Well folks, here it is! A teaser poster for the much anticipated (by me anyway)Scream 4. Kevin Williamson is back to bring in the new generation of Screams as is directing legend Wes Craven. AND turns out it isn't just a one and done thing. It's meant to be the first in a new trilogy of films for the franchise that is apparently aiming to keep fans screaming well into the 2020's.
“The fourth Scream movie is an ensemble which is being concurrently written with a fifth script as well. It’ll take place right now, 10 years later, and it’s going to take place in Sidney Prescott's (Neve Campbell) hometown of Woodsboro. We’ll have our three main characters Sidney, Gale (Courtney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette) and we’ll be introducing several more. We’ll also be introducing a little group, a little ensemble of new cast members. That’ll take us through the next three.” Scream Writer Kevin Williamson
It was also rumored at one time that this new addition to the Scream franchise would be in 3D (ugh). Williamson has since quashed those rumors tweeting "What is this Scream 4 in 3D? First I heard of it” and “Guys? Really? 3D? Nahhhhh"
The movie once again revolves around Sidney Prescott, now a guidance counselor at Woodsboro High School has lived the past 10 years of her life in relative silence. When the murder of a student is discovered, Sidney's world will once again be pulled apart by the resurfacing of Ghost Face.
I for one, am totally stoked to see this movie. Filming began in the Spring and it's set to be released in April 15, 2011.
Let me start off by saying I am quickly becoming a fan of the British horror. I thought Christopher Smith delivered well with the very fun and gory film Creep and now he gives us Severance, a roller coaster ride of horror and humor. The problem with most horror comedies is that writers/directors feel the need to link some kind of humor to every bit of horror and it tends to over shadow. It’s like okay, we’ve scared the hell out of you now let me take the edge off with a little funny. Not every scene needs to be a mix of both. Christopher Smith and James Moran manage to create the perfect match up of horror, comedy, suspense and gore. Not only does it have that balance but it is superbly acted and directed to perfection. The relationships between the characters are well written, strong and believable. I've seen several references to it being a sort of 'Hostel' meets 'The Office' and I can see where some would think that.
So, moving on...
Lead by company president Richard (Tim McInnerny), the best of the best from Palisade Defense head off on a weekend team building exercise in Budapest. When they come up on a tree blocking the road Richard tells the bus driver to take the narrow dirt road through the woods. The driver refuses and after a heated argument the group is thrown off the bus and left to find their own way to their awaiting mountain resort.
Upon their arrival at the lodge it seems that the wonderful accommodations George (David Gilliam) promised them just aren’t up to par. The power doesn’t work, there's dust everywhere, and the only thing to eat is an old meat pie. Gordon, (Andy Nyman), takes it upon himself to cook up the pie, not mentioning that he'd found it in the kitchen. And when the druggie Steve finds a tooth in his piece, things start to take a turn for the worse. A few of the members tell stories they'd heard that the lodge was actually an insane asylums used by the Russians to keep mentally deranged soldiers. But that’s all just rumors and hearsay, nothing to take too seriously, right…WRONG!
When strange things start happening around their “luxury lodge”, the group starts to get a little paranoid and decide that maybe it's time to head home. They split up (bad move) and that’s when the gruesome discoveries begin.
Are they at the right lodge? If they are, where the hell is George? And if they aren’t in the right place, where the hell are they, and why do they have a bunch of Palisade’s confidential files? It’s all fun and games until someone loses a leg, and then it’s just fear you can’t get away from fast enough.
From this point on, the movie is pretty much balls to the wall murder and mayhem as Harris (Toby Stephens), Jill (Claudie Blakley), Steve (Danny Dyer), , Maggie (Laura Harris) and Billy (Babou Ceesay) fight for their lives against not one but dozens of pissed off Russians hell bent on getting even with Palisade Defense.
