Scream

1996 Horror

Scream is at once a slasher film and a tongue-in-cheek position paper on the "dead teenagers" movies of the late 1970s/early 1980s that plays as half-parody, half-tribute. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is having a rough time lately: she's still getting over the brutal rape and murder of her mother a year ago, and now one of her friends (Drew Barrymore) has been killed by a lunatic who harassed her with terrifying phone calls, then stabbed her to death while wearing a Halloween costume. Soon Sydney is receiving similar phone calls, quizzing her on the arcane details of such films as Friday the 13th and Prom Night, and is attacked by the same cloaked maniac. With her father missing, she has hardly anyone on her side except her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) and Tatum's brother Dewey (David Arquette), a half-bright cop. As for the murderer, it could be any number of people: Syd's father; her cute but overly intense boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ullrich); Tatum's goofball boyfriend Stuart (Matthew Lillard); or Randy (Jamie Kennedy), who works at the local video store and seems to like horror movies just a little too much. Much like Halloween, Scream spawned a series of sequels and inspired a large number of similar films -- its original working title, Scary Movie, became the title of the 2000 parody film by Damon Wayans. more..

Director: Wes Craven

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette, Courteney Cox

Reviews

  • A deft, funny, shrewdly unsettling tribute to such slasher-exploitation thrillers as "Terror Train," "New Year's Evil," and Craven's own "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • What did I think about this movie? As a film critic, I liked it. I liked the in-jokes and the self-aware characters. At the same time, I was aware of the incredible level of gore in this film. It is really violent.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • While Scream has its frights, it feels more like one of those solve-the-mystery jigsaw puzzles than a real movie.

    Susan Wloszczyna - USA Today

    27 April 2013

  • Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.

    John Petrakis - The Chicago Tribune

    27 April 2013

  • Wicked fun with flickers of intelligence.

    Peter Stack - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Top Box Office Films

    ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (1998)

  • Best Actress

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1997)

  • Wes Craven

    Gérardmer Film Festival (1997)

  • Best Movie

    International Horror Guild (1997)

  • Best Movie

    MTV Movie Awards (1997)