Scream 4

The first third of “Scream 4” is okay, the second third is kind of bad, and the concluding third is wonderful. The return of the original screenwriter makes this feel more congruous with the first two films than the third chapter, but it maintains the third film’s tendency towards red herrings and padding that, going into that final act, the only suspects eliminated are Sidney and the ones whose corpses have suffered trauma no one could survive (we ain’t gonna be fooled by another faked death, y’all). The glorious, manic finale pushes the needle to the center, though just barely.

5