Scream

I thoroughly enjoyed SCREAM. I haven't seen too many horror movies that struck me as great, especially since most of them are the same. I like THE SIXTH SENSE, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and SCREAM for the same reason, they are more original than the default horror flick.

Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is still mourning the death of her mother, who died nearly one year ago. She seems very distant, even from her best friend Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) and her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). She, and most everyone else, thought that the killer was already behind bars. But when people close to Sidney start to get killed, Sidney realizes the the killer is still at large. Deputy Dewey Riley (David Arquette) is there to protect Sidney and reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) is there to get the scoop.

I think the plot of this movie is very interesting and fun. The best part of it is that the killer does his murders in the style of horror movies. The rules of horror movies are often referred to and horror movies are even spoofed fairly often as well.

The actors do a very good job. Neve Campbell is excellent as the primary target/victim and main character of this movie. David Arquette does a fair job as the inexperienced cop (but not as good as in the sequel) and Courtney Cox does a great job as the bitch reporter. Drew Barrymore did very good in her very brief part as Casey Becker. Jamie Kennedy does an OK job as Randy Meeks, the movie expert (but again, not as good as in the sequel). Roger Jackson is the best possible choice for the phone voice and Henry Winkler had a great cameo.

The character development in this movie is good. You'll probably often yell "Look behind you, moron" or "Get out of the room, idiot" at your TV, which this movie is probably going for. Sidney is the most interesting character, with Dewey and and Gale at a close second.

I was surprised that I found Scream 2 to be even better than Scream was. But both are really good. Go out and buy them.

I have been recently reading a lot of reviews of the latest film in this series, Scream 4. Now, for one reason or another I have never seen any of the 'Scream' films before… well not all the way through anyway. Time to change that I thought and so here we are with the first one, Scream. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, it doesn't take itself all that seriously and there's an awful lot more humour than I expected.

We open with a mysterious voice calling up a girl called Casey, who is home alone about to watch a scary movie. She tries to blow him off but he is persistent and eventually begins to creep her out. Things don't end too well for Casey, or her boyfriend, Steve, after a masked assailant has finished with them. We then switch to another girl, Sidney, her mother had been murdered almost a year ago and her father is about to leave on a business trip. All the talk the next day at school is about the murder and on returning home Sidney receives a call from a man with a mysterious voice. She isn't so easily scared, but still she is attacked by the same masked assailant. Having fought him off, her boyfriend, Billy turns up just before Deputy Dewey. Having found a cell phone on him, Dewey arrests Billy and Sidney goes to stay the night with Dewey's sister, Tatum. As time goes by the bodies begin to mount up and this attracts the media, particularly ambitious reporter, Gale Weathers. It's only a matter of time before Sidney is to be the next on the list, and anyway, there's a score to settle and an awful lot of suspects.

This made a refreshing change for me, a horror film that doesn't take itself too seriously but at the same time has all the scares and shocks of a more serious one. I liked it! Decent performances all round; Neve Campbell did a good job as Sidney, as did Skeet Ulrich as Billy. Also of note were Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, David Arquette as Deputy Dewey and Matthew Lillard as Stuart. Also nice cameos from Drew Barrymore as Casey, Wes Craven very briefly appeared as Fred the Janitor and Henry Winkler as Principal Arthur Himbry.

There is a great soundtrack too, including an interesting acoustic rendition of 'Don't Fear the Reaper' when Sidney and Billy are first seen on screen together (very nicely done). I suspect, unfortunately, that the other films in the series may not live up to this rather good beginning, but we shall see… If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a viewing, even if you're not really a fan of teen horrors (like me)… Final verdict: Recommended.

My Score: 7.5/10

I've gone back and forth in my feelings about "Scream" both times I've seen it, almost 20 years ago when it opened, and just now There are times when its meta-parody- but–still-scary approach to teen slasher films works quite well, especially the ending which manages to be funny, scary, over the top, and socially witty all at the same time. Other times it's too self conscious to actually be scary, but not surprising enough in its humor to really be as much fun as it could be.

