.

.

CARRIE: The Director's Cut

Carrie: The Director's Cut.

Back in mid-2011, the remake of Carrie was announced. Fans of the original were pissed, fans of the novel were intrigued, and with a huge teenage actress attached to the project everyone thought the latest remake of Carrie was going to be a new re-telling of the classic story for a new generation who hasn't seen the original film or doesn't want to watch movies made decades ago. Instead of doing the original shot-by-shot, Kimberly Peirce and producer Kevin Misher said in interviews they were going to base the new movie off of King's original book. That idea was attempted 11 years before the remake of Carrie hit theaters. In 2002, a made for television movie of Carrie aired on NBC as a backdoor pilot (a standalone movie, such that it can be broadcast in its own right even if not picked up as a series) for a potential TV series continuing the story of Carrie where the movie left off. It was closer to King's book by including scenes like Carrie bringing a rain of stones onto her house as a child, the White Commission, and Carrie destroying her town. The film got mediocre reviews from critics, bad ratings, and most fans of the original Carrie wonder why people enjoy the 2002 version. However, just like the Carrie remake I will be discussing today, Carrie (2002) wasn't the only movie with cut scenes. It has been stated that a full hour was cut from Carrie (2002) and the full hour was a sub-plot with actress Jasmine Guy as a psychic investigator. Filler was the last thing that movie needed but I would love to see that footage resurface someday, but that is very unlikely due to the new Blu-Ray release only having commentary as an extra. I like to think that footage was destroyed because NBC knew a DVD or VHS with extended footage wouldn't sell well so they saw no need for keeping it. However, I'm pretty sure the studio behind Carrie's DVD and Blu-Ray release knows pretty damn well many people want a director's cut and if they made a director's cut release people would forgive the movie Peirce made. Which brings me to the mystery of the cut footage of Carrie (2013) and the potential release for a director's cut...

 All of these descriptions of cut footage is taken from people who attended the test screenings (Which I believe is 100% accurate. An IMDB user posted a thread about the missing footage he saw at the test showings a week after Carrie hit theaters. He described deleted scenes on the DVD like the rain of stones and the hospital ending which was never mentioned before Carrie got it's theatrical release. They aren't time travelers.)  like IMDB users, actors and extras behind the film, interviews with Kevin Misher and Kimberly Peirce, deleted scenes from the DVD, and shots and scenes from the trailers and behind the scenes footage:

 - Hail: Otherwise known as "The Rain of Stones" [This was originally the opening scene]:

You can find this scene on the Blu-Ray and YouTube if you are fine with two second pauses to avoid copyright infringement. However, if you have good eyes you can clearly tell Estelle's interview with The White Commission was cut from the Blu-Ray version of this deleted scene. In

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's original script (which I will not link or share) the dialogue was almost identical to the dialogue in the deleted scene. In the script he also combined Estelle's White Commission interview (now as an adult) with the scene of her and Carrie discussing before chunks of ice destroy the White house. If you go on her IMDB page you can see she was uncredited as "Estelle Parsons". I also have a Twitter screen cap of her talking about the cutting room floor of Carrie.

- The White Commission: The film had integrated several courtroom scenes with witnesses giving testimonies of their experiences with Carrie White leading to the prom incident, essentially structuring the film as a series of flashbacks and recollections. It begins with an Interview with an adult Estelle Parsons [who witnessed the Hail as a teenager], Sheriff Otis Doyle, Dr. Dean L. McDuffy, Erika Gogan, Ms. Arlene Walsh, and others who had some kind of experience with Carrie White or theories about the Black Prom:

As said above, Michelle Nolden had a scene in the White Commission. The actor who played Sheriff Otis Doyle is uncredited on IMDB and the threads from people who attended the test screenings sound legit. Also, Mouna Traoré had a scene of her cut from the movie. Many fans speculate her boyfriend died in the electrocution scene or got hit by a sharp star decoration and it cut to the scene of Mouna being interviewed at the Commission. She responded to a fan on Twitter about her cut scene by telling him to buy the DVD to see her "other scene". 

