#46

SCREAM

Let me preface this by saying I am a huge fan of the horror genre. I love horror films in all their cheesy, formulaic, clichéd glory. One of my favorite horror films of all time is Scream. The storyline is pretty complex for a horror movie. Rather than just having a serial killer running loose, slicing and dicing for the heck of it, there’s a lot more to this plot. Sidney Prescott is a high school student who’s mother was brutally murdered just one year ago. Sidney accused the man her mother was having an affair with, (Cotton), of committing the murder, and is determined to have him put in jail for it.

Journalist, Gale Weathers (played wonderfully by Courtney Cox), investigates the murder and is determined to find out who really killed Sydney’s mom, as she thinks Cotton is innocent. Being that Sidney lives in such a small town, her mother’s murder is the biggest and most shocking thing to ever happen there. That is, until a string of Sidney’s classmates start getting murdered one by one. And Sidney becomes the serial killer’s next target. As the movie progresses, we find out why the killer is killing off students, why they’re after Sidney and her friends, and WHO the killer is (which is the best part about this film—playing guess who and trying to rule out all the usual suspects).

I love that this movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. It almost makes fun of itself a little. When we hear Sidney’s sidekick Randy telling his friends “how to successfully survive a horror movie”, we can see that this film almost parodies the horror genre a bit.

Not only is this movie an edge of your seat thriller, but it’s also a murder mystery, a comedy, and a bit of a romantic film too—all rolled into one.

The cast is great. Jamie Kennedy is hilarious as Randy. He brings a lot of comic relief to the film. Neve Campbell blends intensity and vulnerability together beautifully playing Sidney Prescott.

The opening scene to Scream still remains the most intense, horrific, and gruesome opening scene to a film I’ve ever seen. The fact that a big name actress like Drew Barrymore dies within the first 10 minutes of the movie shows the audience that no one in the film is safe. All of the main characters are susceptible to being killed off. The director, Wes Craven, is fearless when it comes to shocking his audience. And this is one movie that never fails to shock and surprise.