Scream 4 Recut

Well this was a new way to experience a fanedit. Instead of watching it right after getting the Blu Ray of Scream 4 I had this on my hard drive for quite some time because I never felt in the mood. Today I talked about how much I liked Scream 4 and instead of rewatching the original I put in this disc to see if it would be a possible improvement/replacement if I ever again get in the mood of Scream 4.

Does it replace my Disc?
No, but it was close.

Most of the cuts are super well executed and you don't notice them. The only two instances I noticed the editor's work was after the scene where the kids talk at the fountain and the cut from the police murder to Sidney.
Neg got rid of a lot of things that troubled me - especially the killing of the reporter is something I am so glad the way it plays out in this edit! This was really the most generic horror moment in the entire film and I am glad that it is gone.
Same goes for the Bruce Willis line - it is funny but the movie at this point is in serious mode so it should not be there and is not missed.
The added deleted scenes put a good focus on the new kids although I kind of see why the fountain discussion was cut as the killer is using the same line abotu there being a movie in both scenes so it was a bit of a giveaway.
Also removal of the red hering police character is good, it was just too suspicious a set up to make for a believable killer. in a movie like scream we don't look for obvious motifs but for the most innocent person to be the killer.

Now the reason this doesn't replace my dvd is the ending.
I really like the original ending especially the line about remakes and originals but that is not the issue i have with the ending here.
I was talking to a friend about how i love that scream 4 is a standalone movie with no promises for future installments/tie ins. From time to time I just want to watch a movie and be done with it and not having to wait for the sequel to fill in the blanks.
Removing the final fight and focusing on Jill is a great way to end this movie and would have made for a very provocative ending - the only thing that lessens it is the "sidney might pull through" jump ending whcih promises a new storyline that gets cut off
it is a fun way to end a movie but to me much less fulfilling than the original or ending with jill actually winning

but other than that this is a rock solid entry and a great alternative to scream 4

March 25, 2012

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

August 12, 2012

The first Scream movie was really entertaining and original. With the second one the filmmakers could have easily fallen into the trap they themselves created but Scream 2 turned out to be almost as good as the first one. Scream 3 was the first sequel that felt like they started to milk the concept, and it was more a spoof movie of the previous Scream movies than a smart satire on horror movies. But at least I was entertained. Then came Scream 4...

Here is what I liked about Scream 4: The scenes leading up to Olivia’s death and aftermath (although there was too much blood on the walls, this isn’t a Rob Zombie movie) the scenes with Sidney and Jill (“you remind me of me” and “I know how you feel”) and the idea of the ending (but it wasn’t executed well IMO)

Now to Neglify’s fanedit; I wish I had seen this version in theaters instead of the Black Christmas (remake) ending we got. And the deleted scenes that were added in work perfectly. Although the movie still sucks (this is why the rating for "Enjoyment" was only "6", no fault on Neglify's part) and because I (sometimes) have a hard time expressing myself I’m going to paste something here that Neglify himself wrote in a review, where he quoted something that geminigod wrote in a review (how meta can you get?)

“It is much much improved now but still something I don’t have much fondness for.
I’m going pull a page out of the geminigod review playbook...
(Fanedit rating focuses on technical and creative criteria that pertain specifically to the scope and depth of changes made from the source material by the faneditor. In other words, I might hate the movie but still give a high fanedit rating if I really respect the re-editing work done to it.
Movie rating judges on traditional criteria of quality/enjoyment as if this were an original theatrical release being seen for the first time.)”

I guess it all comes down to this: If you really disliked Scream4 then this fanedit won’t save it for you, but if you half liked it than you want to download this because it is a more polished and thought through version. And this being the best version of Scream4 got to be worth something, right?

Scream 4’s ending is overblown and annoyingly dragged out. Fortunately, Neg applies his digital knife to the movie to give us a proper cliffhanger and a vastly improved ending.

As per usual, Neg’s audio surgery is complicated (just reading the cut list makes me lightheaded in a blood-loss kind of way), but the transplants and sutures are largely indiscernible to the viewer, as they should be.

I actually liked the first couple tunes in the original end credits, but Neg’s choice of closing music is simply groovy.

If I were King of da Planet, I would demand that Neg work on Scream 5. Or else I’d send Ghost Face after the producers.