 


- The found footage that had been filmed by Freddy "Beak" Holt - and there is currently speculation that other found footage from gymnasium security cameras also played a role in the film:

 Coming from an article about the Carrie remake having found footage and a tweet from an actor who played a character that filmed everyone with a camera at prom, it's safe to say the film had small elements of found footage. Based off this article, the Carrie remake was going to incorporate some found footage. I speculate the footage we would have seen is Sue's video diary, some footage at prom, footage from security cameras during the prom massacre (which was in Roberto's script), and maybe some more footage of the period video. Actor Connor Price also said a lot was cut out after a fan asked if he was in the movie more.

- Sue's Video-Diary:
The user who posted the details about the hospital ending a week after Carrie was released in theaters talked about Sue's video diary. This was in Roberto's script and was most likely filmed due to the found footage article I posted above.


- Scenes detailing more in depth character development:
Kimberly Peirce added many details to the characters of Carrie to flesh them out. She made a more confident Carrie by making her stand up to her mother, a more sadistic Chris who got more development in any other versions, and a Tommy who just takes Carrie to prom because he's a nice guy who wants to please his girlfriend. Many scenes with more character motive and development were cut like Chris bullying Carrie at the pool (which I will discuss down below), the mean girls talking to Sue, and Chris taunting Carrie when Chris realizes she isn't the center of attention. The movie moved way too fast and didn't take a breath so some time to develop characters would have helped.



- "Wipe that smile off your face" - Chris to Carrie at the pool:

Shown in trailers, TV spots, and the B-roll which included more dialogue like Chris saying "You like that Carrie?"  when she looks at Tommy and Sue kissing. This wouldn't have impacted the film at all and I think Chris telling Carrie she eats shit after messing up at a volleyball game is more organic and natural, but this would be nice to see.

- The locker room scene [extended] - Chris turning the cell-phone toward herself and the mean girls:

In the trailers you can see a shot not present in the film - Chris pointing the cellphone to herself and her friends. Why was this cut? I have no idea. The first picture clearly shows the video camera is recording Chris and her friends which makes Tina's line "But I'm in it!" more relevant.

- Scenes involving social media - Facebook in particular: The e-mail from Chris to Donna Kellogg. "So I’m out of prom and my [censored] father says he won’t give them what they deserve.":

People who attended test screenings said the film had more social media. Kimberly Peirce also said she got the idea of Carrie after hearing about tragic teen suicides and watching videos of cyber bullying. 



- Billy's wild ride [The "blowjob scene" - similar to the 1976 version]:

You can watch this on the Blu-Ray. I don't like it at all but I know Kim wishes she left it in.




- Chris and Tina kiss [extended]:

You can watch this on the Blu-Ray. Probably cut for timing though Kimberly said she wanted more sex in the film in the scene's commentary. I mean, it makes sense. Carrie is a coming of age film.



- Tommy and Sue's backseat love scene [extended]



- A scene featuring actress Ally Feliciano: The mean girls teasing and making fun of Carrie. This scene supposedly took place before the bathroom [mirror shattering] scene.


- An interaction between Carrie and Chris outside the dress shop:

THIS is what pisses me off the most. Carrie (2002) attempted this with a scene of Chris talking to Carrie at school (even though she's suspended) and telling her that she's sorry and Sue will be her new best friend. I really wanted to see verbal interaction with Carrie and her main tormenter instead of the drawn-out physical interaction we saw at the end of the movie. However, a person from the test screenings said it was filmed with one angle. Maybe that's why they cut it.

- The confrontation between Sue and the mean girls:

Confirmed by actress Samantha Weinstein on Twitter. This would have been really interesting. I love the idea of Carrie becoming the new pretty "it girl" after Tommy invites her to prom and Sue becomes the torment instead of the tormenter. A person who went to the test screenings said Samantha's character just told Sue to watch her back.

- Drive to the pig farm [extended]:

On the Blu-Ray. Wish this was kept.



