Things I Learned From Movie X: Scream 4

I'm not sure how I feel about this gritty reboot of Reno 911!

After a few weeks away, caused by a mixture of holiday and a really busy period at work, Things I Learned With Movie X returns with a column about Scream 4, the long-delayed fourth film in a franchise that started out as a sly commentary about the nature of standard horror films but which mutated along the way to being a slightly smarter version of the films that it is meant to mock.

I'm pretty pleased with this edition of the column since I think I managed a nice balance between making fun of the problems of the film and actually critiquing its flaws. I also really liked the Sesevenen joke because it's pretty silly, even though I'm sure someone else has probably made it some time in the last 16 years. Also, following on from the Dawn of the Dead column, it is the second time I've worked a Se7en reference into one of these, so maybe the key to maintaining maximum comedic velocity is to keep talking about that absolutely hilarious film.