“I wanna be in the sequel!
Unless you’ve been under a rock since the mid 1990s, you’re probably well aware of the groundbreaking, genre-reviving juggernaut that is 1996’s Scream. The film, directed by horror master Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, injected new life into the slasher genre. The entire premise of the film is based upon the decades of slasher film tropes that came before it. There are countless references to other films in the genre and “the rules” of slasher films are established in the film as well. The movie featured smart characters, victims that fought back, and slashers that tripped, took refrigerator doors to the face, and taunted their victims with phone calls and trivia about horror films. Williamson baited the audience with clues and hints about each potential killer, and then switched things up, keeping audiences guessing. Heck, the movie even killed off the most famous actor in the entire cast (Drew Barrymore) at the beginning of the movie, despite having her featured in trailers and press junkets for the film.
I’ve loved Scream ever since I saw it for the first time way back in 1996 at the Oak Park VI with a group of friends. We rarely “talked movies” as a group, as I was the only film buff in the bunch, but Scream was different. We went back to the dorm and talked about the film all night and off and on for the next few weeks. It’s an awesome film and you should check it out for yourself.
If you’re not familiar with the film, it’s the story of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her group of friends attempting to survive a streak of violent murders in their hometown of Woodsboro, CA. It’s the one year anniversary of the murder of Sidney’s mother, and the press is drawn to the town, hoping to discover the killer’s true identity. The local police are struggling to find clues and everyone is a suspect. Bodies start piling up and the audience is forced to guess at who might be Ghostface, the name given to the killers that have donned the mask in all of the sequels that followed the original film. It’s a wild ride, and I know that you’ll love it.
The film starred Campbell, Barrymore, Courteney Cox (who was riding high on the success of Friends), David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, and Skeet Ulrich. It also featured Henry Winkler in a small role. The acting is excellent and the writing and direction are near perfect. I have zero gripes about the movie, especially as time moves on and the film becomes more nostalgic for me.
Thanks for checking out my post. You can read my original review from 2020 here. It’s more in depth than this one primarily due to the fact that this year’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror posts are meant to introduce or revisit films that I love to my readers.
