Scream (1996) Review

Scream (1996) Review

Scream is not just a slasher movie. It’s always labelled as being “meta”, because it makes the characters in the film aware of horror movie conventions and clichés, and uses them in conjunction with the story. But it’s more than that; Scream isn’t just self-aware, it’s dually designed to appeal to horror fans in a broad sense, and cater to the hard-core fans who will catch the little nods to classic films embedded in the visuals and dialogue. It takes a step back and reflects on horror, while still delivering a scary experience. 

Scream played audiences like a fiddle in 1996, but how does it hold up today? I’d say, surprisingly well. The pacing is good, the characters are interesting, and it delivers what you’d expect from a typical slasher movie, all while shining a light on itself, in a way, opening itself up for greater scrutiny, but delivering a satisfying murder-mystery complete with a twist reveal that actually works and doesn’t feel cheap or unearned. 

A killer taunts and kills a couple teens in the town of Woodsboro, which we later find out was in the news a year earlier because Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) mother was murdered. There’s a complicated history behind who was convicted, whether or not it was justified, and past-conflict between Sidney and local reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox). The trauma has made Sidney’s life pretty tough, but it’s also hardened her for the trauma she’s about to undergo: a killer is on the loose again in Woodsboro, wearing an easily-purchased Halloween costume and rubber ghost mask, leading to the character eventually being called “Ghostface”. But who is Ghostface, really? Is it Sidney’s sexually-frustrated boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ulrich), or her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan), or maybe their movie-obsessed friend Randy (Jamie Kennedy), or someone else entirely? 

Scream seems primarily remembered by my generation as a funny scary movie, but it’s really only funny in some parts toward the end; it’s played up mainly as true horror. I think the false memories might be influenced by the sequels, and the Scary Movie franchise—a franchise I saw before I ever watched Scream, not realizing the history behind it. You may think by making it so meta that it loses some of its edge, but actually, the scariest moments are still pretty scary. The opening scene with Drew Barrymore talking on the phone with the killer is reminiscent of When a Stranger Calls, but it takes it a step further and becomes iconic in its own way.  

There are lots of parts with Ghostface chasing Sidney, and these parts are always thrilling. What annoys me, though, is when he becomes clumsy. He slips, is easily tripped, gets punched, all that, and I’m not annoyed by the fact that it happens, it’s just every time it does, it’s too exaggerated. The worst part is when Tatum throws beer bottles at him. It’s neither scary nor funny, just kind of goofy. 

The best character, aside from Sidney (Neve Campbell is an excellent lead), has to be Randy. He’s the movie nerd who explains “there’s a very simple formula!” and has most of the memorable lines. The cast is pretty solid overall, with plenty of time for characters to develop. However, I have a couple complaints. Matthew Lillard’s character Stu is a bit annoying at times, but he’s supposed to be. He actually has what I think is the funniest line in the movie, but it’s mostly toward the end that I find he goes overboard. Any scenes involving Gale and Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) stop the propulsion of the story, as far as I’m concerned, and detour away from what I’m more interested in. I just don’t find them very compelling together—in fact, I don’t really care for the character of Dewey at all. It’s not that I dislike him or actor David Arquette, he just isn’t as entertaining or as interesting as the teens, or Gale. 

But as far as legitimate criticisms go, I have few problems with Scream. It was directed by Wes Craven, who was one of the legends of the horror genre, and responsible for creating one of the best slasher villains ever, Freddy Kruger, so it was appropriate that he be the one to direct this homage of sorts, though the script was written by Kevin Williamson, and it pays the most tribute to Halloween, which the characters watch extensively during the later part of the film.  

So if you haven’t seen Scream before, yeah, you should watch it. You don’t have to be a horror aficionado to appreciate it, but the more into the horror/slasher genre you are, the more entertaining it becomes, I think, and it adds to the re-watchability factor. I didn’t want to spoil any of the twists the movie takes in case those reading haven’t seen it before, but as I proceed through the sequels, expect spoilers for the previous films.