Scream 4 (2011)

The problem with the first Scream film in over a decade, Scream 4 (AKA Scre4m, 2011), is that it is too much of a Scary Movie (2000-2009) and not enough of a scary movie.  The first film, directed by Craven off of a script by Kevin Williamson, was released in 1996 (when the target demographic for the fourth installment was still in diapers) and provided viewers with a refreshing bridge between comedic, self-reflexive cinephilia and genuine horror.  At the time, it was groundbreaking formula and it re-vamped the horror genre in the same way Quentin Tarantino de and re-constructed the crime thriller.  Over the span of three films and four years however, the “Scream” franchise slowly lost its way.  When the parodies of a parody arrived in the form of the “Scary Movie” films, the final nail seemed to have been placed into the Scream coffin.  Yet, unfortunately for those nostalgic for the magic of the first film, the killer in Scream 4 is Wes Craven.  He took a beautiful, young genre in the form of self-reflexive horror and gutted it for all eyes to see. 

The Outrageous Origins of the Motion Comic and Women Comic Book Readers Day

In Media Res ran my short piece on the history of the motion comic today.  I'm curious to see what fans and readers have to say about this formal phenomenon.  Do you purchase them?  Do you know about them?  Do you like them?  Essentially, my initial impressions have been that the American comic book industry sees a bright future ahead for motion comics while readers downright loathe them.  I'll let you weigh in by following the link here.  

For more on Women Comic Book Readers Day, my grassroots campaign to make the industry notice the female consumer demographic, proceed after the jump.