1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Scream

#948- Scream (1996)
Starring: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox
Directed by: Wes Craven


Plot Summary: The town of Woodsboro has become the setting for someone's personal horror movie. A mysterious, masked killer has taken their love of scary movies to an extreme level, as they have made threatening phone calls to unsuspecting teens, and then murdered them based on how it would play out if they were actually in a horror movie. The killer seems to target Sidney Prescott the most, making it hard for her to trust anybody, as she knows the killer could very well be someone very close to her.


Do you like scary movies? I know I sure do. And when it comes to scary movies, one of my favorites is Scream. I remember watching it when I was younger, and ever since, I make sure to watch it at least once a year, with the Scream franchise now being my favorite horror series. Scream was a movie that I not only found to be scary, but also funny. And it was a horror film I appreciated more and more every time I watched it. The more horror films I saw, the better Scream got when I watched it. When looking at the genre of horror, it begs the question of why it had this effect on me and how it's been able to stay a relevant name in horror since it first premiered in cinemas in 1996.

The main protagonist of Scream is Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell. Campbell does a great job of turning Sidney into one of the great horror heroines. While she may run from the killer at first, over time she knows she must fight to survive. And when Sidney fights, she becomes a character we can really root for, instead of the endless crop of modern horror characters that fans can't wait to see die. Campbell has a natural innocence to her, but instead of naivety, she is crafty and is a strong character. She is made strong through her endurance of past events in her life, which does a good job of establishing her motivations, as well as making her a well-rounded and likable character.

Deputy Sheriff Dewey Riley, played by David Arquette, is Sidney's protector following the killing spree. Originally, Arquette was brought in to play another character, Sidney's boyfriend Billy Loomis, but I'm glad Arquette chose to play Dewey instead because he owns that character. Dewey is seen as a bit of a goofball and a joke on the police force, the only one not in on the joke is Dewey. He takes himself seriously, or at least tries to, but his bumbling nature does shine through occasionally, making him a somewhat naive, but likable character. There are some fans that put Dewey on the suspect list early in the film, but when I look at him, I genuinely believed Dewey couldn't do it because of his kind nature, particularly towards Sidney.

Local reporter Gale Weathers, played by Courtney Cox, is an intentionally unlikable character at first, but is somewhat redeemed by the end of the movie (she is more likable as sequels progress, but we're only looking at the first Scream movie). Majority of the main characters do not care for Gale snooping around, except for Dewey, who falls for her charm and eventually develops a close relationship with her. I honestly don't think a character like Gale would have survived or even been likable by the end had it not been for Courtney Cox, who was on Friends at the time of the film's release. Honestly, she doesn't have much growth or involvement in the first movie, with the only thing holder her to the plot is her love and hate relationships with Dewey and Sidney, in that Dewey loves Gale and Sidney hates her.

The killer, and most marketable face of the Scream franchise, has nowadays been labelled with the name Ghostface. Originally a discount, generic horror costume, Ghostface has since become one of the most recognizable faces of horror. On a costume standpoint, it's an effective costume, with dark eyes that help mask the killer's identity, as well as a full black cloak with a white, ghost-like face. Also, credit should go to Roger L. Jackson for giving Ghostface his voice, as I don't think the killer's phone calls would have been as scary without Jackson lending his vocal talents. And before you ask, I am NOT going to spoil who the killer is. But for me, the true horror factor of Ghostface is that behind his black cloak, white mask, and disguised voice, ANYBODY could be Ghostface.

The greatest impact on horror that Scream offers is its self-aware humor. Director Wes Craven had an idea to breathe new life into the slasher genre by acknowledging the cliches, so he set Scream in a setting where other horror movies exist, and the characters know the rules on how to survive if they were in a horror movie. However, since they ARE in a horror movie, instead of being smart about what's happening to them, they fall for the cliches they had been making fun of earlier in the film. Originally, Scream was meant to be purely parody. It was not meant to be taken as a scary movie, but when audiences saw it, they found it scary for its very believable premise that any moviegoer could take their love of movies one step too far.


Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars.

Scream may not be the scariest movie of all time, but it is the first film in my favorite horror franchise. If you like scary movies, I'd recommend watching it, whether you're a casual fan, looking to watch the big name scary movies, or a die-hard fan of horror who will truly appreciate every referential joke this film has to offer.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review 

Scream and movie images are copyrighted by Dimension Films