Scream Review

Do you like scary movies? Even if you don’t, there’s no denying that Hollywood loves them. Scary movies are one of the oldest film genres in existence, and one of the most resilient. Right when it seems like the genre is going to peter out, a new film appears that reminds everyone why sometimes it’s fun to be scared. Case in point, in 1996, the legendary Wes Craven teamed up with screenwriter Kevin Williamson to give us a new kind of slasher film. A film that not only celebrated horror, but also poked fun at its flaws. That film was Scream, and it is one of the best slasher flicks ever made. And it did all this by being fully aware of what was happening and relying on meta-commentary.

Say what you want about being meta these days, but when Scream came out in 1996, this was probably pretty ground-breaking for a horror film. These days, Ghostface is considered an iconic slasher villain alongside Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Michael Myers, and Candyman. And while I normally stay far away from the horror genre, spooky season compels me to dive right in, with Scream being one of my favorite rewatches every October.

So, why not review it?

I’m RJ Writing Ink, and welcome to the first in my three-part review of the first three Scream movies. Why only three? Because for the longest time, Scream was a trilogy, and I think it works best as such.

Scream is Meta to the Extreme

If you haven’t seen any of the Scream movies, there’s only thing that you really need to know to get what it’s about: it’s self-aware. When Kevin Williamson wrote the screenplay for Scream, he knew he had to set it apart from other slasher. At that point, slasher films had been run almost into the ground, with Hollywood milking big names like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street raw. People were so sick of watching fictional people make dumb decisions that anyone with a brain would avoid. And with Wes Craven having seen Freddy Krueger get overused, he was probably more than happy to help Williamson with making Scream break the mold. And it shows that during its opening prologue.

Red Herring 1

From the moment that Drew Barrymore appears on-screen as Casey Becker, she’s set up to be a red herring. No one would think that a big-name actress would be brought into the film just to die in the prologue. Yet Scream does just that, because it knew that this is what would get the audience invested in what would happen. If someone people thought could serve as the final girl is already dead, then there’s no telling who else could be on the chopping block. As it turns out, plenty of people! But as previously stated, the difference between Scream and other slasher films is that in this world, slasher movies exist.

The Rules of Horror Movies

The name-dropping of other famous horror movies isn’t just for the sake of referencing them in Scream. Since Friday the 13th, Halloween, and other slashers exist in this universe, the main cast of characters is not only fully aware of them, but has led them to become genre savvy. That means the smartest characters like Randy are able to look at what’s happening and realize that Ghostface is trying to play out a horror movie in real life. Thus, the only apparent way to win is by following the sacred rules: no ***, no beer or drugs, and no saying you’re going off alone. By following those rules, people should be able to survive.

Yet since Scream had to stand out, that also meant that it had to subvert expectations by breaking some of the sacred rules. And also do things that other slashers hadn’t done until then, like having two killers. Which is a pretty creative way to play with how slasher villains have supernatural powers.

Two Killers? What a Twist!

What do characters like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees have in common, besides not talking and body counts in the dozens? They both have this superhuman ability to follow their targets no matter where they go or how fast they run. Many fans speculate that they can somehow teleport; Jason’s video game even makes it a power of his! In real life, we have yet to invent teleportation, and we weren’t anywhere near that in the 90s. Yet Ghostface always seems to show up out of nowhere. That’s what makes the big reveal of two people being Ghostface work so well. They can be in two places at once, allowing them to trap their victims easier. Even better, they can pretend to attack one another to throw off suspicion and make everyone guess which one is the killer. That creates paranoia in the cast and audience, which balances out the less scary elements of the film.

What a Good Movie

Now, I had already spoiled myself by learning that Billy and Stu were both Ghostface in Scream. However, imagine how big a twist that must have been in 1996. No one would have seen it coming, not even Randy! It’s so simple yet so good. Almost as good as how our designated final girl, Sidney, manages to defy the sacred rules after being manipulated into intimacy by Billy. In any other slasher film, that would leave her to be the next victim of Ghostface. But since Scream is a self-aware film about people who know they’re playing out a horror film, Sidney is able to subvert this trope. She turns the tables on Billy and Stu, and ultimately gets the last laugh. The film even subverts the idea of the final girl by having multiple people survive. Because Scream wasn’t just trying to tread old ground; it had to set itself apart. And the only way to do that is by playing fast and loose with the established rules.

Except for double-tapping. Always double-tap the killer to make sure they can’t come back.

Now, is Scream one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen? Far from it. As it’s partially a satire, it’s not always going to reach the same levels as other films. Or perhaps years of seeing death and carnage on TV have partially desensitized me. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Scream breathed new life into the horror genre. It took the best of slasher films, made fun of the things that didn’t make sense, and above all, had fun with its premise. That was enough to make it a huge hit, and now Ghostface stands alongside slasher movie icons. But just because the killers were dead doesn’t mean that this was the end of the story. Because like any good movie, there has to be a sequel.

Stay tuned for part two of my review! Happy Halloween!

I Give “Scream” a 4.5/5