It's Been 11 Years Since 'Scream 3'

And the Weinstein Company says that's not a problem.

At LAT, "Word of Mouth: 'Scream 4' takes a stab at relaunching the franchise":

Following a bloody scene near the conclusion of "Scream 4," the character played by the horror franchise veteran Neve Campbell turns to series newcomer Emma Roberts and self-referentially cautions her to not mess with the original, though she uses cruder language to express her displeasure.

The question this weekend is whether fans of the first three films also might feel that the new thriller tramples on the "Scream" legacy.

It's been 11 years since "Scream 3" arrived in theaters, and franchises don't normally relaunch themselves after such a long hiatus. Audience tracking surveys suggest that "Scream 4" will be eviscerated at the box office by the animated comedy "Rio," but there are precedents that make "Scream 4" maker Weinstein Co. optimistic about its long-term prospects.

Paramount's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" in 2008 followed the previous Harrison Ford treasure-hunt tale by 19 years with poor reviews but a global gross of more than $786 million, and last year's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" from New Line, which trailed the previous Freddy Krueger movie by seven years, grossed a respectable $63.1 million domestically.

"Audiences like it a lot," Bob Weinstein says of the new horror film, which so far is attracting fair but not great reviews. "'Scream' is an icon of a franchise."

Hmm. We'll see, but Weinstein might have a point. When kids think of slasher flicks nowadays the "Scream" movies get first mention. And I remember when my oldest kid first asked if he could watch slashers he mentioned "Scream." My wife wouldn't let him watch it. That was years ago, so I've lost track, but my youngest is 9 years-old, and it's no way Jose. That said, I liked the first "Scream" a lot. In fact, I might even be heading out to the movies this weekend for some scary slasher thrills. You're only young once!