Wes Craven Screams Again

The world in general, and the world of horror movies in particular, have changed a great deal in the past decade. Nonetheless, legendary horror filmmaker Wes Craven is back with Scream 4, which reunites him with David Arquette, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, the stars/survivors of the original Scream trilogy, launched in 1996, revived in 1997 and last heard from in 2000.


“One of the biggest changes is the rise of social networking,’’ Craven says. “Kids are communicating through texting, tweeting, e-mails and Facebook. It’s all about the Internet. That’s part of what’s happening in the world now that really wasn’t in full force yet when Scream 3 came out, and it’s something that Scream 4 addresses. Plus cell phones, of course. That extension of our culture is now very much a part of the film. YouTube is another example—any kid can make movies and put them on YouTube. And ... Justin Bieber.’’




“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.’’

... contd.