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Scream 4

2011 film directed by Wes Craven

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ323392
Source-derived summary

Scream 4 (stylized as SCRE4M) is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Dimension Films, it is the sequel to Scream 3 (2000) and the fourth installment in the Scream film series. The film stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Alison Brie, Adam Brody, Rory Culkin, Marielle Jaffe, Erik Knudsen, Mary McDonnell, Marley Shelton and Nico Tortorella. The film takes place on the fifteenth anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders from Scream (1996) and involves Sidney Prescott (Campbell) returning to the town after ten years, where Ghostface once again begins killing students from Woodsboro High. Like its predecessors, Scream 4 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of black comedy and "whodunit" mystery to satirize the clichés of film remakes. The film also provides commentary on the extensive usage of social media and the obsession with internet fame.

The series was originally intended to be a trilogy. However, in July 2008, the Weinstein Company announced a fourth film was in development, with Craven confirmed to direct in March 2010. In September 2009, Arquette, Campbell, and Cox were announced to be returning, after which the casting process lasted between April and September 2010. Principal photography began in June 2010 and ended in September that same year, taking place in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Scream 4” as 2011 film directed by Wes Craven. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Scream, film and directed.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2011, 2000, 1996, 2008—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—2011-04-11, 2011-05-05, 2011-04-15—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Scream, film and directed providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Scream 4”, the useful work is to connect “2011 film directed by Wes Craven” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q323392. VIAF identifies the subject as 230668683. The Library of Congress control number is n2013032989. 4 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2000, 1996 and 2008.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Scream 4”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Scream 4 primary sources, Scream 4 archive and Scream research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Scream 4”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Scream 4” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.