The Film:

All highly successful horror films deserve a sequel or five, but 1997′s Scream 2 is just as good, if not better than its predecessor. It’s simply the Hollywood case of “more”, and that’s what we get out of Scream 2. More kills. More twists. More, more, more. And it works. Proving that you can stretch the satirical nature of the franchise into “more”, Kevin Williamson stabs (ahem) the notion of sequels and the rules, while being self-referential about the popularity of the budding franchise.

While the film came out theatrically in December 1997, I waited for the film to hit VHS (ahaha) some six months later. While waiting (and we didn’t have the internet to spoil the revelations), my sister and I rocked the soundtrack, which featured some of the series’ best soundtrack tracks. Kottonmouth Kingz’ Suburban Life; She’s Always in My Hair by D’Angelo; songs by Collective Soul, Eels, Tonic, and Foo Fighters, all filled our trembling anticipation for the sequel. But it was two songs that seemed to be our own soundtrack to score our waiting: the epic Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and DJ Spooky and Master P’s Scream (here), which was on constant MTV play, since by Master P last LP just went Gold. The video is awesomely dated. Thugs and Ghostface. Ah, the 90s.

Anyway, on a film front, Wes Craven delivers a great sequel, as I have aready stated. We get great stunt casting with Luke Wilson and Heather Graham in the film version of the events of the first film with Stab, Tori Spelling (probably the only time I’ll credit her for acting), Jada Pinkette-Smith, and the number one reason of why I was so stoked for Scream 2: Sarah Michelle Gellar (riding high on Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s second season).

Williamson’s script is just as good and clever as the first film. Randy’s “Rules of the Sequel” are great. We never considered them too much until they’re reinitialized to us. What if Alice Hardy knew this back in 1982 when Jason finally killed her in the opening of Friday the 13th Part II? More twists, more kills, great sequel. Like I mentioned in the Blu-ray review of the first film (here), it’s a shame the Scary Movie franchise and the copy-cats in Hollywood left a sour taste in our mouths on the Scream franchise, because this is a great follow-up.

At least it’s not “gay” like A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge was dubbed.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: This film looks a lot better than the first film did in 1080p, with sharper details and better contrast. Black levels and shadows are deep. The DTS track is a hell of a lot more robust. Booming bass, better overall sound mix, which adds ambiance in the rear speakers, makes this a solid release.

Just like the first film, Lionsgate Films just ported over the DVD edition’s bonus material, so there’s nothing new – sadly.

Commentary: Wes Craven is joined by his Producer Marianne Maddalena and his Editor Patrick Lussier (who would go on to direct My Bloody Valentine 3D) for a decent film-making centric track. Without screenwriter Kevin Williamson, the track doesn’t have the energy or the talk about sequels or the ideas, but it’s still a decent listen.

Featurette is just an EPK making-of; Deleted Scene with optional commentary is an extension of the film students talking about movies; some fun Outtakes; two Music Videos; and Trailers round out the disc’s bonuses.

The Film: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Film:

In the 15 years since its arrival on the horror world, Scream seemed to become the punching bag for everything that horror fans hated about the 1990s. After a gory, sticky, and insane 1980s for the genre with the birth of the slasher, Scream was the modernistic take the genre was headed for, after a slew of box office failures from the genre in the late 1980s. It was a clever take, but not unlike we haven’t seen before in such films like April Fool’s Day. But don’t let the fallout of Scream‘s success hurt your views on this 1996 film.

In fact, it might be one of the better out-right horror films in the ’90s and it’s also the last great Wes Craven film (thoughts on Scream 4 pending). Strictly following the slasher film genre’s conventions, screenwriter Kevin Williamson finds these little moments that make the film a borderline classic. You never run upstairs. You never go investigate a strange noise. You never go back to see if the killer’s dead. But they do, and Williamson allows the characters to be in on the genre’s trappings, which alludes to its self-mocking attitude, so widely copied from here on out.

But then Scary Movie (this film’s original title) came out and spoof the Scream craze and then the backlash against the franchise was born. To bad horror fans feel this way, because after 14 some odd years, Scream is a crazy cool slasher, with a great looking killer in Ghost Face, and some genuinely thrilling moments.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Lionsgate bought the rights to this franchise from Miramax, while other Miramax titles were bought by Echo Bridge Entertainment. Luckily for us, this is a good HD disc. The good looking transfer is aided by its sound, which isn’t full 5.1, but that was not LGF’s fault, but a product of the film’s intentions. While it won’t wow like most newer films, it nevertheless is a pleasing HD effort.

All of the extras are ported over from the DVD version. Nothing new, sadly.

