Editorials
In Defense Of ‘Scream 4’…Just Listen a Minute!
Welcome to the first in hopefully many entries of “In Defense Of”. A series where I take a movie that generally gets a lot of shit that actually isn’t THAT bad. Of course this is all opinion and you may not agree with what I say but hopefully you will get some enjoyment.
So as the title suggests I am here to discuss the merits of Wes Craven’s Scream 4. I can already feel the eye rolls coming my way and I want it to be clear that I am not one of those die hard Craven fans that think everything he has done is gold. Because it’s not. Fuck Cursed. BUT! Scream 4 is not NEARLY as bad as it has been made out to be. Its major fault is being the 4th in a series that didn’t ask for sequels and we can hardly blame it for coming out after Scream 3.
So the plot: Sidney comes back to her home town to discuss her new book, “Out of the Darkness” and finally rid her of the “victim” status she has grown up with. But Sidney isn’t escaping that easily, now Ghost Face wants to kill her for good and anyone else who gets in his way, including her cousin!
Basic plot for these movies sure, but we are here for a slasher movie and there are always allowances for simple plots. I really like the idea of Sidney coming back to her hometown to finally close her horrible past. She has to have a ton of survivor’s guilt and it makes sense for her to come back and face it. I will say that the cousin angle is sort of shoe-horned in and at first seems completely ridiculous. Why have we never met her before? Or Sidney’s aunt for that matter. But I am willing to excuse that for the following reasons.
- Scream 4 is probably the most meta/self-referential of the series and for me this is a plus. I like meta things and I like being the one in the group that “gets” the jokes and references when other people don’t. But I also enjoy that it sort of takes a jab at it’s own references. Courtney Cox even has a line stating how she doesn’t get “meta” and she just heard someone say it. Craven and Williamson understand that their self-referential-ness had become a joke and rather than try to play it serious they goofed on themselves and I can respect that.
- I was listening to a podcast and they discuss how Friday the 13th should never leave the 80s and how that is part of why the later movies suck so bad. I feel the same idea applies here, it’s still got that weird 90s feel. Obviously Scream 4 is set in present day and we have a considerable amount of cellphone usage to prove it but for some reason it still feels like a 90s horror movie. The Scream franchise was born in the 90s and it should hold on to that feeling.
- For me, the cast of characters are just as likable (if not more so) than some of their predecessors. Obviously Sidney, Gayle and Dewy remain the same but as far as the new kids go they are pretty entertaining. These are kids I would have wanted to be friends with in school, yes even the Caulkin…until his major flaws in the latter half of the movie. The core group of Jill, Kirby and Marnie sort of remind me of Laurie, Annie and Lynda of Halloween fame.
- Sidney is the ultimate Final Girl. She does not die and she gets the shit kicked out of her for 4 movies but just keeps coming back. Even Laurie Strode bit the dust eventually but so far so good for Sidney and that’s awesome. She has firmly built her place in Final Girl history and though not a Scream Queen, she still kicks ass.
- Finally, even if Craven’s entire intent with the Scream franchise was to make fun of the formulaic-ness of slasher movies thus fueling his ego as the “more creative” of the big horror movie monster creators…he still made a decent slasher movie. Ghostface has a great body count, bloody kills, and plenty of teens to destroy. What isn’t to enjoy?
Is Scream 4 a great movie? No, but it’s hardly the worst sequel ever. I would watch Scream 4 over Jason Goes To Hell or even Wes Craven’s New Nightmare any day of the week! So what say you? Did you hate? Like it? Tolerate it? Why? Discuss!
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
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