Scream (1996)

Scream (1996)

7/10

               

Starring

David Arquette

Neve Campbell

Courteney Cox

Directed by Wes Craven

The first scene in Scream is so epic and unique that you can never get tired of it. Drew Barrymore’s performance was just classic and unforgettable—I’ll always remember her for it. Wes Craven directed the hell out of this movie to deliver the perfect slasher feel. Scream follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) as she goes up against a killer in a “Ghostface” mask.

Many other slasher and horror movies have tried to replicate the incredible opening that Scream delivers in the first thirteen minutes (thirteen minutes exactly) but have failed. How many movies have the lead actor attacked in the first thirty minutes? This movie was awesomeness after awesomeness—scene after scene was thrilling. It’s the first slasher movie I can remember seeing, and it will always be one of the best, if not the best. Wes Craven truly delivered a directorial masterpiece.

The movie’s plot, like I said, follows the life of Sidney Prescott, who lives in Woodsboro, as she copes with the gruesome murder of her mother. Her friend (played by Drew Barrymore, who delivered the best movie intro ever) was killed alongside her boyfriend at their house. What caught the public’s eye was how gruesome the killings were—the couple was brutally gutted.

It didn’t take long before Sidney herself was attacked, but she wasn’t ready to die yet. She fought off the killer and escaped. The killer continued his torment by calling her at her friend’s home, where she was staying after the incident at her place, vowing to catch and kill her the first chance he got.

She believes he attacked her again at school, and with the attacks becoming more frequent, the whole town was placed under a curfew starting at 9:00 PM. Sidney’s friend convinced her to go to a party, where someone else got killed—and that’s when things get even more interesting.

Scream was unique at the time for having characters who were aware of real-world horror films and discussed the flaws and clichés that happen in them. Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson tried to dodge these clichés. Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson went on to direct and write Scream 2 and Scream 4. Scream 3 was directed by Wes Craven but written by Ehren Kruger.

The movie was a critical and commercial success and became a cult classic. If you haven’t seen this movie (I find that hard to believe), I have to ask: what rock have you been living under?