Commentary: Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson chat it up, from all aspects on the film: the story, the killer, the references. Good stuff.

A Production featurette is rather EPK in nature; Behind-the-Scenes featurette is a bit more substantial; the Q&A is light-hearted and fun; and the disc finishes off with some Trailers.

The Film: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Fangoria has the list of Special Features for each film:

SCREAM

• Audio commentary by director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson

• Production featurette

• Behind the Scenes: “On the Scream Set” and “Drew Barrymore”

• Q&A with the cast and crew

• Theatrical trailer

SCREAM 2

• Audio commentary by director Wes Craven, producer Marianne Maddalena and editor Patrick Lussier

• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Craven, Maddalena and Lussier

• Outtakes

• Featurette

• Theatrical trailer

SCREAM 3

• Audio commentary with director Wes Craven, producer Marianne Maddalena and editor Patrick Lussier

• Deleted scenes and alternate ending with optional commentary by Craven, Maddalena and Lussier

• Outtakes

• Behind-the-scenes montage

• Theatrical trailer

Scream 4 hits theaters on April 15. Here’s the plot: Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) comes face to face with her greatest fear after returning home to Woodsboro and getting caught in the center of another bloodbath in this sequel from director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson. Touring the country in promotion of her new self-help book, Sidney arrives in Woodsboro and quickly reconnects with her old friend Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette), who has recently gotten married to Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox). Though a much-welcomed family reunion with her aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell) and cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) goes a long way in helping Sidney lay her tragic past to rest, old fears come back with a vengeance when Ghostface reappears on a murderous mission to make up for lost time.

With Scream 4 hitting theaters on April 15, 2011, Lionsgate will be distributing the first three films on Blu-ray in June. No word on specs as of yet.

Source: Blu-ray.com

“Lionsgate, Studiocanal and Miramax announced today that they have entered into a worldwide home entertainment distribution deal. Under the long-term deal, Lionsgate and Studiocanal will distribute more than 550 titles from the Miramax film library on Blu-ray. The studio will soon release the Scream trilogy, and Pulp Fiction will finally get its Blu-ray release in June.”

The Film:

Three of the most discernible villains in cinematic fright have come from the deranged psyche of English-professor-turned-horror-auteur Wes Craven. Krug [Last House on the Left], Freddy Krueger [A Nightmare on Elm Street], and Ghostface [Scream] became evil incarnate icons for the respective decade they were made in. It really is a cyclical thing for Wes, as he has always found a way to reinvent himself and bring to life a new serial killer every time it seems the well has run dry.

The 70′s, 80′s, and 90′s owe a debt of gratitude to the intelligence that Craven brought to what are essentially slasher flicks. When you insult your audience with misogynistic tendencies, you usually craft barf bag bogosities like Maniac and The New York Ripper. You can be hardcore and down and dirty without being repulsive. Wes Craven has done that and elevated the genre, and at the same time brought in a new fan base that might not necessarily be fans of scary movies, but the cult of personality keeps them coming back in droves.

The new millennium has been here for some time now, and a certain master of the macabre has gone back to a tried and true formula to see if lightning can strike for a fourth time with My Soul to Take, formerly 25/8.

On the night that the The Riverton Ripper was allegedly put to rest, his spirit found its way into the body of man who proceeds to murder his pregnant wife, but miraculously the child survives and grows up to be the troubled Adam ’Bug’ Heller [Max Thieriot]. ‘Bug’ is part of the Riverton Seven, a group of teens who were all born the night the mass murderer died, but not before he vowed to return and kill them all. The Ripper’s soul lives on as he is reincarnated in one of the kids as he slaughters them and works his way back to finishing what he started the day the septet was born sixteen years ago.

Wes Craven’s specialty has always been the rubber reality sequences where real life and dreams blur and become the stuff of nightmares. As was the case with Deadly Friend, those moments are far and few, as the kids hog up the screen time and things become way too chatty. Although this is a deterrent for me because I believe horror should be up front and center, they are a likeable cabal who you get to know and care about, which goes a long way to adding an element of anguish when they perish.

While the movie does not hit the highs of classics like The Hills Have Eyes and The Serpent and the Rainbow, Wes Craven, like John Hughes, has always had his finger on the pulse of youth and the hardships of adolescence as My Soul to Take plays like Stand by Me with knives.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Universal Studios offers up another nice HD presentation. While not in 3D like it was theatrically (and that’s okay), the transfer is beautifully done, with thick blacks, heavy blues, and deep contrast. Clarity is high. The DTS track booms with constant rear speaker activity and deep bass, like any modern horror movie, the track itself is like a character.

