Scream (1996)
The 90’s horror classic that shaped the slasher genre for a whole generation. A small town is rocked by a masked murder looking to leave a mark. As horror tropes are dismantled and reexamined, viewers are left guessing until the very end who the killer might be...
Scream (1996) is a well-known 90’s slasher that shaped the slasher genre for a whole generation of movie-watchers. It changed a lot of things in the horror game- all for the better in my opinion. I remember the first time I watched Scream. I was 12 and was watching it in my parent’s bedroom on a Friday night while they were out running errands. (Side note: That whole explanation makes me feel so old. It was a different time back then, kids. We didn’t have Netflix yet and Blockbuster was expensive as hell for a 12 year old. So when something came on tv and you wanted to watch it, you dropped everything to watch it.) The movie wasn’t new, it had been out for a couple years- I just had never really taken the chance to watch it. I knew who Ghostface was, I just hadn’t seen the movie that gave him life. (I was ‘introduced’ to Ghostface as a kid when my brother bought a mask, which he would use to terrify one of the neighbors. Hope she’s doing okay.) But I was excited to watch the movie and see what it was all about- at least the censored TV version of it anyways.
And I was enamored with it! I didn’t appreciate or understand all the meta-commentary and tropes the movie toyed with when I was younger, but I knew I enjoyed the plot. What I did understand at that age was that every time I thought I knew who the killer was and why the killings were happening, the movie pulled the rug right out from under me. It’s a big reason I still love the franchise to this day, to be honest. That and Neve Campbell.
Scream starts off with the now-iconic scene of a high school student receiving a call at her home while watching a scary movie, and striking up a conversation with the man she believes mistakenly called her. Things get dark quickly, and she becomes the first victim to introduce the world to Ghostface. The next day, the local high school is a zoo as students buzz about the murder. We find out the young victim is a classmate of Sidney, a highschool student who still dealing with the trauma of her mother being murdered a year prior. As the people of Woodsboro begin to fall prey to Ghostface, Sidney must struggle to stay alive long enough to figure out what his motive is- and why she seems to be at the top of his list.
Like I said, I loved the movie when I first watched it and continue to love it to this day. I think Drew Barrymore did great in the intro scene and shaped the whole movie. Rather than rely on a celebrity cast and the same old story, the movie killed off the biggest star of the cast! The movie had it’s characters acknowledge these played-out stories and turned the slasher genre on it’s head. Ghostface has since become horror icon- it’s hard not to recognize see him on the streets during Halloween. Neve Campbell also makes a great Scream Queen that you can’t help to root for. And the big reveal at the end, including the multitude of memorable quotes- it's hard not to enjoy it. It’s bloody, but not too bloody for all the squeamish people out there hoping to watch it.
Rating: Overall, I give the movie 10 knives out of 10, because there’s plenty to enjoy and the movie has had a huge impact.
If you are looking for a similar movie or show to watch, there are four other movies in the franchise. Each of them stars Neve Campbell and Ghostface, so that’s at least two reasons to watch any of them. There is also a Scream TV show that MTV put out- I can’t vouch for it, as I have never watched it (but they gave Ghostface a new mask, and that just feels sacreligious to me). For a more modern take on the slasher genre, Netflix released There’s Someone Inside Your House in 2021. It’s a fun movie with an interesting premise for the killer- he 3D prints copies of his victim’s faces, which he wears while killing them. Though the ending isn’t my favorite, it’s worth checking out.
If you are looking for a good book to check out, The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix is an entertaining read. It hits more of the 80’s tropes than 90’s, but any avid horror movie watcher will pick up what the book is putting down. The book is about a support group consisting of survivors of different slashers and serial killers who come together to support each other- a dying breed, if you will. As some of the girls start to get killed off, Lynette realizes that her and the other ‘final girls’ might not be so final after all… It’s a great read that goes by quick. You can also check out My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones. A horror obsessed high school student realizes she is in a real life slasher and she is the only one who can save the town- or can she? It is also the first book of the Indian Lake Trilogy, and the second book is due out later in 2023. So you will have plenty more to look forward to.
So tell me- what’s your favorite scary movie, Casey?
Seriously though, shoot it my way!
Until next time…
-M