tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post8195467918621847130..comments2024-03-22T14:44:41.519+00:00Comments on Checking On My Sausages: Scream 4Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-10911789532474597082011-05-15T11:13:46.229+01:002011-05-15T11:13:46.229+01:00Thank you very much Rob.
I understand what you me...Thank you very much Rob.<br /><br />I understand what you mean "carnage without consequence". I would say that the death of Olivia and the 2 minutes leading up to the (possible) demise of Kirby were the ones that felt completely real to me.<br /><br />The others did feel less about horror and tragedy and more about convention and, if I can put it this way, being "thrilling" or even amusing. I assume, given your hope that Kirby is still alive (interesting in light of her comebacks in HEROES, as I mentioned), that you felt closer to her than others.<br /><br />The lack of parents and the dearth of opportunities for at least a little grief to colour the horror does make it a touch dismissive or nonchalant.<br /><br />I think Jill was a good choice and the motive perfectly fine (a motive will always need "she was a bit crazy too" to make it stick). The problem is, especially in a film like this that tries to follow tradition and overturn it, that surprise is to be expected. <br /><br />I have no idea about what a defibrillator would do to the brain of a healthy person. I did think that the scene with Kristen Bell was one of the worst. It felt throwaway (that really was a killing that didn't effect me at all - which can't be a good thing) and the acting was quite poor.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-2316947950432967232011-05-15T07:54:40.995+01:002011-05-15T07:54:40.995+01:00I think you just might be one of the most intellig...I think you just might be one of the most intelligent writers out there, for real.<br />"We see the generation gap in the way the killer deals with them...For Jill's mother, on the other hand death is delivered the old-fashioned way : by post. She's knifed through the letterbox." <br />That never even occurred to me!<br />I'm in total agreement on almost all points here, but..<br />I didn't like Scream 4 all that much, and to some extent, it did feel like it followed a template: that of the original Scream, in that most of "the kills" felt horror movie-ish (carnage without consequences)with one murder that genuinely freaked me out (in the first Scream the opening scene, in this one the death of the girl--I think her name was Olivia?-- while her two friends watched from across the street;in other words, if they give us one "real" horrifying demise per movie, all the rest are just supposed to be fun, merely conventions of the genre (carnage without consequences again).<br />And I guess that's my problem with the whole movie (and a lot of horror movies in general), that nobody seemed all that affected by what's going on all around them, like they're just playing a game and the stakes aren't all that high. I didn't believe most of the characters, except for Sid (Gale was completely unreal, almost a non-character--why was she even here, except for a paycheck?).<br />Jill...sheesh. In a way she made sense, because she really DIDN'T exist, as far as I'm concerned. But that revelation was so awful, just so numb and pointless: "I killed my own mother-how fucked is that?!", it felt like they were trying WAY too hard to come from left field and surprise everyone (that said, the actress portraying her gave a bravura performance in an impossible role).<br />The less said about that scene w/ Kristen Bell (or whatever her name is) and Anna Paquin, the better. <br />I asked a co-worker what she thought of Scream 4 before I saw it, and she said "Uh it was corny." When I asked why, she said "It was just really stupid!" After seeing it, I don't totally agree with her but there were some missed opportunities here, a lot of them.<br />And IMO, Kirby will most likely be back for the inevitable sequel--I like to think she didn't die--and Jill might show up too (would a defibrillator kill a healthy person?). Just a few thoughts.AKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02084216883655540363noreply@blogger.com