GARFY'S GORETORIUM

WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE…. In this post I will be reviewing Wes Craven’s Scream(1996) a movie that I feel does not get the credit it deserves. I will also be looking at how important it was in the Horror genre.

SCREAM (1996)

Cast – Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lilard, Jamie Kennedy and Drew Barrymore

Director – Wes Craven

Plot – One year after the death of her mother, Sidney Presscot(Neve Campbell)and her friends become the targets of a crazed masked killer. As the town becomes a media frenzy, for one journalist it becomes her sole mission to uncover the killers identity with the help of the local deputy.

2016 marks 20 years since the release of the iconic 90s slasher, Scream. Kevin Williamson’s script, originally called “Scary Movie”, was destined for success when it acquired Wes Craven as director. A writer with a fresh idea a horror master as the director brought to life this important movie of the horror genre in the 90s. After the slasher sub genre reached its peak during the early 80s it started to decline towards the later parts of the decade and also into the early 90s, with several sequels of classic movies being made and the elements of comedy and over the top gore added into them, I think its fair to say it looked like the slasher genre was on the verge of death.

Scream was partly based on the real-life case of the Gainesville Ripper but most of the inspiration came from Kevin Williamson’s love for horror films, which is clear throughout the movie. the script, then called “Scary Movie”, was bought by Dimension films and was renamed “Scream” by the Weinstein brothers before they finished filming. As well as Craven and Williamson, the movie’s success was helped hugely by an established cast with names like Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette  and Drew Barrymore  being just a few names of what is an incredible cast. It would be the first time that we would see a horror film where the characters were aware of other horror films and not only mention them but also mention the rules while satirizing them and other clichés but also paying tribute to the iconic slashers it gets its inspiration from.

I remember the first time I watched Scream, I was about 7 or 8 years old and my parents rented it from our local blockbusters, we all gathered in the living room and watched it as a family..pretty normal family night right? By that age I had already seen movies like Halloween(1978) and its sequels I had also watched a Nightmare on Elm Street(1984) and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974) so by this point I may not have understood horror but I loved it. As I got older and watched it more times I began to understand the concept of it and I was able to acknowledge all the references to the iconic movies it got its inspiration from and now as I watch Scream as a Horror movie addict it definitely takes it’s place as one of my favourite movie.

I really cant see any faults with this, I feel it is a perfect gateway movie for people who want to start getting into horror. The acting is really good, some of the lines sound pretty basic and flat but they way the actors deliver them it gives them life. The kill scenes are done perfectly too, my favourite being the one at the start which became an iconic scene for this movie and it keeps a high standard throughout. It’s not a typical slasher movie but has the feel of one, although the killer is nothing like Michael Myers or Jason as he is a bit clumsy and does get hurt which makes it feel more real for the viewers and that this could actually happen.

I am definitely giving this a 10/10 and it is certainly a movie that needs to be in any horror fans collection.