becomes quite a thing. If you just jump in at Scream 5, you can’t possibly have the same experience.

I love Scream 4. It’s my favorite Scream since the original, and I kinda wish they had kept another survivor out of this group (who isn’t Marley Shelton). Side note: it’s about time for Scream 7 to pay Patrick Dempsey some money and bring Mark back. It’s frustrating that he was allowed to survive Scream 3, and never shows up again.

Final Grade: Unwatchable

(However, having seen this many times before, this film is a solid A for me)