Release Date: December 20, 1996
Starring: Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Drew Barrymore, Liev Schreiber, Lawrence Hecht
Directed by: Wes Craven
Distributed by: Miramax Films
MPAA Rating: R (strong graphic horror violence and gore, language)
Horror movies are and always have been cannon fodder for critics. Aside from select instances -- the 1991 Best Picture winner Silence of the Lambs -- films of this class have been about cheap scares. The recycled characters, plot devices, and conventions have indeed become so familiar that A Nightmare on Elm Street director Wes Craven has teamed with debut screenwriter Kevin Williamson to create a very inventive parody of the horror genre.
The term parody is loosely used, because there are times when Scream takes itself seriously. It develops a serious horror movie plot, but retains the tendency to pirate material from its predecessors and insert it via subtle references to classic horror movies. At the same time, the plot itself is a repetition of everything the audience expects from a slasher film, even following a set of rules outlined by a character in the movie.
Scream lights up on average teenager Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore), settling down to watch a good scary movie. In the process of making popcorn, she's interrupted by a series of prank calls that become increasingly sick and twisted. The caller torments Casey until finally luring her out of the house and stabbing her and her boyfriend to death.
Flash-forward a day or two, where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) learn of the incident -- the news is all over the small town they live in, and before long school is canceled in the wake of the murder. Like in all good horror movies, several suspects are identified, and here those on the list are Sidney's boyfriend, Billy (Skeet Ulrich), Sidney's dad (Lawrence Hecht), Billy's friend Stu (Matthew Lillard), and video store clerk Randy (Jamie Kennedy). But before the investigation can get anywhere, the killer strikes again, and only with the help of the town deputy, Dewey (David Arquette), and a tabloid TV newswoman, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), will Sidney be able to get to the bottom of things.
If not for its tongue-in-cheek attitude, the plot for Scream would suffer from the same problems as its source material. In truth, the story is thinner than one-ply toilet paper, and so it's Williamson's knack for creativity that keeps things afloat. There's more than ten subtly inserted references to horror movies in the first scene alone, but the icing on the cake is when the school principal casually calls a janitor (an uncredited Wes Craven) dressed in full Freddy Kruger regalia, "Fred."
Many of the teenage stars are unknowns from Gen-X television shows (like Neve Campbell from "Party of Five"), but they manage to do as good a job as requested. Campbell, who also starred in earlier-this-year's The Craft, has certainly become the "it" girl of the moment, and will surely see plenty of roles to come her way in the future. Compared to her costars, her performance here contains much more maturity.
But the stars in Scream are director Craven and screenwriter Williamson, who are certainly to credit for the creativity in this movie. Granted, the scares are probably only good the first time around, and many of the in-jokes will only be funny to horror movie buffs, but the liveliness of the movie makes it a good selection for almost anyone interested in a worthwhile watch. This one won't get you sleepy -- that's for sure.
all contents © 1996 Craig Roush