- Carrie levitates Margaret [extended]:

On the Blu-Ray. I like the line "You must renounce this power! You must give it up!" but the effects are horrible.



- The meaningful conversation between Miss Desjardin and Carrie at prom:

I wish this stayed in the final cut or at least was put into the deleted scenes. I wanted to see Carrie have the happiest night of her life before the blood dump so that means putting in anything that makes you happy for Carrie to make the end of the movie more tragic.

- Tommy and Carrie kissing:

On the Blu-Ray. Really liked this scene.



- Billy kisses Chris:

On the Blu-Ray.



- Margaret escaping from the closet and cutting herself with a knife:

On the Blu-Ray.



- Sue tries to call Tommy from outside the school to warn him but he rejects the call:

I wish this stayed in the film too. The IMDB user at the test screening said he saw this in the cut and Tommy rejecting the call made him seem creepy. It makes the prom scene more tragic because if Tommy answered the call the whole situation could have been avoided.



- Chris and Billy rushing from the school [after the blood dump] to find that Sue's parked automobile is blocking them from leaving:

This seems useless but it would have been a nice deleted scene. Screencap proof below:

- The prom scene as a whole which was said to be longer and more violent than the theatrical version:

Probably the worst place this suffered. You can tell a lot was cut from the prom scene by watching it closely. After the star hits the stage and burns it quickly cuts to students running past the bleachers which are in flames. How did the fire spread so quickly? In the trailer you can also see a scene of students running to the doors which was cut from the film. In the B-roll you can see a creepy scene of Carrie turning her head and looking up at the catwalk. Tina's death was extended and actresses Samantha Weinstein and Natalie Dale said stuff was cut from the prom massacre.



- Tina on fire [extended]:

On the Blu-Ray. 



- A scene or shot revealing Erika and George's fate - According to Test-Audiences, George was impaled by one of the star decorations as Erika watched in horror:

I wish this was in the movie. George and Erika were useless but another bloody kill would have been cool.



- The electrocution scene which was supposed to be more graphic and longer. In the novel, it was described as a "crazy puppet dance". According to Test-Audiences, Carrie levitates herself and the "dead students" and "soars" passed them and out a window:

This was in King's novel and the 2002 version. Some sources say in the version they saw Carrie lifted the bodies and soared out of the window but other people say they just shook and danced and fell to the floor as Carrie flew. If you look closely you can see the people dancing and squirming but it's a blink and you'll miss it shot.

- Carrie using her telekinetic powers to kill some of the prom survivors who are outside the school:

Confirmed by an extra in the film. No one knows if he is true but over three people who claimed they saw the test screening said Carrie picked some people off outside before destroying the town.

- The town destruction - According to Test-Audiences, Carrie uses her telekinesis to set "some other buildings" on fire aside from the school: reference the teaser trailer:

Many people think this was filmed for the trailer but I don't think it was. Kevin Misher said in an interview "We aren't blowing up houses but we will be doing something different." when asked about the destruction and in the trailers the effects weren't on Avatar level but not on Asylum level either so it probably didn't cost much to film. I think they cut it out due to timing and the effects weren't probably finished (which means why it was not in any of the other teasers and TV spots to promote the film).

 

- Sue seeing Tommy's body being taken out on a stretcher and Miss Desjardin saying how sorry she is for what's happened:

Confirmed by people who went to the test screenings. Not sure if this is true but it would have been cool to see.



- Margaret's original death scene which was said to be closer to the novel:

I don't like the idea of doing the knives thing a second time so Margaret's original death (getting her heart crushed) would have been cool to see. Many people who went to the test screenings said they saw this and Kimberly mentioned this scene was re-shot. 



- The multiple endings:

 1) The first ending is very similar to the ending of the 1976 film but without the final twist: Sue Snell actually gets killed when Carrie pulls her into the ground.

2) The second ending is an exact replica of the original film where Snell gets pulled into the ground by Carrie but wakes up in her bed to find it's just a dream.

