Scream (86%)

Director: Wes Craven     Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox     Genre: Horror/Comedy

Runtime: 111 minutes     Release Date: December 20, 1996     Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

When Scream came out at the tale end of 1996, I couldn't of been happier. Not only was it amazing for horror fans but regular movie folk enjoyed it too. That meant I had a hell of a lot more people (friends) that I could talk about the movie with, and a lot more people to see it with. Walking out of the theatre it was clear everyone had enjoyed/loved the movie.

17 years later I just watched it again for the umpteenth time and give or take a few dated aspects the film is just as good as it was the first, second, third and however many other times I saw it. It is a film that gave Wes Craven a third round of mainstream success (what I call phase three of his career). It is also a film that reinvented and reenergized the horror/slasher genre.

Having started a mission to watch all the Wes Craven films I can tell you that along with two or three other films (New Nightmare, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes) I was looking most forward to Scream. While most of Craven's films have been a disappointment, Scream not only doesn't disappoint but turns out to be one of his best (it is kind of a given, no?)  It also created a new icon of horror and the first since Craven's own Freddy Kruger.

Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is your typical good girl teenager. She's got a boyfriend, a hot best friend and a loyal posse to help her through good times and bad. She's also got a past where one year ago her mom was raped and murdered. When a killer pops up and starts murdering her friends it starts to look like her past and these current events are related. Can the police and Sydney figure out who is the killer before she is killed too?

The Good:

There is really too much to like with this film and it becomes almost impossible to pick a place to start. I'll quickly start off by saying that the film looks really good. It's shot well, it's lit well and the blood, make-up and special effects all look realistic and believable. It's edited well and Craven together with his cast and crew have created a near perfect put together horror film. 

But it is really the script that is the best thing here. As a horror movie fan this movie will speak to you in volumes. It plays out like a typical horror film but unlike those films the characters here are aware of horror movies and the conventions that have been set. They quote movie lines and they say things that piss them off in horror movies but then when push comes to shove they do the exact same thing. I mean, does it get any better for a horror buff to watch a guy watching Halloween on television, screaming at the TV, telling Jamie Lee Curtis to turn around, while behind him is the masked killer Ghostface.

This self referencing, sort of breaking the fourth wall (which was new in 1996), also made the film a comedy of sorts. While Scream is more a horror movie than a comedy it is damn funny at times. The characters, the horror referencing, the nods to other horror films scattered throughout make the film fun, funny and yet it is still scary. Very scary, very tense, very fun. With lines like 'Sounds like something out of a Wes Carpenter flick' (get it?) happening continually throughout the film it's impossible not to have a blast. 

The Bad:

There isn't much bad with this film but digging deep I could find a few things which are more dating issues than problems with the film. Firstly, when Billy (Skeet Ulrich) drops his cell phone, Sydney believes him to be the killer. In 1996 that worked, today it doesn't at all and it takes you out of the film for the breifest of moments. Secondly, Skeet Ulrich? Nowadays I like to call him a working class Johnny Depp and here he is in Wes Craven's best picture since A Nightmare on Elm Street which starred Johnny Depp. Slightly bothersome, but only since 17 years has passed.

That's really it that's bad. The acting is not amazing by any stretch of the imagination. It's good all around by everyone involved but no one deserves any awards here. One sad thing is that there is no nudity in this film, a common horror trope that is even mentioned in the film. It teases it but never shows it which sucks (but actually works in the films favour).

The Ugly:

There is nothing ugly about this film. Nothing what so ever. Nothing! Nada! Zip! Zilch!

Verdict:

Scream is a near perfect horror film. It takes almost 20 years of slasher films and makes them new and original again. It makes them scary again and it makes them funny. It is a near perfect blend of horror and comedy and it comes highly recommended to anyone and everyone. For horror fans it is a must see and a must own. Non-horror fans will like it to although they will miss about a gazillion references to other movies. If you haven't seen Scream yet you owe it to yourself to seek out a copy and to watch it right away.

Recommendation: If you like Scream check out Wes Craven's New Nightmare

            Re-playability: 10 out of 10     Directing: 9 out of 10     Originality: 9 out of 10                 

Costumes and Make-up: 9 out of 10     Acting: 7 out of 10     Editing: 8 out of 10

Cinematography: 8 out of 10     Music: 9 out of 10     Script: 9 out of 10

         Production Design (Sets/Locations/Special Effects: 8 out of 10                  

Total Score = 86%