It gave a kick in the pants to the hibernating horror genre, and since then moviegoers have been treated to countless Saw movies, remakes of Japanese creepfests like The Ring and The Grudge, a reboots of 70s cult classics like The Hills Have Eyes and Last House on the Left.

Scream itself spawned two sequels, Scream 2 (1997) and Scream 3 (2000), bringing back characters from the first movie and creating a movie within a movie (“Stab” was based on the events of Scream) angle.
 
But those who thought that Scream 3 was the end of a tired movie franchise can think again. Writer Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek), who didn’t write Scream 3, returns with director Wes Craven and together they have created something unexpected – a wildly funny, genuinely scary, cleverly self-referential tongue-in-cheek slasher film with more twists than a spiral staircase.

Seemingly invincible favourites Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Sheriff Dwight “Dewey” Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Riley (nee Weathers) (Courteney Cox) are back on board, and I have to admit, I did wonder why they all signed on for a fourth movie when I first heard about it. I guess Neve Campbell has been quiet lately and David Arquette’s personal problems have made him a bit of a liability, but Courteney Cox surely doesn’t need the money – she’s killin’ it on her sitcom Cougar Town.

But after I saw five minutes of this film, I understood why they came back. The screenplay is an incredibly tight, witty masterpiece of sick humour, horror movie references, social commentary and snappy dialogue. This leads to a movie bursting with energy, with an almost ridiculously high body count brought to you by a particularly enthusiastic incarnation of Ghostface. And if you thought the Ghostfaces from the previous Scream movies were crazy…well, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Let’s just say, one unlucky victim cops a knife straight through the forehead. Charming stuff.

This one is not for the faint-hearted, but if you’re good at closing your eyes (I chose a strategically placed jacket as protection!) when the knife comes down, then this movie is definitely worth seeing for the hilarious moments alone. It is carried not only by a great script from Williamson, but expert direction from Craven, and some seriously masterful comic (and horror!) timing from the cast. The estranged Arquette couple are as great as always, while Emma Roberts (as Sidney’s teenage cousin Jill) and her friend Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) are standouts. Also fun are Marley Shelton as Dewey’s slightly creepty deputy Judy, Rory Culkin as a Cinema Club nerd and Adam Brody as a cop. I haven’t laughed – or shrieked! – like this in a long time.

4 out of 5 stars.