3) The third ending is after Carrie saves Sue by pushing her out of the house, which collapses from the falling stones. There's a bird's eye view of the wreckage of what used to be Carrie's home before we get a quick CGI zoom through a pit of debris, to a close-up of a now bloodied Carrie snapping her eyes open.

4) The fourth ending is of Sue making a final speech to the court where she says the line heard in the teaser trailer about Carrie being just a girl, not a monster. This is spoken over scenes of Sue and her family visiting the cemetery. Sue goes to Carrie's grave, which shows the headstone tagged up and vandalized. She leaves her flowers and just walks away. Nothing scary, just a very somber closing shot of the headstone.

5) The fifth ending is after Carrie's house is destroyed by the falling stones. The movie flashes forward to several months later and we see Sue in the hospital surrounded by doctors and nurses, ready to give birth. They're trying to calm her down but Sue begins to struggle, saying she feels something is wrong. Suddenly, a very bloody hand (covered in afterbirth) erupts from between Sue's legs, reaching up and gripping her arm. She screams in terror and we see that she is having a nightmare, being held down by her parents while the camera pans over to a wall where we are shown a large crucifix hanging in her room.

Sources:

 

 http://www.imdb.com/news/ni56265005/

The user made that thread a week after Carrie hit theaters. He/she predicted the opening scene, Estelle being at the Commission, Tommy and Carrie kissing, and the birth ending which were never mentioned in articles or interviews before the film was released in theaters. He/she obviously isn't a time traveler.

So this brings me to the conclusion about the Carrie's director's cut. If you are a diehard fan of the 1976 film who HATED the remake you are probably thinking "The movie still sucked. How will this footage make the movie better than it was?" Well, the cut footage sounds like it would have made the movie stand on it's own two feet more than it already does in my opinion. More character development is a bonus for a movie and it helps us feel bad or happy when they die. The prom scene was so short and it needed more blood and brutal violence for a bigger impact. Carrie destroying her town sounds awesome and it would have had better effects than in 2002 with it's PS2 looking explosions. I would have loved to see some interaction with the mean girls and especially the scene with Carrie and Chris. Also, the film lacked the social media angle which it promised to have lots of. A lot of teen suicides are caused by online harassment so more social media could have made the film more tragic for the Carrie character.


You may also be thinking "The movie did horrible on it's DVD sales and it underperformed in the box office. No one wants a director's cut because it's been two years. Get over it dude, it won't ever happen." Let's take a moment to think about other films. The Da Vinci Code, for instance, was released in 2006, got it's theatrical DVD release six months later. Then, THREE YEARS passed before it got a Director's Cut with more footage. A movie called Nightbreed had a "cable cut" with 40 more minutes of extra footage (just like Carrie!) but it was never officially released. Fans made a petition for it and after 13,000 signatures were gained, a company released Nightbreed on Blu-Ray and DVD. The Exorcist was released to theaters in December of 1973. It wasn't until December of 2010 when it finally received its Extended Director's Cut. The years or sales don't matter in some cases, fan demand does. And there is a lot of damn demand for the director's cut release.


You can currently sign the petition for an extended director's cut. No one knows if the studio wants 20,000 or 13,000 but the point is to keep getting more signatures so the studio is aware of the petition effort and the want for a director's cut release. You can post it on Tumblr and Twitter with the hashtag #carrie, #horrormovie, #stephenking, etc. You can post it to horror pages and email it to horror sites telling them there is a huge petition for a director's cut release and mention what was cut. 

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/carriepetition

You can also contact the studios directly by calling them at 1-888-223-2369. They encourage Carrie fans to call every month or so and every month we usually get some type of new answer. Marketing is keeping their eye on the petition and there is no release date for it yet. If they weren't considering releasing it, they said they have no plans. If they say "there is no release date" they could be currently working on a release or waiting for more signatures to happen.





Thank you if you enjoyed my blog post and please sign the petition! Let me know if you liked my blog post or shared the petition in the comments. I will be doing more blog posts soon! Also, I'm providing some extra screen caps and credit to where I got information and pictures from. Thank you.

