Scream 4 had a rocky road to your local multiplex, going through multiple script revisions, much to the chagrin of its director and actors. But given the infinite number of possibilities that a Scream 4 script could go in, the ending that audiences saw was, to my eyes at least, odd and particularly unsatisfying. Is this really the ending (and the killer) that director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson intended? Major Scream 4 spoilers ahoy!
So to sum up: Emma Roberts was the mastermind behind the killings, with Rory Culkin as her right-hand man (right until she double-crossed him and Lillard-ed him good). Culkin wanted to live out his horror film obsessions and document the whole thing on the web, while Roberts was jealous of her cousin's notoriety and wanted the sweet taste of fame (and infamy) all to herself.
Now, no one goes to a Scream movie expecting a cinema vérité experience, but it was right about when Roberts was delivering her filibuster of the vacuous nature of fame in the 21st century that I nearly rolled my eyes out of my head. Did we get any inkling, any foreshadowing at all that Robert's character was so obsessed with fame before she delivered her preachy stemwinder? And besides the seemingly out-of-left-field nature of her sudden M.O., did they (they being whatever band of monkeys that rewrote Kevin Williamson's script) have to give Roberts such a windy diatribe? I got the gist after a few lines -- jealous of cousin, she wanted fame at any cost -- but the scene went on forever. Sloppy overwriting in the final reel does not make up for sketchy underwriting in the reels before it.
Based on the numerous reports of infighting and script tinkering, I think it may be fair to assume Roberts & Culkin were not the original killers as first scripted by Williamson, just as Laurie Metcalf (Laurie Metcalf!) was not meant to be the killer in Scream 2 until a leak prompted re-writes. So who do we think was the original killer in Scream 4? Frankly, as it played out, it could have been anyone, but I sort of liked the idea of it being Deputy Hicks, who had a brief flicker of Sidney Prescott obsession before getting lost in the shuffle. (And was it my imagination, or did it seem like she was shot in the head before she popped up and claimed the Kevlar caught it?)
Scream 4 isn't a bad movie, per se; I jumped in my seat and had an enjoyable time. But the ending hampered my enjoyment of the movie and may have contributed to its lackluster grosses. I just felt that the ending was far too pat and simplisitic (desire for fame is the real killer, children!), more appropriate for hastily delivered Jerry's Final Thoughts than a slasher flick.
