postmodern mainstream horror movie classic

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2007)

Scream is a genuine postmodern mainstream horror-movie classic; Scream impressively manages to reward sophisticated viewers whilst offering pleasurable mainstream horror movie fluff. Its neatly balances mainstream appeal, by obeying the fundamental conventions of horror, with sophisticated satire of the genre's clichés and tendency for conservative discourse.
When viewed retrospectively, the efforts of successive films in the genre, and the parody of it in the (at best) sporadically charming Scary Movie, may lessen the impact of this film. Nonetheless, this potential criticism itself stands as testament to Scream's influence and its legacy of having reinvigorated and informed what had become a tired and clichéd genre.