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  • Writer's pictureBrady Drake

"Scream": Slashes into History

Updated: Mar 28, 2020


Scream (1996) is a slasher worth remembering. This film is cemented among the other legendary horror movies, and I needed to see it for myself. I wasn't disappointed and even had some surprises. Read here for the review! Spoilers will follow.

The opening scene is iconic. Drew Barrymore receives a spine-chilling phone call from a stranger, and it quickly escalates. The playful wrong number angle turns sinister as the killer lurks in the dark. Countless shows and movies love to parody this moment. There's a whole movie franchise based on this (Scary Movie). Considering Scream is already a half parody is interesting. Wes Craven, the director, is known for many other horror flicks including A Nightmare on Elm Street, so it's interesting that he mentions his own movie within this movie. That and Halloween are popular among the flicks teens. It's ridiculous how many of the high schoolers think it is funny that fellow classmates are dying. Horror film rentals are through the roof and more.

Our protagonist known as Sidney (Neve Campbell) is haunted by her mother's murder and a year later she is the target. She does a fine job as the main character. Also, Courtney Cox is excellent as the journalist reporting the cases. Her character plays a large role, and her contrast with Sidney is useful for the story.

On top of this, Henry Winkler is the school principal. I need to note that as my girlfriend mentioned, it's hard not to smirk a bit at his death. He's a funny man, and his character to that point has been a little over the top on purpose. Other characters including Tatum (Rose McGowan) is good too.

The killers Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich. The mastermind is Skeet's character Billy, and he does a great job of causing anxiety. You flip back and forth on whether he's the slasher or not. Then there is Lillard who you may recognize as the live-action Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. It's weird seeing him being a complete tool of a man. Anyways, I believed he was truly psycho in the final scenes.

There are some things I didn't understand or would have done differently. I don't understand why they targeted Barrymore's character when the killers barely knew her, and their target was someone else. Iconic scene yet not sure it makes complete sense. Everything else is minor stuff.


Overall, I understand why it makes the slasher film list. It is a quality horror cinema piece. My movie rating is A-.

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