The self-satirising horror cycle reboots/restarts with a new set of sounds...

It’s been a decade since the last entry in the Scream trilogy hit theatres, and now we wait to see how they can squeeze more blood from the proverbial stone. This time, Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is a writer of a self-help book, who while on tour promoting it ends up in Woodsboro in time for the 15th anniversary of the original murders. And of course, with her reunion with friends and family comes the inevitable return of Ghostface, who is taking his or her cues from horror remakes. The murders are similar to the original film’s murders, but with a 21st-century twist (one could write a dissertation on the irony of Wes Craven making such commentary on horror remakes when he has handed several of his own properties over for remaking, but that’s for another day).

When it came time to do the soundtrack for Scream 3, the producing reigns were handed to pseudo-Christian hard rock band Creed, who handed in an inspired soundtrack of what was up and coming in the re-emerging genre of metal and heavy rock. With Scream 4, we got no such treat. In fact, there’s little here that I would have picked for a horror movie. We start off with 'Something to Die For' by Swedish indie rock group The Sounds, which sounds like warmed up 80s pop, with very little originality. Next is 'Bad Karma' by Norwegian rocker Ida Marie, a song that feels like something that The White Stripes would have released, but better (yes, I’m one of five people that don’t care for The White Stripes). Her punk rock sensibilities make the track very listenable. 'Cup of Coffee' by The Novocaines is a heavy little punk rock tune, and is one of the better tracks. 'On Fire' by Locksley has a rockabilly feel to it, sort of like Reverend Horton Heat. The guitar sounds tight, with a nice thumping bass line and driving beat. They describe their sound as 'doo-wop punk', and it certainly fits. I’ll be looking for more by these guys.

'Make my Body' by The Chain Gang of 1974 is an electronic song, and basically sounds like something you’d hear in a club. I can’t say I’m a big fan of that sort of music, and this song in particular doesn’t strike a particularly strong chord with me. The Sounds’ 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' is about the same, but with more of that rehashed 80s sound to it. 'Run for your Life' by London-based 6 Day Riot has shades of folk and reggae, but is more annoying than anything. And we have Raney Shockne giving us a redo of the 80s classic 'Axel F', which either admits that the album’s producers were looking for acts that sounded like they came out of the era, or to point out to some of us how old we are getting. Either way, it is a fun track to listen to.

'Say Hi' is a one-man band consisting of Eric Elbogen doing it all, and his contribution, 'Devils', is indie rock all over, but not overly inspired. It’s the sort of track that one expects to hear in a head shop as background music, but there’s nothing that captures your attention. 'Denial' by Stereo Black, however, is a very cool track. Logan Mader, formerly of Machine Head and Soulfly, formed the band, but they were never signed, which seems a shame because if this track is any indication, they deserved to be. 'Denial' is a heavy aggro-metal song with heavy guitar, melodic bass lines, and a haunting keyboard line that is just present enough to be interesting without overpowering the song.

The other two pieces are from the score by Marco Beltrami, composer of the first Scream trilogy. 'Don’t Mess with the Original' and 'Jill’s America' are dark, looming works that one would expect from the horror genre. Beltrami makes you feel like you’re in the movie too, and that you should be looking over your shoulder to make sure you’re not the next one to go. I would like to hear his complete score for the film, because the two contributions presented here are wonderful.

While this isn’t an album I would purchase as a whole, there are a few good tracks on it, and with a few exceptions, it makes for a decent CD to pop in for something to listen to. Craven and company have signed on for another trilogy, so I’m certain we’ll get to hear what the next film brings us music wise.

Scream 4: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be released on April 12, 2011 by Lakeshore Records.

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