Scream (1996)

Directed by: Wes Craven | 111 minutes | horror, thriller, crime | Actors: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, W. Earl Brown, Drew Barrymore, Joseph Whipp, Lawrence Hecht, Roger Jackson, David Booth, Liev Schreiber, Kevin Patrick Walls, Carla Hatley, Lois Saunders, Lisa Beach, Tony Kilbert, CW Morgan, Frances Lee McCain, Troy Bishop, Ryan Kennedy, Leonora Scelfo, Nancy Anne Ridder, Lisa Canning, Bonnie Wood, Linda Blair, Wes Craven, Henry Winkler

Director Wes Craven has been a horror movie phenomenon for years. His honors list includes classics such as ‘The Last House on the Left’ (1972), ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ (1977) and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984). If there’s anyone who has a genuine affection for the genre, it’s him. That’s why it’s highly commendable that in the mid-1990s he decided to make a parody of the classic horror film, ‘Scream’ (1996). A film that is unique in its kind, because it manages to elicit both intense fear reactions and exuberant bursts of laughter from the viewer. Craven knows better than anyone how bizarre the situations in horror films can sometimes be and has a view on how to mock them – without the film having to lower itself to the corny level of ‘Scary Movie’ (2000). ‘Scream’ turned out to be an unexpected big success and brought in more than 103 million dollars. Others wanted to piggyback on the film’s success and a wildly popular subgenre was born. Movies like ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ and ‘Urban Legend’ (and all the sequels that followed) were also in great demand, as were the sequels to ‘Scream’.

‘Scream’ starts off impressively with a twelve-minute prologue in which the ruthless killer immediately hands over his calling card. High school student Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is planning a movie night with her boyfriend Steve when she gets a call from a mysterious man. At first she thinks he has called the wrong number, but soon it turns out that she is dealing with a life-threatening psychopath, who wants to play a morbid game with her. Casey’s life depends on her knowledge of horror classics. Naturally, the psychopath presents her trick questions: Casey and her boyfriend are brutally slaughtered. The next day, the double murder is the talk of the town. The students are interrogated one by one by the police. Their special interest goes to Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), whose mother was murdered exactly one year ago. The girl designated one Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) as the killer, but his guilt has never been proven. Sidney is the ultimate target of the mysterious killer, it soon turns out. Pulp journalist Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), who has written a book exonerating Cotton from the murder of Sidney’s mother, resurfaces to uncover the truth about a violent murderer.

Before ‘Scream’ set a new trend, many horror movie makers took themselves way too seriously. Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson moved away from that idea and created a spoof on the time-honored genre. Unlike the helpless victims of previous horror films, the characters in ‘Scream’ are avid movie watchers and know all the rules of the genre. It is precisely this new angle that makes ‘Scream’ original. Sidney and her friends name the lines (“everyone is suspicious,” “whoever says “I’ll be right back” won’t come back,” “never ask “who’s there” and never go out to investigate strange noises,” and ‘who drinks, uses drugs or has sex does not survive’) and mocking it. The situations that arise as a result provide the humor. Very funny, for example, is the scene in which Randy (Jamie Kennedy) is watching an excerpt from ‘Halloween’ in which actress Jamie Lee Curtis is being stalked by the killer. At the same time, the killer from ‘Scream’ wanders around the house and gets eerily close to the unwitting Randy, who yells at the TV ‘Look behind you, Jamie!’ calls. Another funny moment is the scene where Sidney explains why she doesn’t like slashers. “They’re all the same,” Sidney said. ‘Some big-breasted bimbo who can’t act does all kinds of stupid things…’ And so there are many more ironic dialogues and genuine winks in ‘Scream’. No horror film is so self-relativizing.

In a movie like ‘Scream’ the acting is not the most important thing. For many young actors, including Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ullrich, the film was their definitive breakthrough. ‘Friends’ star Courteney Cox is rarely believable as the bold sensationalist Gale Weathers, but that doesn’t really disturb. What is annoying is David Arquette, the wimpy deputy Dewey Riley who pledged his heart to Cox both on and off the set. The man simply cannot act and only gets on the nerves. Entirely in style, Craven pays tribute to his favorite films and series in various ways. For example, Linda Blair (‘The Exorcist’, 1973) has a cameo as a pushy reporter and Henry ‘The Fonz’ Winkler appears in the role of school principal. Craven himself can be seen briefly as a concierge. Not everyone makes it to the end of the film and some characters are killed in a particularly violent way. It is and remains a horror movie of course! There is little to fault in the music (by Marco Beltrami), editing (Patrick Lussier) and cinematography (Mark Irwin).

‘Scream’ did surprisingly well with the critics and that is entirely due to the originality that Craven and Williamson show. On the one hand, this neoclassical horror film is particularly violent and gory, on the other, the events are taken with a refreshing grain of salt. Irony and self-mockery are rampant. For movie freaks (especially those who love horror) ‘Scream’, which is packed with subtle and less subtle references, is a feast of recognition. Scary moments are everywhere and the viewer is constantly misled. The laughter and the shudder follow each other in rapid succession. Fancy an evening of genuine horror? Then get the popcorn ready!