Scream (1996)
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Scream Movie Review
Scream is a 1996 slasher film directed by Wes Craven and starring Neve Campbell. It’s such a fun, funny and memorable horror comedy.
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“Not in my movie“
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It follows a high school student who becomes the target of a serial killer in a Halloween costume. The plot is standard on the surface, but the approach is so different that it ended up being a unique entry in the horror genre. Basically it makes fun of the horror genre in a similar vein that ‘Deadpool’ did for the superhero genre.
So in my opinion it is very much a horror comedy, albeit the comedic elements should have been more pronounced when all is said and done. It successfully lampoons the entire slasher subgenre with all of its stupidities and conventions. I particularly liked its take on stupid running in the wrong direction as well as the trope that virgins never die in these films. And also that the villain isn’t dead when shot for the first time.
As a horror movie, Scream is also very successful. Albeit not truly scary in any shape or form, sometimes it was quite effective. The Ghostface mask is creepy and instantly iconic as well as recognizable. The third act is crazy, but not particularly scary. But that first act with Drew Barrymore is truly fantastic. It is actually the highlight of the entire movie as the phone conversation is very memorable as is the entire chase that happened afterwards. I particularly found disturbing the death itself and how easily it could have been prevented.
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I also really appreciated its twist that the killer is actually two people. That was unique for the genre, and it made a lot of sense, as it was easier for the two to successfully organize the crimes and get away with them. Upon second viewing, it’s more obvious that those two are the culprits. But upon first viewing, I had been quite surprised.
Neve Campbell is solid as Sidney Prescott. I loved how tough and competent she was, and how she eventually turned the tables on her pursuers. What I didn’t like is the fact that she ended up sleeping with her pursuer. But that still made sense in the context of the story so I was thus somewhat okay with that. The entire sexual aspect worked and was very successfully parodied.
I also was disappointed that Rose McGowan’s character did not survive, but that death scene was very effective overall. David Arquette and Courteney Cox are a terrific duo. I liked their blossoming relationship and he was quite likable whereas she was a lot of fun. Stu and Billy are solid villains. The latter is annoying, but cold and calculating. The former is crazy and goofy. Their interactions worked quite well.
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Scream is solidly directed, edited and paced. But overall the kills could have been more inventive and only some are very memorable. The dialogue is good and the humor is great, but eventually the movie should have gone full horror and full comedy, and not just partial in both genres. It’s a 90s genre classic, but hardly one for the ages. It’s more of a cult flick for me.
Scream should have gone even further with both its horror and comedy elements, but overall it worked out really well and it’s thus one of the best films from this weak decade for the genre. The opening scene is iconic as is the mask, the third act is suitably crazy, the twist is authentic and it made sense while the film successfully makes fun of all those slasher trappings through clever meta humor.
