Wes Craven Screams again

“And I would say that horror films have changed a lot too,’’ the director continues. “There’s been a decade of very heavy … what’s called ‘torture porn’. I don’t like using that term,necessarily,but there have been a lot of films about torture or tormenting or people suffering great pain.’’

“So those are the things that have developed in the past decade,’’says the man behind The Last House on the Left (1972),The Hills Have Eyes (1977),A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and more. “And that’s to say nothing of the enormous amount of remakes and sequels,but especially remakes now that are so much a part of the movie industry.’’

Set for release on April 15,Scream 4 revisits bucolic Woodsboro,where Sidney (Campbell)—who barely survived the first three assaults by the Ghostface killer— arrives in town on a book tour. Dewey Riley (Arquette) is still the sheriff,and he’s married to former intrepid reporter Gale Weathers (Cox). It’s not long before the Ghostface killer strikes again,imperiling Sidney,Dewey and Gale,as well as a new crop of potential victims (Rory Culkin,Erik Knudsen,Hayden Panettiere,Emma Roberts).

“I think that’s basically it,like Genesis is about the flood,’’ Craven says,confirming the plot during a telephone call from his Los Angeles office. “But the devil is in the details. I’m not going to fill in too many blanks,because that’s for people to discover when they see the film.’’

“But it is definitely about Sidney’s return to her hometown,a place that she’s avoided for a long time due to the ghosts that are there,no pun intended,’’ he says. “It’s about her relationship with her cousin (Roberts),who is the daughter of her mother’s sister. Dewey and Gale are married and living in Woodsboro. Upon Sid’s return,a series of murders begins and …’’

Virgins die. “Virgins die,yes,’’ Craven says,laughing. “That’s just an observation from movies made in the past 10 years,especially recently. There’s an advance of cynicism,or a breaking of the cliches,that innocence does not guarantee you that you are going to survive,as say,Nancy did in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Sidney survived the first three Screams because of a very austere lifestyle,but that doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to be alive at the end of this film.’’

“In general,without getting too heavy-handed,it’s a statement that we’re all susceptible to the violence in life,’’ the director says,and it doesn’t matter what you believe or what your morality system is. It’s whether you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time,sometimes,or whether somebody’s just set their sights on you,or even that your innocence is annoying and makes you the target,because evil hates innocence.’’

He appreciated being back in the Scream universe,he adds. The young cast members energised him,and he enjoyed once again working with Arquette,Campbell and Cox,as well as fellow returnees writer/producer Kevin Williamson and Dimension Films boss Bob Weinstein.

“It was heady,’’ Craven says. “It was fun. It’s a really great concept. Really,we had just some wonderfully talented people. As a director,you can’t hope for more than a great cast and a great script,and I think we have both.’’ Ian Spelling