030. Deadly Friend

030. (24 Jan) Deadly Friend (1986, Wes Craven) 50



Craven, on the heels of A Nightmare on Elm Street, is reliant on a couple dream sequences for the best scares. But there's otherwise a freshness to his weird, gory, sort of sci-fi horror flick. From the goofy robot who sounds too much like Stripe from Gremlins to Anne Ramsey's head exploding, there's plenty of fun to be had here. However, more impressively, there's surprising heft in seeing immature teens deal with the consequences of their own Frankenstein creation.

REVIEW: Scream 4

(dir. Wes Craven, 2011)

I like tacky movies.  Sue me.

The plight of Sidney Prescott continues.  One of horror’s most prolific survivors (Neve Campbell returns as the scream queen) needs to ward off Ghostface for a fourth time when she returns to her hometown to promote her new memoir “Out of Darkness.”   Also returning to scathe death are series regulars, and former Scream romance, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, now reformed trash reporter and town sheriff respectively.  Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s Scream series is successful because it caters to an intelligent audience.  The first three Screams commented on—literally—and played with certain slasher clichés, most famously asking of every opening scene heroine “What’s your favorite scary movie?”

Only 4 pictured survive,
can you spot them?

The reason these movies work, and why Scream 4 works, is because he characters talk about what’s just about to happen to them, and the viewer is either surprised that the cliché has happened or surprised that it’s broken.  Since the franchise’s last installment 11 years ago, the horror genre has gone from pseudo thriller/mysteries and more torture porn with awful characters.  Scream had fun character you actually cared about and missed once Ghostface cut them down.  The fourth installment is no different, touting fun fleshed-out characters like Sidney, but also her niece cum new lead, a duo of film geeks, Arquette’s awkward love stalker/deputy sheriff, and Sidney’s pottymouthed press agent.  Because of this horror rarity, what we experience is a true combination of horror and mystery; you’re always looking for clues, eliminating suspects, and trying not to be fooled by oh-so juicy red herrings.

In the end Scream 4’s self-aware tackiness is what makes is succeed.  It’s what made my entire theatre applaud and scream when the final you-can-see-it-coming-from-a-mile-away line is delivered before the killer is taken down.  You can get away with those type of lines, and even celebrate them, if they are handled with finesse, which—in the hands of apt Craven and clever Williamson—they are.

The twist and reveal, as it turns out, is ultimately a little disappointing since none of the red herrings pan out (not that they should, yet I was foolish to believe I was onto something), thus making the killer and the motive seem forced, if not a little uncomfortably self-reflective on society.  The problem is…you don’t believe it, which, for me, it something than simply can’t be forgiven. 

New "Sidney" Emma Roberts can't
escape her family's ghosts

For all the film’s smarty-pants horror movie references, I was a little surprised when Halloween: Resurrection wasn’t mentioned.  Scream is a franchise, much like Halloween, where the main killer fruitlessly tries to kill the same person over and over, and in Halloween: Resurrection Michael Myers finally kills the star of the franchise Jamie Lee Curtis.  For a series hell-bent on commenting-on and breaking established slasher film rules, the least they could do is drop a knowing reference to a series that famously killed out someone who has survived 4 films.  Yet, in Scream 4, you never know if the returning heroes are going to live or die…not even Sidney is safe.

I liked Scream 4, and on a good day, I might even say I loved it.  It was one of the most fun times I’ve had in a multiplex in quite a while.  When you hook the audience, you know you’re golden.  Scream 4 isn’t a masterpiece, but it is the best movie I’ve seen all year.  GRADE: B

Number of movies Sam has been in 2011 including Scream 4: 1

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SCREAM 4

Written by Kevin Williamson

Directed by Wes Craven

Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette

Rachel: These sequels don't know when to stop.

Fifteen years after director, Wes Craven, and original writer, Kevin Williamson, scared the crap out of unsuspecting moviegoers initially, they have finally reunited to resurrect the SCREAM franchise. Original cast members, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette have returned for SCREAM 4 as well and are joined by fresh faces, Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere, to name just a couple. With all this pedigree to back it up, this sequel / reboot / remake has a lot to lose and expectations going in will not be high considering how disappointing the third installment was. This might work to their advantage though because no one will ever expect SCREAM 4 to be anywhere near as good as it actually is.

There is no real need to divulge too much plot here; the element of surprise is key as you well know. I will say though that, a decade later, good old tortured Sidney Prescott (Campbell) – who for some reason still answers her phone – has finally turned her life around and published a book about no longer being a victim. Her promo tour finds her back in her hometown of Woodsboro, just in time for the anniversary of the original massacre. And you know Ghostface is not going to just let an anniversary go by without slicing up a few more fast-talking, movie-loving teenagers. The return to Ghostface’s home turf is certainly a welcome one. Not only does it allow for plenty of bloody nostalgia but it also removes the focus from the “Stab” film series, a film-within-a-film device that was taking all the serrated edge out of the actual series. Besides, all of Williamson’s delicious nods and winks to the original make SCREAM 4 an actual film within another, without obviously trying so hard.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about SCREAM 4 is that it actually exists. Craven began shooting on SCREAM 4 without a finished script because Williamson and producer, Bob Weinstein, couldn’t agree on some of the major plot elements. Before they were able to come to any conclusive agreement, Williamson had to return to honour his contract as a story developer on TV’s The Vampire Diaries. SCREAM 3 screenwriter, Ehran Kruger, was called in to smooth over the rough edges in Williamson’s script and even in the weeks approaching the release of the new film, Williamson had yet to even see the finished version. Still, all parties involved insist that the drama in no way took away from their support for the project. After all, SCREAM made Williamson a hot commodity, reinvigorated Craven’s career and put Miramax on the map.