Commentary: Wes Craven is joined by stars Max Thieriot, John Magaro and Emily Meade for a screen-specific chat and it’s rather dull. Laid back, maybe too much, they chat on various ideas, but get into the describing what’s on screen mode, which bores. Sadly, no real dirt is given.

Some wisely Deleted Scenes and Endings are included. Didn’t care for these and won’t change your view point on the film. Trailers and BD-Live content round out the slim extras.

The Film: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Along with that, they dish out a bit more information on the plot synopsis from Craven himself on the fourth installment of the popular horror franchise. Scream 4 will start filming soon and is expected to come out in theaters on April 15th, 2011 from Dimension Films.

“There have been 10 years of no Ghostface, but there has been the movie-within-a-movie Stab. We have fun with the idea of endless sequels, or “sequelitis” as Kevin calls it in the script. Sid goes through these three horrendous things, and Stab was based on those horrible things. And then they’ve been taken by a studio and run into the ground in a series of sequels. She has been off by herself and living her own life, and she’s even written a book that has gotten a lot of critical acclaim. She’s kind of put her life back together in the course of these 10 years. But, certainly, there would be no Scream without Ghostface, so she has to confront him again, but now as a woman who has really come out the darkness of her past.”

“Yes, Wes [Craven] is in, Neve [Campbell] is in, everyone is in,” Arquette said. The lovely Cox didn’t sound as sure however.

“I know they’re trying to make that work,” she said, referring to bringing the “Nightmare on Elm Street” creator back on to direct. “They’ll make it work,” she said, quickly adding “I hope.”

“I can’t wait to do another ‘Scream,’” David told us. Soon enough. If all goes according to plan, the cameras will start rolling sometime in April.

It looks like the whole cast, that’s still surviving by the end of the third film, is coming back for fourth’s. With the addition of Wes Craven, it’s nothing but good signs galore that this feature will be going on the fast track just like Arquette says. So, do you think Scream 4 is a good idea?

“I’ve [included] manga comics, Asian ghost girl movies, there’s some PG-13 horror movies in there, vampire movies, M. Night Shyamalan movies and torture porn movies, even though they’ve come and gone,” he tells the site while also addressing the comedy in the film. ”

“You have to be careful because ‘Scary Movie’ spoofed these films, so one of the things I’m excited about with ‘Scream 4′ is that, while we do lampoon and send up the genre, [we] make it incredibly scary. That’s first and foremost.“

There is still no word yet on the fate of Neve Campbell’s character in the film. However, Williamson does promise us “a lot of twists and turns”.

Source:  BloodyDisgusting

Source: MTV

Alongside Neve Campbell, both Courtney Cox and David Arquette are both returning to the franchise, though no official confirmation yet for Wes Craven to return to direct.

Now here’s hoping fans will receive another film along the Scream or the lesser Scream 2 as opposed to its Godfather Part III ending film Scream 3.

Post casting announcement via Kevin Williamson: Whew! All I can say is “Whew”

Source: Twitter, Variety

Finally at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, the proverbial blue balls of many horror geeks were finally relieved as the time had arrived to unlock this reborn virgin’s chastity belt.  The results of the drawn out wait also did not prove to be neither premature nor disappointing. Like David Silver or Nick Lachey would say, ‘it was well worth the wait.’

Michael Dougherty has definitely outdone himself as he has skillfully crafted the Pulp Fiction of horror anthologies.  Instead of taking the four separate stories and splicing them together with only a ghastly narrator`s introduction as the sole connection to the stories, Trick ‘R Treat is a broken-narrative tale following five different stories that all take place on Halloween night.

From the film`s prompt yet brutal opening sequence with an unknown being viciously killing a Halloween-hating wife, it immediately launches into a fast-paced story dealing with the grisly consequences and comeuppances that occur on this particular Halloween night.  Viewers are introduced to a murderous high school principal (played by Dylan Baker) who is late for a date, the principal`s miserable neighbour, Mr. Kregg (played by the great Brian Cox) who has a secret past, a group of kids all planning an elaborate prank on a socially inept girl, and a group of sexy dressed girls trying to get their virgin friend (played by Anna Paquin) laid by night`s end at a party in the woods.  All of these stories seem completely different from one another, yet just like an episode of Lost, Dougherty uses the same technique to interweave each character and story into each others, proving that this Halloween tale has planned far more surprises for the audience than initially expected.

Trick R Treat is by far the most viscerally effective horror anthology one has seen since Creepshow. Dougherty achieves this by successfully capturing the spirit of Halloween by setting an unsettling mood and tense atmosphere that perfectly aligns with the craftily scored pieces and the beautifully (yet eerily) shot cinematography used and shown throughout the film.  Although one should not give the writer and director all the credit, as a horror film of this calibre could not be as fun and frightening without its strong cast. Every actor (especially Baker and Cox) nailed it out of the park with their performances and Canuck viewers out there will also get a kick out of all the Canadian talent featured in this film, (*the movie was shot in Vancouver) including Dead Like Me’s Britt McKillip and Christine Willes.

