Scream 4: Will Wes Craven Recapture the Magic?
By “Bad” Brad Berkwitt
SCREAM 4 is a return to a horror series that has been dead for 11 years, and it left on a sour note. In 1996, the original SCREAM made some serious noise in the horror world, and inspired many other horror movies to follow. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, URBAN LEGEND, and many more capitalized on the success of SCREAM and then the inevitable happened: SCREAM 2.
SCREAM II, released in 1997, featured the return of many of the characters that survived the first one along with the memorable “ghost face” killer that made the original so much fun, but this time, it wasn’t nearly as edgy or clever. Despite the mediocre follow up, a third entry: “SCREAM III” came out in 2000 and it was as bad as it gets…so bad in fact, that they recruited Jay and Silent Bob to be part of it. It killed the series and proved that the SCREAM “franchise” was a one trick pony…only the original had anything going for it, but they want to redeem it and/or make a boatload of money and they can’t come up with any other ideas, and have made SCREAM 4.
SCREAM 4 has had a big push with its trailer even playing on the Lifetime channel, which will make a very big opening weekend, but when you see this much advertising, it gives you the impression that they may not be confident that it will make much money from the word of mouth advertising that usually pushes a horror movie. We may have another bad SCREAM entry on our hands.
In other horror news, an indie film “FAMILY SECRET” has been making some noise without the large advertising campaign behind SCREAM. Featured on IFC, FANGORIA, MTV, and many other publications, the film has been getting rave reviews, and has the potential to be one of those word of mouth hits.
Geno McGahee’s FAMILY SECRET features, much like SCREAM, an unknown killer (Granny Killer) that is killing off the victims with a meat cleaver. The reviews of this film have been so great that it’s hard not to count it along with new horror movies to watch:
“I guarantee that you will be surprised… I was not expecting the story to be as good as it was….8/10!” — Jigsaw’s Lair
“If you like horror films with some gore and a nice plot twist then you should feel right at home with Family Secret… you won’t be able to guess any of the plot twists!” – Zombies Don’t Run
“McGahee delivered…Great atmosphere…surprising ending! 7/10!” – Beyond Nerds
“Family Secret never stops entertaining…it should not be a secret to horror fans.” – Horrornews.net
“This movie is a Must See!” – Gruesome Hertzogg
“The story is strong and the development rewarding!” – Infernal Dreams