Scream 4 Writer Talks Sequel Influences

Published by Jeff Leins on: November 13th, 2009

Screenwriter Kevin Williamson is busy these days.  He’s writing the script to Scream 4, producing episodes of “The Vampire Diaries,” Tweeting, and now writing/directing a remake of 1987’s The Bedroom Window.

Williamson is the sole reason I’m excited about a fourth Scream movie.  Sure, Wes Craven may or may not sign to direct it, but the return of the writer from the first three films gives me hope for a worthwhile slasher.  The meta Scream series has been somewhat reliable in parodying horror cliches, so I’m crossing my fingers for a slice and dice of modern cliches.

What does Williamson have in mind?  He told the NY Post, “I’ve [included] manga comics, Asian ghost girl movies, there’s some PG-13 horror movies in there, vampire movies, M. Night Shyamalan movies and torture porn movies, even though they’ve come and gone.”

Sounds like he’s tackling quite a bit.  I’m not sure how mangas fit into horror, but the overabundance of vampires in pop culture and M. Night Shyamalan’s diminishing quality are ripe for a proper thrashing.  Torture porn especially needs a skewering, if only because the Saw producers are still beating that dead horse into a bloody pulp.  It’ll be tricky avoiding what the Scary Movie spoofs have done though.

He also assured fans that while it will be a “send up” of horror conventions, Scream 4 will be incredibly scary “first and foremost.”

As for Bedroom Window, the remake is Williamson’s second time behind the camera (the first was Teaching Mrs. Tingle) and is a more faithful adaptation of Anne Holden’s novel “The Witnesses.”  It’s about a woman who while having an affair is the only person to see a murder, but rather than fess up to her infidelity to the police she recounts the details to her lover.  The man gets caught in the lie and the serial killer comes after him.