Developing technology and the rise of social media in ‘Scream 4’
The Scream franchise was well-needed when it emerged in 1996, helping to revitalise the horror genre, which had started to devolve into unoriginal remake territory. Wes Craven, with the help of writer Kevin Williamson, made a film that was incredibly meta, poking fun at horror movie clichés and injecting equal doses of humour and genuine terror.
The movie spawned several sequels, with the most recent being 2023’s Scream VI, the second movie in the franchise not directed by Craven, who passed away in 2015. Scream (2022) and Scream VI make use of technology and social media in their narratives, but this is something that Scream 4 truly pioneers, the final instalment penned by Williamson and directed by Craven. The movie, starring Scream regulars Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox, as well as new additions to the franchise, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin and Hayden Panettiere, was not as well-received as its predecessors.
Yet, it would be unfair to ignore the fact that Scream 4 delivers rather interesting commentary on the rapid rise of technology and social media that defines our experience of the 21st century. It reflects the franchise’s ability to always be ahead of the curve when it comes to social commentary, one of the reasons why it is so unique compared to many other contemporary horror franchises.
The movie was released in 2011 when the iPhone was still in its infancy, and social media was not nearly as advanced and accessible as it is now. While websites like Tumblr, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter were popular, Instagram had only been unveiled the year before, and live-streaming wasn’t as accessible. The movie predated the popular live-streaming service Twitch by one month, which ended up raking in 45 million viewers per month within two years of its creation. Live-streaming has only become easier since then due to practically everyone owning a phone or computer device with a camera, and platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram now all offering live-streaming.
In early 2011, while live-streaming was recognised, it wasn’t nearly as popular as it is now. Yet, Scream 4 used live-streaming as part of its narrative, with one of the characters, Robbie, filming his high school experience and casting it onto the internet. In one key scene, he explains to the film club (and Sidney and Gale) that “everyone will be doing it someday” when Sidney asks if he posts everything he films to “the net”.
At the time, vlogging was still in its early stages, although YouTube was certainly gaining more and more popularity. Family and daily vlogging only became more widespread in the years following Scream 4, and now it seems like more people than ever are vlogging through the accessible of apps like TikTok, where people post their daily routines, meals and more for strangers to watch (and criticise) online.
There have also been many true crime cases linked to the rise of social media and live streaming. There is even an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to ‘live-streamed crime’, linking websites like Twitch and Facebook Live (both founded after Scream 4) to instances of live-streamed murders, rape and more. In the same scene, Robbie’s friend Charlie states that live-streaming is something that the killer should be doing, stating, “The killer should be filming the murders,” before Robbie chimes in, “It’s like the natural next step in a cycle of slasher innovation. You film them all in real-time, and before you get caught, you upload them into cyber-space.”
Robbie’s character meets his untimely end with his live-streaming camera strapped to his head, too distracted by trying to record a podcast (as well as being a little drunk) to notice Ghostface in front of him. His death feels particularly symbolic, with the minor delay of his camera onto his screen preventing him from running away in time. Ghostface is framed through Robbie’s phone screen as he lunges towards him and stabs him to death.
Additionally, Ghostface’s motive in Scream 4 is directly tied to the desire for internet fame. The killer is revealed to be Sidney’s cousin, Jill, with the help of Charlie, who is jealous of the fame her relative has amassed as a victim of the Woodsboro killings (Sidney’s fame is demonstrated by the fact she is on a book tour at the start of the movie). Jill hopes to frame her ex-boyfriend Trevor as the killer, going as far as to stab herself and throw herself into a glass table to make it look like she’s a victim.
Her goal of being the sole survivor of a heinous killing spree reflects many people’s desires to achieve internet fame, something that only seems to have become more rampant in recent years and the lengths some people will actually go. In an era where money can be made from simply posting our lives online and where millions of people can deliver you sympathetic messages and comments, Scream 4 tapped into this rapidly developing time where the internet has a pervasive power over people and the ability to become a celebrity is now easier than ever.
Through its focus on technology such as smartphones, live-streaming and other forms of social media, the movie proved that the Scream franchise is way more on the pulse than other contemporary horror franchises, using hefty doses of humour and satire to comment on cultural and social developments.
