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1996 Films, 90's Horror, Horror, Slasher, Top 250 Films, Top 40 Horror Films

Scream-1996

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Scream-1996

Director Wes Craven

Starring  Neve Campbell

Top 250 Films #161

Top 40 Horror Films #25

Scott’s Review #710

Reviewed January 5, 2018

Grade: A-

Wes Craven’s 1996 film Scream is a film that greatly helped bring the horror genre back into relevance after a long drought in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when horror films suffered from both oversaturation and clichéd messes.

Thanks to Scream, creativity and plot twists and turns returned to the forefront of good horror films, and a clever film was born.

Fast-forward to 2018, and the film does suffer a bit from a dated 1990s look, but it is still great fun to watch and a treat for all classic horror buffs, with references to classic greats galore.

The film is sectioned off nicely and gets underway quickly (in the best sequence of the film) as Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) receives a flirtatious phone call from a man asking her to name her favorite horror film while making popcorn.

The friendly game quickly turns vicious as the caller threatens to kill her boyfriend should she answer a question incorrectly.

In a clever twist (think 1960s Psycho!) Casey and her boyfriend meet deadly fates as the opening credits roll.

Given Barrymore’s huge star in 1996, this twist was all the more shocking and attention-grabbing.

The remainder of the film centers around Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a popular California high school student, as she is pursued by an attacker known only as “Ghostface”, who dons a creepy costume and terrorizes victims via phone calls.

The small town, led by police officer Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and bitchy newswoman Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), is determined to unmask the killer and understand their motivations.

Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy (Skeet Ulrich), and other friends are along for the ride as a possible connected sub-plot involving Sidney’s deceased mother is introduced.

A romance between Dewey and Gale is also broached.

Scream is an enormous treat for fans of the horror genre, with numerous references (and film clips!) to classics such as 1978’s Halloween throughout.

Other references to Friday the 13th, Prom Night, and A Nightmare on Elm Street appear during the film.

Writer Kevin Williamson, a horror enthusiast, must have had a ball writing the screenplay that would become Scream.

In 1996, the mega-success of the film not only jump-started the entire genre but also introduced younger fans of Scream to classics from their parents’ generation, sparking their interest in the films.

Classic horror films are not only referenced during the film but also explained, mostly by the supporting character of Jamie, the nerdy kid who works at the video store and adores horror films.

A sequence in which he explains several “rules” of the horror genre is superlative, creative, and just great fun. He tells the teenagers at a party that anyone who drinks, has sex, or says “I will be right back” is doomed to suffer a violent fate.

This clever writing makes Scream enormous fun to watch.

The climax of Scream is quite surprising in itself, and the “great reveal” of the murderer (s) is also intelligent writing and quite the surprise.

Several red herrings are produced along the way, casting suspicion on other characters who may or may not be the killers.

A small gripe of the writing is the motivations of the murderers- when the explanation is given for their killing spree, the reasoning is a bit convoluted and hard to fathom, but this is horror. Suspension of disbelief is always a necessity.

Scream is best remembered for giving the horror genre a good, hard kick in the seat of the pants and shaking up the elements a bit while preserving the core ideals of a good slasher film (suspense, a whodunit, and good, solid kills).

Scream (1996) was followed by several sequels, some of which achieved greater success than others.

In 2018, the film may not be quite as fresh as it once was, but it is still a solid watch and memorable for relaunching a genre.

2022 Films, Horror, Slasher

Scream-2022

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Scream-2022

Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Starring Melissa Barrera, Neve Campbell, Jack Quaid

Scott’s Review #1,284

Reviewed August 2, 2022

Grade: B+

Scream, the 2022 version, was billed as a ‘relaunch’ of the film series when it was released in the crappy month of January. However, is that so important in a COVID-19 age when hardly anyone goes to movie theaters?

The film is essentially ‘Scream 5′ because it maintains continuity from the last installment, released in 2011, and harkens back to the 1996 premiere of the original Scream.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the film.

Scream ultimately follows a formula, but a formula that works exceptionally well and will please fans of the series. My expectations were superseded, and wonderful is the inclusion of series stalwarts in roles that are much more than glorified cameos.

On the flip side, the finale is underwhelming, and the killers’ (isn’t there always two??) motivations are lame, but I found that to be unimportant because the real fun is the whodunit aspect.

Scream is very faithful to that.

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, California, a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

The frightening release date and the first installment in the series not to be directed by Wes Craven is enough to make any Scream fan bite their nails in worry about how the end product will turn out.

In addition, there are two screenwriters and two directors, which is rarely a good sign for creativity.

But all’s well that ends, as writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olipin and Tyler Gillett do many things right.

I mentioned the formula before, and they wisely use an anniversary as a starting point. Vicious murders commence in poor Woodsboro at just the right time for mayhem to erupt all over again.

For those who have forgotten the titillating and flawless opening sequence of Scream circa 1996, when poor Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is forced to play a guessing game with an unknown phone caller to avoid death, it is reintroduced with gusto.

The film immediately begins with a nod to that history.

When teenager Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) answers her landline, the audience whoops with joy at the anticipation of what’s to come. She will endure a game of horror film trivia with Ghostface before he (or she) leaps into the kitchen to cut her to bits.

Pleasurably, a new gang of fresh-faced Woodsboro teenagers is then introduced to be plucked off one by one. But could one or two of them be the killers?

A treat for all fans is the inclusion of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, and Skeet Ulrich in their original roles, with one having a significant connection to a new character.

This only reinforces the franchise’s lifeline.

The clever writing was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters aware of real-world horror films, which openly discussed the clichés that the film attempted to subvert.

In Scream (2022) this is heightened by a discussion of ‘source material’ and ‘requel’ which feels like a horror film progression.

If you’re thinking that Scream 2022 is a carbon copy of Scream 1996, it is, to some extent, but with some modern updates. And it works like a charm, feeling like a good visit with an old friend and watching their offspring sprout into young adults.

Scream (2022) takes a lesson from what the recent Halloween film reboot did. A reprisal franchise, once aged and tired, breathes new life into the series by using its history and legacy characters.

How clever that the characters in Scream even acknowledge this in the story!

I anxiously await the next Scream film, rumored to be released in 2023, for more fun.