Scream 4

*** stars

Sometimes low expectations are a blessing, because I believe it actually allowed me to enjoy Scream 4, a nostalgic slasher flick (how often can you say that) that will remind fans of why they enjoyed the original so much in the first place.

On its own, this installment of the enormously successful franchise isn't much to goggle over. It's essentially a fun and loose remake of the 1996 original, only with a slightly different twist.

After coming out of the darkness with her new tell all book, Out of Darkness, Sydney Prescott (a welcome return for Neve Campbell) has returned to her old stomping ground (the town of Woodsboro) to prove to herself that the nightmares she's been living with for most of her life (also known as three successful films in a franchise) are behind her. That is until the masked-killer returns for some fresh teenage-blood.

Other returning characters include Gail Weathers, now Gail Weathers-Riley (Courtney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette), which ironic for them are a married couple going through a tough time in their relationship (Cox and Arquette reportedly split during the making of this movie). Gail is struggling with her life outside of the spotlight as the it-newswoman of the moment as she suffers from writer's block, while Dewey seems more interested in his cop partner Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) than his own wife. The two both find themselves in familiar situations when they get involved with the investigations of the legendary killer. Through this, the two seem to reconnect. How twisted is it that this couple only finds happiness within each other when there is a serial murderer on the loose?

As the "story" steams on, we are introduced to new but overall non-memorable characters. Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere play best friends who become apart of the killer's game. We also get two film buffs explaining the new rules of a horror movie. The biggest rule? You don't need to have sex anymore to be the victim. Anyone can be a victim. Virgins are targets, too. This is after all how the original began. Sydney wouldn't give it up to her boyfriend, so she was safe. Then she did give it up, so she wasn't anymore. In the ideologies of the new rules, recklessness seems to be the driving force behind Scream 4's fear.

It's odd to say this because the film is nowhere near his best, but this is actually Wes Craven's best film in quite some time. Maybe even since the original Scream. This shows that the franchise only works with Craven at the helm. Although the film is disappointing at the box-office, at least Craven and company can sleep peacefully knowing that he has satisfied the fans that are worth satisfying.