Roberto (the screenwriter) said they filmed a scene with mean girls harassing Carrie in the bathroom and taunting her. Test audiences said this scene was filmed as well. I would love to see it!

An interview I had with an extra in the film:

 

Credit:

http://thetruthinsidethelie.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-carrie-remake-even-if-youve-seen-it.html (For some information and photos)

https://www.facebook.com/CarriePetition (Some pictures and additional info)

http://stephenkingscarrie.tumblr.com/ (Poster on the top of the post)

In Defense Of 'A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)'

 

I know this is a fan-poster. I just think all of the official ones are crap.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) currently holds a 15% on RottenTomatoes. 25 out of 145 critics gave it a positive review, mainly stating they only gave it a positive review for Jackie as Freddy alone. But is there more to like than just the performance of our lead? Are people really hating this movie because it's a remake and tries to do it's own thing? Well, we just have to find out.

 

The main reason people seem to hate this movie is Freddy. Not Jackie's performance, but his character story. They hate the molestation sub-plot and they say it doesn't fit for a slasher movie about a burned man with knives for fingers. Now, everyone knows Freddy was originally going to be a child molester but Wes Craven went against the idea because that was in the news when he was making the original film. So what better way to bring back Wes's idea and put it in a modernized remake for a new audience? Well, there's good and bad ideas about that statement. The average horror audience today are teenagers and college kids who cram the aisles to see the latest Paranormal Activity film or some found footage flick. Saw was also a hit with them but the general audience doesn't use their brain when watching movies like that - they just go for the gore and leave the theater. So how do I think the average teenage audience felt after watching A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)? They loved the scares, gore, and the guys from Twilight, not even thinking about how great the molestation and abuse plot was. Which is fine since I'm glad some people like this movie. A Nightmare on Elm Street was also seen by lot of fans who grew up with the original franchise, hoping the new Freddy would bring some sort of nostalgia back to them. And how do you think the average Freddy fan dressed in red and green felt? Disturbed. Absolutely. Disturbed. The trailers, TV Spots, stills, etc. made the new Freddy look more meaner and sadistic but when everyone thinks of Freddy they think of Robert making some pun in one of the later sequels. This Freddy here is a mean, horrifying, and cold killing machine who touches children and brings horrible memories back to them when they grow older, messing with their psychological state and crushing their soul when they see evidence photos of them being abused. I feel bad for the Freddy fans who felt disappointed and disturbed when they saw this new portrayal of  Freddy that was not so funny, but only because they bash the film just because their favorite horror icon had a different personality and motive to him. That's not really fair.

 

The other reason people hate this movie is because of Rooney Mara, the girl who plays Nancy. I don't have any respect for her since she publicly said she had no intention of trying to give a good performance since she hated the experience of working on the film. That screams unprofessional, but do I hate her performance?  Not at all. The Nancy in this Nightmare universe is an introvert who focuses more on art than hanging out with people. The art she draws is a very special element she brings to this character. In a flashback sequence, Nancy is shown painting and drawing pictures next to Freddy. Freddy says "I have really bad drawings so maybe you can help me with my bad drawings?" The main thing Freddy and Nancy bonded with is art, which Nancy still carries to her teen years but draws and paints more disturbing and weird pictures. Even if she doesn't remember who Freddy was early in the film, her being abused and molested carried on with her art so she expressed her depressed, disgusted, and shy feelings onto canvases. 

 

Nancy's "lifeless"  performance in this film works for her character. She was hurt, abused, lied to, and isolated. Even if Rooney didn't give a shit about the film, her portrayal of a girl who was born an outsider and turned into a depressed loner works for her character in every way. People complain about Rooney being "boring" and "stale" and "monotonous". If you were in Nancy's shoes as a molested and abused girl, I wouldn't act like a girl-next-door Heather Langenkamp either.

