Last year Shout! Factory’s horror branch Scream Factory came out of the corner swinging.  They dropped a series of well-received releases focused mainly on 1980s films that hadn’t been shown any love on home video, including Halloween III: Season of the Witch and Tobe Hooper‘s The Funhouse.  Their first release for 2013 is Wes Craven‘s 1981 tale of farmland terror Deadly Blessing – a film that’s never been released in the U.S. on DVD or Blu-ray.  Find out how this overlooked, pre-Nightmare on Elm Street film fares on Blu-ray after the jump.

One of the staples of the Scream franchise has always been the opening sequence. This past Spring’s fourth entry in the franchise was no exception, as it featured multiple fake-outs and the signature pop-culture-infused/meta dialogue that took that we’ve come to expect from the series. It’s no secret that director Wes Craven did some reshoots on Scream 4, and with the Blu-ray release of the flick we now have a chance to see some of the stuff that was discarded, like this alternate opening to the film. For those who haven’t seen the pic just yet, we’ll keep it spoiler-free on the front page. Hit the jump to watch the alternate opening.

Although Scream 4 served as a helpful reminder that we didn’t really need another Scream movie, apparently not everyone got the message.  Because the film grossed $97 million worldwide off a $40 million budget (plus P&A), director Wes Craven believes Scream 5 could be on the way.  The director tells Movieweb:

The odds are that there will be (a Scream 5). It is something that Bob Weinstein wants to do. He tends to do what he wants to do. So I am inclined to think that there will be (another sequel). Whether I will be a part of it or not? I don’t know. My contract gives me the first look. If they show me something that is really wonderful? Of course I will be a part of it.

Back in April 2010, we reported that Craven was already signed for Scream 5 and Scream 6, but it now appears that he simply had first-look deals rather than a firm commitment to helm a new trilogy.  Hit the jump for more details.

MTV is coming to Comic-Con, and today they announced what shows they’ll be bringing. Celebrating the triumphant return of Beavis and Butthead, Mike Judge will be on-hand for a panel focusing on the all new episodes with Johnny Knoxville acting as moderator. The cast and producers of Teen Wolf will appear for the new series’ panel, and Wes Craven will talk to the cast and producers of the new horror-comedy Death Valley.

In addition, there will be a panel for David Gordon Green’s (Pineapple Express) new animated series Good Vibes, with voice-cast members Adam Brody, Alan Tudyuk, Tony Hale, Debi Mazar and Jake Busey making an appearance alongside Green. Finally, a panel entitled “MTV Geek!” will feature Stan Lee revealing the story behind the new MTV Comics title The Seekers. Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes the schedule and location for each panel.

The Scream franchise is a series of horror movies whose greatest asset has never been horror.  They provide the occasional jump scare, but the strength of the series lies in crafting a critique of the slasher genre, audiences (Scream 2), and Hollywood (Scream 3).  The first Scream did the best job in balancing scares with satire, but eventually the series devolved into ninety minutes of misdirection finished by a twenty minute speech where the killer explains his or her motivations.  In between the movie gropes at subtext, but rarely in a coherent way that’s clever or rewarding.  Scream 4 carries on this sad tradition but adds a heavy dose of resentment to the proceedings as it bitterly attacks everyone who left the snarky franchise behind.

Mondo is already in the middle of Director’s Series posters for Guillermo del Toro and Zack Snyder, but there’s no rule as to how many directors can have their own series.  The latest name to get his own line is Wes Craven and on Thursday, Mondo will be releasing posters for A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream.  Both posters were designed by Alex Pardee and are (unsurprisingly) impressive and eye-catching.  Mondo will also be releasing posters for Craven’s Swamp Thing, The Hills Have Eyes, and The Last House on the Left.

Hit the jump for details and pricing on the posters along with the full press release. Be sure you’re following @MondoNews for the announcement of when these go on sale.

Fifteen years after the Scream franchise ushered a new wave of horror, series creator Kevin Williamson (The Vampire Diaries, Dawson’s Creek) and horror master Wes Craven, who directed the first trilogy, have reunited for Scream 4. Reflecting back on where it came from, and taking into account the technological and internet savvy world we now live in, the film reunites its lead trio while introducing a new group of actors for Ghostface to terrorize.

At the film’s press day, director Wes Craven talked about taking the internet into consideration for this installment in the horror franchise, the spy work involved with keeping the story secret, how screenwriter Ehren Kruger only made minor changes to Kevin Williamson’s script, and why this was the perfect time to breathe life into the Scream series again. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

With director Wes Craven’s Scream 4 hitting theaters on April 15, we’ve been sent four new images to help promote the film. Scream 4 stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Alison Brie, and Adam Brody. Hit the jump to check out the images [Warning: At least one of the pics could be taken as a mild spoiler. So, yeah, you've been warned.]

Also, in case you missed them, you can check out three clips from the film here and a recent television spot by clicking here.

