Scream 4 (4½ Stars)

"One generation's tragedy is the next one's joke".

This is a film that's growing on me. It's the second time I've watched it this year. The more I watch it, the more I'm convinced that it's a worthy successor to the original three Scream films. Even though the film's tagline is "New decade, new rules" the rules don't seem to be all that different. It's the same meta-horror in which teenage film geeks know they're in a real life horror movie and could die at any moment.

When the film was released in 2011 it was uncertain whether "Scream 4" would be a standalone or the first film in a new trilogy. They said that they would wait to see if it was a box office success. It was sufficiently successful to warrant another two films being made, but legal battles delayed "Scream 5". When Wes Craven died in 2015 it was decided not to continue. That's a shame. I think it could have continued as long as Kevin Williamson remained on board as writer and producer.

Someone commented that my recent reviews have been shorter than my old reviews. In reply, I'd like to point out that I've often written short reviews in the last five years. I write something about every film I watch, since this is my film diary that records everything I watch, but I don't force myself to write a lot when I have nothing to say. This is especially the case when I'm reviewing a film for the third or fourth time. There's only so much I can say.

If I have a lot on my mind when I write a review I'll write more. Otherwise I'll write less. Sometimes I'll give a plot summary, sometimes I won't. I almost always shy away from spoilers, but sometimes I make exceptions in the case of older films. Come to think of it, my review of "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" that I wrote yesterday gives away the ending, but that's not something I do very often. I'm erratic. Deal with it.