It's also a hard film to criticize, because the answer to almost every complaint (e.g. the actors playing high school kids all look like they're well into in their 20s) can always be 'but that's the whole point, it's always that way in these movies'. But one thing that does annoy me that isn't so easily shrugged off is that the cast seem to be in a number of different movies. Skeet Ulrich, for example, brings a surprising amount of realism and depth to his character, while Courtney Cox as an 'I'll do anything for a story' reporter plays a cartoon of a cartoon. This isn't of issue of 'good' versus 'bad' acting, but it does make figuring out just what the tone of the film is, more muddy than it needs to be.

Probably the best thing about 'Scream' is it knows when to BE best. The opening and closing 15 minutes are the two strongest sections of the film, so if the middle is a little all over the place and sometimes repetitive, and a little more obvious in it's humor, that's not what you walk away remembering.

Scream single-handedly revitalized the slasher genre, which was beyond dead as of 1996, and inspired countless spin-offs and attempted remakes in its wake. Wes Craven creates yet another horror masterpiece, and does so in an original and unique way. Add in the witty, self aware, reference-filled script by Kevin Williamson, which was rumored to have taken influence from Friday the 13th Pt 6, and you have one of the most iconic slashers ever made. Arguably the greatest opening scene to a horror movie ever, along with so many more iconic lines and scenes (Randy watching Halloween on the couch). The acting is next level by horror/slasher standards and has a very likable cast. Skeet Ulrich giving his best performance of his career, Matthew Lillard, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Drew Barrymore ... do i need to go on? The influence and impact Scream had on the late 90's is undeniable, simply one of the best scary movies of all time.

By the 1990s the Slasher genre was becoming stale, filled with clichés, countless sequels and very predictable and uninventive. Likely two men was able to play on this, Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven was able to play on this and made a really excellent take on Slashers.

In the small town of Woodsboro two teenagers (Drew Barrymore and Kevin Patrick Walls) are shockingly murdered, a year after a woman was raped and murdered in the town centre. Very quickly the town is thrown into turmoil, with the media reporting on it, but the teens do not seem to be worried. The killer, known as Ghost-face soon targets another Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the daughter of a victim, who luckily escapes. But Ghost-face is going to rest and goes on a mission to take down Sidney and anyone who stands in his way.

Scream works because it is set in a world where horror movies do exist and teenagers know clichés. It is a self-aware horror film and has a lot of references to classic horror films like Halloween. Scream is forced to be inventive and Craven who is a master of the horror genre, so knew what he was doing with this film.

Even if Scream was not made with a post-modern, self-aware horror with a comic edge, it still would have been an excellent horror film and one of the best slashers around. Craven and Williamson made sure their characters were fully developed, likable or at least normal. Sidney is a character with a lot of a baggage because of her mother's death and afraid to get close to people. She is a likable because is a friendly, smart, decent girl who is also tough. Sidney's friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) was tough no-nonsense girl who could have easily been the clichéd slut role, but that was avoided because she was a good friend and competent. Courteney Cox plays a unpleasant journalist who cares more ratings and book sales more then safety of people and emotional harm. She is not a journalist who is looking to report the truth or for the public interest. But she does come good at the end. The characters of Randy (Jamie Kennedy) and Stuart (Matthew Lillard) offer a lot of comic relief particular because of their knowledge of horror films. And David Arquettte is solid as a competent police officer who has a typical brother-sister relationship with Tatum.

Cavern made sure Scream was exciting with a lot of action, violence and creative deaths. I particular like his technique of using the camera to follow the victims and move it around the house, adding excitement and intrigue. He knows how to build suspects and he does keep you guessing. I don't get scared watching horror films but you do care for Sidney and the idea of being home alone at night can make you more tense.

I do have a criticism. They does not seem to be much of a reaction at the school hearing about two of their peers being brutally murdered. Most people seem to be very causal about it and saw it as something fun, not worried about a serial killer being on the loose or just saw it as an excuse for a party. Come on, if they was a murder in a small town there would be more sadden, grief and worry. Personally I would have focused on this collective reaction, but I am a more serious person and possibly would have a thriller/a social piece.

Overall, Scream is certainly a worthy horror film, no manner what generation of horror fan you are.