The SCREAM series has always been about the rules, from honouring them to completely circumventing them. They now have an even bigger challenge – to reinvent the rules. Society has gotten a lot more violent and a lot more digital in the last decade and SCREAM has to keep up with the times. By incorporating more modern elements like video streaming and cyber-stalking into Ghostface’s bag of tricks, SCREAM 4 feels relevant and revitalized, like it needed to be made. How’s that for a new rule then? A successful horror franchise should only come back if there is actually fresh blood to be drawn instead of just to bleed it dry. Fortunately for SCREAM fans everywhere, the crimson corn syrup continues to flow freely from Ghostface’s blade.

Another Halloween Video Party

Well last Sunday I attended another Halloween video party, a long-standing one with some friends of mine and their kids. Now that the kids are growing up, we’ve decided to up the terror quotient a bit and away from the Universal and Hammer standbys (as good as those films are).

We started out with the original “Halloween” oops, sorry, make that “John Carpenter’s Halloween” (1978), a film I’ve never cared for and this recent viewing did nothing to change my opinion. Everyone knows the story by now, so I’ll say I find Jamie Lee Curtis’ girlfriends in this movie pretty obnoxious and not at all likeable. I think the pacing is slack and I find the whole movie something of a bore. My dad and I saw this in 1978 on a Saturday night at a packed house at the Dolton Theatre and both of us walked out wondering what the big deal was. Donald Pleasance is always a welcome presence in any movie and he’s fine here, but when all is said and done it’s pretty dull. Carpenter’s musical score is pretty good for an amateur, but he hasn’t written anything good since and someone should tell him to hire a professional composer to score his movies.

I’ve never thought Carpenter was a particularly good director. “John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness” (1987) is one of the worst horror movies of all time, as is “John Carpenter’s Vampires” (1998), a film so awful on every level it left me angry that I had wasted my time with it. Even seeing “Vampires” on a Saturday night with two women (giddy up!) did nothing to quench the loathing I felt for “Vampires.”

I’ve always been irked by the possessor credit he puts in the titles of his movies. Films are a collaborative art but putting his name in the titles really irritates me, none more so than when he adapted (very badly) “Christine”, the classic Stephen King novel about a possessed car. Of course when Johnny Boy put it out it became “John Carpenter’s Christine.” No, I don’t think so. He didn’t come up with the story, characters, or situations. To put his name in the title like that strikes me as hubris of the worst kind. If it was modified to read “John Carpenter’s Production of Christine” that would be one thing, but not “John Carpenter’s Christine.” Who does he think he is? Stephen King should have sued.

Rating for “Halloween”: Two stars, which makes it John Carpenter’s best film.

Next up was a classic from my youth “Count Yorga, Vampire” (1970) starring Robert Quarry in the title role. This tale of a vampire stalking modern-day Southern California is a low-budget goodie filled with genuinely creepy moments. Containing none of the tortured self-doubt that curse modern day vampires, one gets the feeling that Count Yorga thrills in his existence and the vampiric thrall he holds over people. Plus, the film has one of the most effective “pulling aside the drapes to have a face staring in at you” sequences I’ve ever seen.

I first saw this film in 1971, when I was nine years old. We didn’t do a lot of traveling as a family, so when my dad would take his vacation in the summer we would have a week of day trips and each of us was allowed to do something he or she wanted to do. My choice was to drag the family (on a gorgeous summer day) to the Bremen Theaters in Tinley Park to see a double feature of Count Yorga and Vincent Price in “The Abominable Dr. Phibes.” (1971). My parents were appalled at the graphic quality of the sex and violence (for a PG-rated film) and the bosomy presence of Yorga’s vampire brides. They absolutely refused me permission to see the sequel “The Return of Count Yorga” (1971) when it played at the Dolton. We all enjoyed Dr. Phibes however, and that memorable double feature has now entered the family lore.

Interesting bit of trivia: The film’s score was composed by Bill Marx, son of Harpo. Anytime one can work the Marx Brothers into a discussion is a good thing.

Rating for “Count Yorga, Vampire”: Three stars.

The last movie of the festival was “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984). 1984? Sheesh, where does the time go? The first film to introduce Freddy Krueger, the first Nightmare film kicked off one of the better and more imaginative of the horror franchises. Wes Craven can out-direct Carpenter any day of the week, and the story of a dead serial killer who can enter his victim’s dreams to kill them still holds up. I just wish the ending was stronger. Like so many movies today, the directors and writers don’t know when to stop and insist on giving us two or three climaxes when only one would do. The film is also noteworthy of introducing Johnny Depp, though, to be fair, his performance here gives no indication of the acting powerhouse he would be down the line.

Rating for “A Nightmare on Elm Street”: Three stars.