Ready To Scream Again?

In 1996 Wes Craven took the slasher genre that he helped invent and completely turned it on his head with the slasher/mystery film Scream. Scream was in instant success at the box office, as well as a critical success. Scream made fun of the many conventions of horror movies, particularly slashers, while simultaneously delivered genuine scares. The movie even inspired an extremely popular line of Halloween costumes that even fourteen years later. After two less than well received sequels, rumors began to circulate that a fourth film may be in the works, but this rumor had gone largely ignored until now. Now Scream 4 is poised to be the comeback of the series, especially since there have been a slew of new horror films in recent years to be satired.

While hardcore fans of the series welcomed news of a fourth film, many fans questioned whether or not the new film would have any members of the original cast, and there were especially questions on whether or not creator and director Wes Craven would return to direct the new installment (which may be the first of a new trilogy). However, fans were delighted when news broke that actress Courtney Cox and her husband David Arquette were willing to return to the franchise as soon as an offer was made, and of course one swiftly followed. And then, after some back and forth news that she would and then would not, it was confirmed that Neve Campbell would return to play the series protagonist Sidney.

So with the original main cast back, the question remained whether or not Wes Craven himself would return in any capacity, but the joy of the fans only increased when it was announced that Craven would indeed return and was more than happy to do so.

Now the question is out there of just how exactly the story of the movie will play out. After years of new horror franchises popping up, perhaps the new film will take a jab at the Saw franchise, or even the Hostel movies, or something in that vein. After all, a key to the success of the original film was the satire of the film industry and their fads, so perhaps that is the route they will continue to take. Or they can take the nostalgia route and bank on the fact that they are restarting the franchise. Time will tell, as Scream 4 will release sometime in 2011.