Scream (1996)

Scream was the little movie that could at the end of 1996.  Dimension decided to release it right around Christmas which, unless it's Christmas-themed, is pretty much the kiss of death for a horror film.  Predictably, it opened behind other movies at the time, but week after week it increased its takings and ended up remaining in the theater for months afterward.  It was a movie director Wes Craven didn't want to make due to no longer wishing to be associated with horror, but it ended up revitalizing his career for a third time and singlehandedly brought back the slasher genre.

It also was responsible for the worst horror films of the later 1990s, and especially those of the 2000s.  Between blatant rip-offs of Scream and similar movies featuring impossibly good-looking casts plucked from young adult television shows, every new horror film - and that even includes the Final Destination movies to an extent - wanted to be Scream, throwing in references to older films, not taking themselves seriously and generally poking fun at the genre.  In ways this also bled into established franchise movies like Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later and Jason X.  

Sidney (Neve Campbell) is a senior in a small California town.  It is a year after the death of her mother, and now the town has been rocked by a new double homicide, that of Sidney's classmate Casey (Drew Barrymore) and Casey's boyfriend Steve (Kevin Patrick Walls).  This brings tabloid news reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) back to town, something Sidney is not pleased with since Weathers is writing a book claiming her mother's killer is innocent. 

After Casey, Sidney becomes the next target of the killer, and it appears that it may be her boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ulrich).  Sidney has been reluctant to pursue a relationship with him since her mother's death and both her and her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) are upset that Billy is pressuring her.  Still, it appears that Billy is innocent, but their mutual friend Randy (Jamie Kennedy) starts piecing together that what's happening is a bit too close to a typical slasher plot.  He begins suspecting Tatum's boyfriend Stu (Matthew Lillard), while evidence starts piling up that it may in fact be Sidney's father (Lawrence Hecht).  While Weathers tries to charm Dewey (David Arquette), a deputy in the town and Tatum's brother, into helping her get the story, the true plot is about to be carried out by the killer during a party at Stu's house. 

I like Wes Craven films for the most part.  Unlike most of his previous movies he didn't write this; it was instead Kevin Williamson and, like Craven, he really has a hard time writing teenage characters despite his films heavily featuring them.  This matters early on - the PG-13 sex talk is clunky - but doesn't matter as much later once the larger plot gets moving.  Scream is meant to be part comedy despite the actual killing parts being meant to be taken seriously.  The conceit of the killings being based around the rigid rules of slasher films is creative, but other than a few places it doesn't pay off like it should.  Those scenes are memorable - particularly Randy explaining said rules - but they seem more like a hook to get audiences in to see the film.

That is the problem I have always had with Scream.  Many critics and fans of the film seem to see much more to it than I ever have.  I saw it back when it came out, so it was a fresh concept, and not like most people coming to it today where they are familiar with the sequels and all the movies that have used it as a springboard.  Neve Campbell isn't terrible, and this is one of the few roles I can stand David Arquette in.  However, I find Matthew Lillard's character of Stu almost unbearable, despite the fact I know his performance is thought of as a highlight in the movie.  It is a role in every slasher - the guy who thinks about sex all the time - but unfortunately he's combined with the comic relief, which by all rights should be Randy, who has a reputation of playing practical jokes even though we never really seeing him do so.

Although once the whole killer reveal is done there are some good parts, most of the movie works best prior to that.  While there are some jump scares, this doesn't play out like most modern horror movies do with a build-up and release, but instead often introduces Ghostface without any accompanying warning, and occasionally makes the killer's entrance quite subtle.  It's parts like that which remind me of Craven's older work.  Unfortunately, Williamson's script keeps getting in the way, as he can't help but jam in references to older films, and many of the jokes related to them fall flat.  

I thought that after all these years my opinion toward Scream would have changed, particularly since the couple of sequels I have seen have been better than the original.  While time has been relatively kind to the movie itself I still don't like it any more than I did upon first seeing it.  Williamson thinks he is much more clever than he really is, while Craven gets credit for the fact he was just trying to make a good movie.  That is reflected in the first part with Drew Barrymore, which still stands out as the highlight of the film.  It was influenced by When a Stranger Calls and, like that film, it has pretty much said all it has to say by the time that portion of the movie is over. 

Scream (1996)

Time: 111 minutes

Starring: Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Drew Barrymore

Director: Wes Craven