I think overall, it starts out a little slow. You get a lot of action in the first 5 mintues then the next 45 minutes or so are used to set up for the really fast paced ending. They tease you at the beginning, flesh out the excitement then hit you with it all at once. Just when you think you have the bad guy figured out, you find out it’s only the beginning. Between the horror and the black humor, I’d recommend this movie to any horror lover.
There are a lot of films that shock us with their horror but there are an equal number of films that take us to a different level with the gore. Obviously I haven't seen "every" gory movie so we compiled this list through Twitter votes. Also, keep in mind I said the goriest not the scariest. Blood and guts can be found in all genres. Just so happens it's abundant in the horror genre.
With that said, here is our list of the top 10 goriest movies (in no particular order):
Braindead (aka Dead Alive) 1992
Hostel 2005
Saving Private Ryan 1998
Inside 2007
Evil Dead / Evil Dead 2 Dead by Dawn
Dawn of the Dead 2004
Midnight Meat Train 2008
Saw (All of them. How many are there now?)
Wrong Turn (All of them)
I'm sure there are loads more graphic and gory movies out there. Feel free to comment below and add them. The next time we put together a gory list, we'll include them.
I have to say, before watching this movie I made the mistake of reading several different reviews. Rotten Tomatoes has it rated at 27% positive feedback and the reviews by different critics are rather harsh. So, of course I went into it with the pre-conceived notion that the movie would be terribly disappointing. I was fully prepared to face up to the fact that I'd wasted 102 minutes watching when I could've been catching up on some much needed beauty sleep. BUT, once again I find myself in complete disagreement with the majority.
Newlyweds Nick (Eion Bailey) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) decide to spend their honeymoon mule packing through the Grand Canyon. Upon arrival, they discover they don't have the proper permits to take the tour and it looks like the honeymoon is over before it even started. At least until they meet up with Good Ole Henry (Will Patton) who proceeds to tell them that he'd have no problems obtaining the permits they need. After a not so heated argument, Lori gives in and off they go.
But, after leading them far off the beaten path, Henry falls prey to a snake bite that ultimately leads to his death leaving the two of them to fend for themselves. As they become progressively lost, tensions get higher and higher until they peak into a mild shouting match full of finger pointing and blame.
Things go from bad to worse when Nick suggests they should climb out saying it's just like the wall he climbs at the gym. When Lori decides to check her cell service in mid-climb, they fall and Nick's leg not only breaks but becomes jammed between two rocks. Cue the super ouchy amputation.
With Nick injured to a point where moving him is out of the question, Lori decides to make a fire and stay put. That is until the hungry, cranky wolves show up. She spends a full night and half a day fighting off the wolves even killing two or three.
Other critics said the movie was predictable from almost the very beginning. I, apparently, am a little slow because if I hadn't read about what was coming, I wouldn't have seen it. Lori builds a sort of stretcher and tries to drag Nick out but doesn't realize a whole pack of wolves has been tracking the scent of his blood the whole time. Completely surrounded by wolves, she decides the only thing to do is put an end to his suffering by smothering him. It's never clear if her intentions are to leave him for wolf kibble and make a run for it or if she planned on dying with him. In any case, turns out it wasn't even necessary to kill him because the rescue helicopter comes less than a minute after the deed is done and scares the wolves away.
Yes, there are some inconsistencies and yes the script is a bit weak with quite a bit of corny, cliched dialogue but strong performances by the actors do a lot to carry this film. The soundtrack is decent and somewhat haunting which mixed with the cinematography almost gives the movie a life of it's own.
All in all, I thought it was well paced with plenty of "uh oh" moments. It's not completely unbelievable that something like this could actually happen I mean wasn't 'Open Water' based on a true story? Don't people slip in and out of common sense mode all the time? So, why is it so hard to believe that people cut corners to get what they want, or get bitten by rattle snakes, or get lost in the Grand Canyon for that matter? And, I'm sure if I was a starving wolf, a good looking yuppie couple would be damn appetizing to me. In the end, I would definitely recommend this film to others.
