Scream (1996)

A Masterpiece!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Considering Drew Barrymore is top billed in the picture, she didn't last very long, did she? Maybe she had another gig that interfered and could only take a bit part. For it's genre, not a bad horror flick, though it does cater to a teenage and young adult audience. The picture reminded me that Courteney Cox and David Arquette were hooking up for real around this time or shortly after. I could never see the attraction between the two but what do I know? The picture has it's fair share of misdirection and has some fun referencing other horror flicks along with taking pot shots at itself for inferring that it's a movie in it's own right. Some of that was pretty clever but director Wes Craven probably over did it at a certain point. Still, there was enough clever stuff going on to keep one guessing about the real killer. If O.J. Simpson's murder case occurred after this movie came out he might have come up with a dual killer angle himself. If you think about it, the picture does it's best job by illustrating the absurd by being absurd. Case in point, I would refer to the dumbest line in the movie. After getting stabbed three times and going head over heels down the stairs, Billy (Skeet Ulrich) is asked by his girlfriend Sidney (Neve Campbell): "Are you okay?" Seriously?

Scream was one of the first horror movies i saw and is still in my top ten best horror movies, it still holds up and basically gave an adrenaline shot in to the heart of horror. The story follows Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) who's mother almost a year ago got murdered. Sidney testified that Cotton Weary raped her mother then killed her and he is sent to jail for it. Suddenly murders start and has sidney questioning her sanity did she put the wrong person away? The film has a mix of fun and red herring characters and at times you forget your watching a horror and just enjoy the conversations of the characters.Courtney Cox plays news reporter Gale Weathers a women who is always looking for an angle for the story, a real bitchy character and yet when she gets with Dewey your heart melts. Deputy Dewey Riley is the sweetest character in the movie a lot of the kids are really savvy but he's an adult and yet is probably the most innocent man. Neve Campbell as sidney is a great horror heroine. Rose Mcgowan Plays Tatum Dewey's little sister is feisty carefree teenager. Jamie Kennedy as Randy the ultimate movie geek in the best way possible. i will say no more this is a funny yet scary movie that will have you guessing right until the end.

Just as Deadpool is the superhero film that made fun of and reinvented the genre, Scream was that for Horror in the 90's. Constantly making commentary on the state and tropes of the genre, Scream is a horror film for horror fans. Albeit not as frightening as some of the great slasher films of the mid-late 20th century, Scream benefits from Wes Craven's meta direction, and memorable performances from actors who were just starting to gain fame in 1996.This film is notable for killing off a character, played by a very well-known actress (even at the time), within the first few scenes of the film. And although I knew it was coming, it was not any less effective, and proved to be a great way to introduce the "ghostface" persona. As I've said in many reviews for horror films, the film can win me over with creativity. Scream is very much an homage to the entire slasher genre, but yet it manages to feel fresh and different because of Ghostface's way of killing. The mystery surrounding his/her identity is an intriguing plot point of course, but I was more interested to hear what famous horror film Ghostface would comment on next.It's very much a horror satire, with it succeeding in executing horror trope after horror trope without ever seeming to over do it, Scream is almost like a parody of horror. Leave it to Wes Craven I guess. The only thing I got frustrated with was just how clumsy Ghostface can be, and really, every character. Perhaps done on purpose, there are far too many characters who just don't seem to have a clue how to act in a horrific situation. Again, this was probably just Craven playing with all of us, but there was just one too many trips and falls for my liking.However, with all of the memorable performances and creative horror commentary by Craven, Scream will no doubt go down as one of the more important horror films of the last few decades. 8.2/10

Wes Craven bring's back the horror/thriller/slasher and adding the mystery genre to make Scream. The director of A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Hill's Have Eyes 1 and 2, Swamp Thing, and another installment of A Nightmare On Elm Street called New Nightmare. All these before Scream, but the slasher genre wasn't doing so great, but Wes Craven worked his movie magic and with his directing came Scream, a movie about teenager's in a small fictional town called Woodsboro, California, who are being stalked by a mysterious killer, it could be anyone? That's one of the hook's to see this movie another one is the new faces introduced to film: Matthew Lillard, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy and more. Also with familiar faces of Courtney Cox, David Arquette,Drew Barrymore and Henry Winkler. This movie bring's the modern day teen's into the world of horror. As with partying and acting like teen's in the 1990's. With the shocking, but obviously reveal of the killer make's the movie clues about the killer actually make sense. Kevin WIlliamson's script make's this movie a cult classic along with Wes Craven's directing. And with Bob and Harvey Weinstein executive producing the movie with their movie production company Dimension Films. And now GhostFace is now part of cinematic history and his famous phone call's before he "slices and dices" his victims. Almost 21 year's later it is still very influential with how it's filmmaking.