All the while he doles out the occasional self-aware jab at the genre that is neither cute nor ingenious. "Scream" told us things we already know and "Scream 4" essentially does the same thing for an audience if horror cynics that have seen everything and done everything already. We've lived through the zombie craze, the torture porn craze, and the remake fad, and Craven simply delivers an absolutely unremarkable bit of stale slasher fare that has clever commentary about the use of new media to spin events, but literally does nothing else. When you think he's going to turn the screws on the audience and deliver a gut punch, he instead lands lightly on a safe climax that promises yet another sequel with even more of the same old characters we've seen before who have pretty much worn out their welcome. I'm not even sure what the point is of casting a group of new young talented actors for this film when he doesn't even take advantage of what they have to offer and play with our minds a bit. "Scream 4" is painfully safe, and pretty much fodder to appease the "Scream" fans and no one else. Fans have been demanding another sequel for years and they got it. Sadly, it offers the same old devices and cliches as the previous three films did with nothing new to bring to the table. I typically expect more from Craven but he shows with this film that he has nothing left to offer us.

The DVD brings us a slew of extras offering up an Alternate Ending that isn't any better than the multiple gag openings we saw in the real film, and an alternate ending that may leave some fans debating. There's also a commentary from Craven for the film and the deleted scenes and over a dozen deleted scenes meant to emphasize the mystery and nothing more. There's also a gag reel fans will enjoy.

If Released a few years ago I think this movie would have maintained some form of relevance, but in a time where horror is basically middling, this feels like a relic of the nineties. After a second viewing, it's still a ho hum and boring effort that plays is ridiculously safe with the premise and the surprise ending.