 

One thing I can appreciate about this film is it's use of dreams and micro naps, or the correct word "micro-sleep". This film lacks any creativity the original franchise had in the use of atmosphere and dreams since the dream world was mainly in a boiler room, in a pre-school, or a bedroom full of snow. However, the use of micro-naps was very cool in this film. It didn't overdo it and the first scene of micro-naps happened 50 minutes into the film, not making dreaming the whole point of the movie. The idea of dying when you are awake or falling asleep is very terrifying. When you are asleep, Freddy will get you. When you aren't asleep, you have a micro-nap and Freddy still has the chance to get you. 

 

 Finally, this is not something I'm defending, but something that makes this movie one of the scariest IF not the scariest entry in the franchise. Near the end of the movie one of the characters, Quentin, gets attacked and slashed by Freddy in a dream. After he cuts him, he chases Nancy and suggestively taunts her before Quentin wakes Nancy up and then Freddy gets killed in the real world. I don't believe anything after the two words "taunts her" in the sentence I just wrote. Why? Because when Nancy goes back into the real world you can see Quentin without the wounds he got in his scene with Freddy. He only gets those wounds when Freddy beats him up and stabs him which happens again in the real world. A character in the beginning of the movie got slashed in a dream and when he woke up he saw the slash mark on his hand, so why didn't the wounds appear on Quentin? It's because Quentin died in that dream. Not only is this a fan theory (which I stole from IMDB boards) but it makes logical sense. Quentin appears in the real world fight with Freddy and he has different wounds that he did not receive in his nightmare. In Quentin's Nightmare, we can assume after he got slashed he failed to wake Nancy up and died from blood loss so Nancy went into the coma that happens from micro-naps (which Quentin said earlier in a scene with Nancy) and will never be woken up. That means she will be raped, slashed, and brutalized with Freddy for god knows how long and if you don't think that's horrifying, then I don't know what to say.

In conclusion, the hate for A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) is pretty damn unfair. There are things that weaken the film like the dozens of jump-scares (which the studios or someone behind the movie wanted to add because all horror films use them nowadays), the homages to the original franchise (the homages weaken this movie from feeling like a different movie from the original 100%), and some of the bad dialogue and lack of creativity in the dream sequences. However, I will defend this movie for as long as I can since I can appreciate the work that was put into it and other things I enjoyed. A lot of cool dream stuff was cut out like Freddy morphing into people, different openings, a different ending (which is on YouTube and it's excellent), etc. I hope some of that footage will be released some day but I doubt it because everyone that worked on this film seems to hate it. Oh well.

And for anyone who wants to see the alternate ending, here it is. I think it's great and Rooney did amazing in the ending, giving a Langenkamp performance but doing it in her own way. I also loved that Freddy showed his true face, making him much more terrifying.

 

 

A Nightmare on Elm Street - My Rating: 8.5/10 (85%)

SCREAM 4 REVIEW

Scream 4 (2011): By Wes Craven.

"Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer."

Fans adored Scream 4 when it released, and I did too. The fans who eat up the franchise were becoming desensitized to remakes by Platinum Dunes, "torture porn" like Hostel and Saw, the rebirth of the found footage genre, and foreign countries trying to shock America with buckets of blood and gore. Wes Craven wanted to bring back his trilogy to old and new fans alike and try to poke fun at the modern state of horror films and the remake craze. He also wanted to make a statement about modern technology and how a TMZ fame obsessed world would react to such brutal news. Did we get what he promised, or did we get an average popcorn slasher that was butchered limb from limb by a studio? Well, we're here to find out...