We’ve received three new clips from the latest installment in director Wes Craven’s Scream franchise. The whole gang is back, ten years after the most recent flick in the series. In Scream 4, Sydney Prescott returns to Woodsboro for a signing of her new book. Well, as you can imagine, Ghostface starts to terrorize the town once again. The old gang, alongside a number of new faces, take turns running around, spouting off pop-culture-infused wit, and getting killed. Sounds like a good time to be had by all.

Hit the jump to check out the clips. Scream 4 stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox Arquette, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, and Hayden Panettiere.  The film opens April 15th.

Hard to believe that fifteen years ago marked the first appearance of the Ghost Face killer slashing his way onto movie screens. Wes Craven’s Scream 4 will be the first installment of the franchise in ten years and we have bloody new TV spots and stills to share with you. While the trailer promises the return of some of Woodsboro’s most familiar faces, you can rest assured that Scream 4 will feature barely clothed hot girls doing stupid things and Ghost Face getting his stab on. We get older, they stay the same age. Hit the jump to check it out.

When Scream first hit theaters in 1996, it took pop-culture by storm. Now, director Wes Craven returns to the franchise in a new decade with Scream 4. During production of the flick, it was announced that screenwriter Kevin Williamson (who scripted the first two Scream films) was being replaced with Ehren Kruger (who wrote the third Scream film, which was received, um, not well…). Craven made everyone uneasy when, shortly after that news broke, he tweeted from the set “No longer in control of the script.” The director recently sat down with Total Film magazine (via ScreamTrilogy) to discuss the issue:

“I was just stating the fact. In some ways it’s a Wes Craven film, and in way it’s not entirely, because it’s not a script I have control of. It’s ultimately controlled by what the studio wants in the script. My job is much more bringing whatever experience and expertise and creativity I can. Look, there was a bumpy period when things shifted over from Kevin to Ehren. I signed up to do a script by Kevin and unfortunately that didn’t go all the way through the shooting. But it certainly is Kevin’s script and concept and ideas and themes.”

For more, including 4 new images from the film, hit the jump. [Update: We've updated the article with the hi-res version of the images]

After already releasing two bland posters, Dimension is taking another run at their Scream 4 marketing by high-lighting Ghostface and his killer chin.  If the whole movie has Ghostface running around chin-stabbing his victims, I will declare Scream 4 as the best movie in the franchise.  Anything less will be a disappointment.

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  Directed by Wes Craven, Scream 4 stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox Arquette, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, and Hayden Panettiere.  The film opens April 15th. [Update: We've updated the article with a larger version of the poster.]

Wes Craven has been making films for nearly forty years now, having made a huge impression with his 1972 picture Last House on the Left. And since then, Craven is just as likely to make a great film as a terrible one. Some horror directors – like John Carpenter – have an obvious hot streak, an uninrupted run of greatness, and most directors have periods where they’re doing great work, and off times. Whereas Craven followed A Nightmare on Elm St. with The Hills Have Eyes II. His 1996 film Scream is one of his best, which came a year after A Vampire in Brooklyn – easily one of his worst. Again, you never know. Craven is decidedly smart, but he’ll also pursue ideas that he seems passionate about or films that promise a paycheck. My Soul to Take was post-converted into 3-D and sat around for a while. It’s fascinating, though I don’t know which of the two categories it most belongs in – regardless, it leaves an impression. My review of My Soul to Take follows after the jump.

Dimension Films has just released a new trailer for Scream 4 and it’s actually quite good with tons of new action-packed footage not seen in the original teaser. Not that I was worried or anything, but after the disappointing Scream 3, my expectations for this third sequel haven’t exactly been through the roof. In all actuality, I’m just curious to see how many members of the original cast will get offed.

Scream 4 reunites Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and director Wes Craven. The screenplay was written by Kevin Williamson who penned the scripts for Scream and Scream 2. The thriller is set to open April 15. Check out the trailer after the jump, but be warned, there is much spoiler-ish action on display – don’t say I didn’t warn you!

With Terry Gilliam’s new short film, The Legend of Hallowdega, premiering on LegendofHallowdega.com tomorrow after the AMP Energy Juice 500 race (the first chapter will be sneaked on ESPN just prior to the race at 1pm), I was able to get on the phone with David Arquette the other day.  In the short film, Arquette plays a techno-geek paranormal expert who teams up with an investigative news show (Justin Kirk) to explore the mysteries around the Talladega Superspeedway.  They’re trying to figure out if the race track was built on  an old Indian burial ground and that’s the reason for the spectacular car crashes.

During the interview we talked about how happy he was to work with Terry Gilliam and how he’s been a fan his entire life.  Of course with Arquette also starring in Wes Craven’s Scream 4, we also talked about what it was like to return to Woodsboro and what can fans expect. In addition, Arquette talked about how he’s going to be directing an episode of CSI: Miami and Cougar Town and some of his other films projects.  Hit the jump to either read the transcript or listen to the audio: