Scream

First we had A Nightmare On Elm Street in 1984, which became the breakthrough in the slasher category, and in 1996, we had Scream that also made a massive impact, not only for slasher films, but the thriller genre itself.Scream honors the older thrillers with the haunting music, the plot twists and turns and the rather basic yet extraordinary filmmaking that became the start of something new. However, that new hope so to speak hasn't been very promising because there hasn't really been very many masterful thrillers since this one was released.


The most extraordinary facts about Scream are the ways the characters use the references of movies themselves (specifically horrors and thrillers) and how they become big influences to some people for good and bad. It takes deep admiration to mix discussed movies in a movie, horrific violence from someone in a black rope and white ghost mask and a very powerful background story behind it and still be a giant success, which is exactly what this became. One thing that is quite a surprising lesson within Scream regarding some of the discussed movies and perhaps movies in general, are that they sometimes go off trap and do not entertain. Therefore, some of them can influence more crime and terrorism within the world, and Scream gives us a very solid lesson about that. It has also increased excitement and influence on the Halloween occasion too.


A peaceful town in California turns into a bloodbath when a masked killer haunts the town. Sidney Prescott, a young teenage girl, whose mother was killed a year before, becomes the target of the mask killer! Her boyfriend Billy Loomis becomes the main suspect along with Sidney's father. Local Tabloid News Reporter Gail Weathers and Woodsboro's Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley investigate and try to figure out who the killer is and if it's the same person who killed Sid's mom the year before!


Although we recognize Wes Craven as director of A Nightmare On Elm Street, the majority of the cast within the film were a group of newcomers and soon-to-be shining stars. Neve Campbell leads the pack and portrays the protagonist of the story - Sidney Prescott. Sidney is a very strong and rather important character because she expresses the troubles that a lot of teenagers have, as far as her past is concerned and her occasionally troubled behaviour. Campbell was cast perfectly as Sidney due to her beauty and there was a worn-down teenager inside, so she portrayed that brilliantly. Skeet Ulrich, an almost identical look-a-like to Johnny Depp in A Nightmare On Elm Street, portrays Sidney's boyfriend Billy. It is Billy's movie influences that makes him quite a strong yet quite a hidden and secretive character, and becomes quite a shock as the film progresses.


Courtney Cox plays news reporter Gale Weathers. Gale is one of those characters who really only cares about what she gets and what she can achieve from a case, hence one of the reasons why she doesn't get along well with Sidney. Cox provides not only a cocky yet soon to be heroic side to Gale, but a very sexy style at the same time; especially with the bond she has with Dwight ìDewey' Riley. David Arquette makes his breakthrough role as Dewey, as he helps to investigate the murders within the town as well as slowly falling for Gale Weathers.


After he gave us A Nightmare On Elm Street, Wes Craven goes both somewhere different (the theme, characters and story) and back to what he does best: terrifying the viewers with the violence and haunting suspense. He doesn't quite make thrillers as intense or as psychologically dark as the late Alfred Hitchcock did, but after giving us both of these films, Craven really isn't very far behind. Kevin Williamson wrote a ingeniously creative screenplay by mixing reality with movie references. Together Craven, Williamson and the cast perfectly demonstrates why horrors and thrillers together are my personal favourite genre, because it attracts the audience's attention, you get the most fun from it, there are shocking twists and turns and they are filmed in most extraordinary ways.


Overall, Scream is a terrifying thriller that is a big hug to thrillers of the older generation, but at the same time is a hand reaching out so to speak for more films to follow and continue this great run of thrillers! Just like A Nightmare On Elm Street, Jaws and perhaps Friday The 13th and Halloween too, Scream is one of those films that didn't really need a franchise due to the fact that the story has been told and we know the characters well enough, not to mention they'll kill the series. Despite this, this is an outstanding first installment to a horrifying and intense franchise!