Let's talk about the main thing that brings down this movie - the humor and cheese factor. To this day, fans of the Scream series rank Scream 3 as the worst movie of the franchise because of it's Scooby-Doo humor. Now, we can all agree Scream 3's humor was sometimes OTT and silly, but if Scream 3 was Scooby-Doo then Scream 4 is a Looney Toons special. This film did not take itself seriously at all. Not once did it feel like I was watching a horror movie. Scream 1 and 2 didn't take themselves 100% seriously but they weren't filled with stupid humor and gags throughout. Are characters stupid enough to walk out of a car after a killer jumped on your hood and flicked his knife at you? Are we really supposed to believe a person's last line is "Fuck Bruce Willis?" No. And that's what pisses me off about this entry. We have idiot characters, bad one-liners, and stupid moments like defibrillators not having a "Safety Measures" button. Um, you DO know they have safety measures so no one accidentally gets their brain fried. The amount of cheese (not good cheese, stupid atrocious cheese) in this film would have to be cut with a chainsaw.

Character development is another thing that brings this movie down. Even with the deleted scenes, the characters don't really shine. David Arquette seemed like he was having fun doing this movie but with three minutes of deleted scenes of his character when he's NOT acting like a complete moron might have changed his opinion about the final cut of this film. Courtney Cox seemed miserable doing this movie and if we didn't get the barn party scene, she wouldn't have done anything in this movie just like her ex-husband. Neve Campbell as Sidney disappointed me as well. She is the reason why the Scream series is so great. However, her character was very weak here. Scream 4 didn't explain to us what happened to her between the traumatizing events of 3 to 4. Why did she write this book? Did she become a mild alcoholic like Jamie Lee in Halloween H20? Instead, all we get is an action hero portrayal from Neve with a good performance and some decent lines of dialogue. However, are we really supposed to believe she wouldn't be screwed up when she found out someone was going to kill her, her friends, and her family? We get a few tears and her screaming into the phone but nothing major. She watches someone get their brains blown out in the finale and she just stands there crying and not doing anything else. No matter the gap between 3 and 4, she WOULD have been screwed up if she came back to Woodsboro and then hearing the news about another serial killer.  The teens are nothing special either. Emma Roberts as Jill, Sidney's cousin, doesn't shine until the finale when she takes her mask off but I guess that was the point. Hayden Panettiere was pretty good though, even if her character is worshiped by a cult. She is easily the highlight of the new cast, showing that she can carry a film and is tremendous at delivering snappy dialogue and showing emotion, especially during her Drew Barrymore scene near the end. We also get Mary McDonnell as Maureen Prescott's sister who was very underused, two idiot cops, and Nico Tortorella  as Jill's "mysterious" boyfriend who only has three minutes of screen time so you aren't shocked when you find out he isn't the killer. Most of the throwaway characters like the dumb cops, the dumb blondes and brunettes, and Jill's mother are like characters in a Saw film - characters you don't care to see get ripped apart, and pretty ironic since this movie bashes Saw more than once.

 

However,  I'd be lying if I said this was a bad movie because it does get a few things right. The deleted scenes are fantastic and show a lot of emotion and character development that was lacking throughout the movie so they should have been put in the final cut. Emma Robert's performance post-reveal is also amazing, showing how far the average teenager would go to put on a fake smile and murder a few people to get on the tabloids. Scream 4's final act has a lot to say about the media, press, and a fame obsessed culture - but it can't say what it wants because it's in such a rush to get to the next bloody kill or funny line. This film also has some good moments of tension like Hayden Panettiere's call near the end of the movie which I mentioned above. This movie has some good atmosphere when effective scares are involved, but it's not really scary or polarizing. It's just unfunny with blood and guts.

So, final thoughts? Scream 4 isn't a good Scream film at all. It has tons of wasted potential, boring kills, things that should have been added and removed in the final cut, pointless characters, and some dreadful comedy. It is a fun slasher film however since it has a lot of gore, some decent performances, and a great killer. But Scream isn't just a slasher series - it pokes fun at the current trends of horror while showing how the surviving cast of the last movie has grown. Scream 4's final cut didn't feel like a Scream movie, but just a by-the-numbers popcorn flick. There is a great Scream film in here, but the bad score/kills/character development makes it hard to find.

SCREAM 4: As a Scream film? 4/10.

SCREAM 4: As a slasher? 7/10.

SCREAM 4: Overall? 55%, which is pretty sad 'cause I used to love this movie.