Spoiling any of the special and gore effects would be an extreme disservice for future viewers, but let’s just say they far exceeded this reviewer’s expectations.  The effects even resurrected a movie monster’s image last seen shamelessly giving the middle finger onscreen. Finally, a horror film without the blatant CGI effects for a change!

Trick ‘R Treat is a film horror fans have been infatuated with for over two years now, and they will fall in love with it after watching it. (Personally, I fell in love with it after hearing Tony! Toni! Toné!’s “It Feels Good” song booming in the background. ) It is one of the most entertaining and clever horror films that does not deserve to be labelled as “straight to DVD” fare. In fact, the only reason I could think of as to  why the film has been pushed back for so long is the same reason why fans have yet to see a remake for Battle Royale and Who Can Kill A Child?–too much child killing!  Personally, I am glad to see Trick ‘R Treat not being exploited like Scream was. There will thankfully be no CW infused knock offs and hopefully it will turn into a cult film younger horror fans can discover and discuss about for years to come.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

No word on if Scream 4 is a continuation of the trilogy that Wes Craven directed, or if it’s a reboot. What is known is that David Arquette and Courtney Cox will be back.

Source: @kevwilliamson

Do you notice something about the majority of those films I just mentioned? They’re all up for remakes.

Tinsel town is just in this craze. There is perhaps nothing we can do about it, other than turn our backs on them, which might be a good move on paper, but a disastrous movement if we do. There isn’t a horror director left that hasn’t had a film remade. John Carpenter has three, George Romero has at least four, so of course, and this cycle would hit Wes Craven, probably a candidate for the Horror’s big Three in the 1970′s and 1980′s. There’s nothing really wrong with that, except for when the person who’s films are being remade, is actively a part of it.

I’m sure, outside of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, every director wishes he could go back a tweak this or change that for the better, but at that time, with the money and technology, the best they could do was what the finish product became. Craven is not only allowing remakes of his films to happen, but is active in the production side of things. I think this is good…sort of. Why not take some interest in this and help out the filmmaker to give them the best shot at making a solid film. Case in point: Hills Have Eyes.

I don’t mind that, but what has caused grief with me is the fact that he is doing this multiple times. Has the recession hit him so hard that he is so willing to take a studio’s paycheck to remake his filmography? I hope not. Craven was one of our most innovative horror directors. His Freddy Kruger is one of our beloved villains, one I’m sure my grandchildren will be scared of.

Let’s take a look at what’s being circulated for remaking: The Shocker, where he claims technology will improve the film he wasn’t that pleased with in the first place, People Under the Stairs, the proposed Scream 4 is looking more like a series reboot, don’t forget about Nightmare on Elm Street, Platinum Dunes stars filming in one month, and today’s Last House on the Left joins Hills Have Eyes, and Hills Have Eyes 2 as already been remade. It doesn’t stop there. He was an executive producer for a Carnival of Souls remake in 1998 and he was recent heard talking about furthering the Dracula 2000 series in a reboot fashion. His only new idea is this 25/8 film. He is even talking about a Hills Have Eyes 3, that I won’t call original even though he never has done one from his original series.

The merits of these remakes will be reviewed when they come out. But I’m sure at first many of you at the beginning of this article thought, “so what if he wants to do a few, and make a few bucks. It’s smart.” After reading the last paragraph, do you still agree with me? The man directed 29 films, some of those are TV and other segments like his short in Paris, Je T’aime, but four have been remade so far, with many more in the works.

Why does this bothers me? He is a “Master of Horror”. His films are inventive, original, scary, and he’s done it multiple times. While a remake doesn’t erase the past film, it seems at this rate like he is trying to erase the past. I know Cursed was a disaster, Wes, so was Scream 3 and Vampire in Brooklyn. Red Eye was not a bad film, so you’re telling me you’re given up on us? I know the ending has been kind to our favorite horror directors’ careers. But Romero and Argento are making a come back with decent pictures, and sure, Hooper is gone and Carpenter is lazy, but buck the trend, sir.

Horror is in a desperate time for originality. We all know that, and while not all remakes are a bad thing, it hurts me to see one of the greats sell out.

One day, Wes Craven will remake Wes Craven, maybe sometime shortly after Music of the Heart is remade.

Agree or disagree? Comment below or email me at jon@killerfilm.com

Rope of Silicon

Source: ROS