A genre-defining classic, 1996's "Scream" still holds up even now, 20 years later! Fiendishly entertaining, often hilarious and genuinely eerie when it needs to be!

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2016)

It's hard to believe that 1996's "Scream", a genre-defining horror and satire, is 20 years old. Director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson's masterpiece of self-aware thrills and chills was a landmark upon release, and redefined the world of cinema in a big- bad way inspiring not only its own legacy of three sequels and a recent popular spin-off television series, but also ushering in a new wave of horror films taking influence from its style and tonality as well as re-igniting interest in the genre as a whole after a decidedly dead period in the early 90's.
But does the film, an undeniable phenomenon of its decade, still hold up all these years later? The answer is a resounding "yes"!
Following tragic lead Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the film follows a plot involving a psychopathic murderer tormenting a small American town. Seemingly obsessed with horror films, the killer first calls and torments his victims, often referencing popular horror and slasher films, before striking. High School Student Sidney, who is still reeling from her mother's murder one year prior, is having her own personal troubles, which are only made all the worse when it comes to be clear that she is seemingly one of the prime targets of the killer. And so, during a massive high-school party, the stage is set for a bloody, brutal (and hilarious) final battle against the mysterious figures that have been rampaging through town!
The real reason the film is such a hit is the expert writing, Craven's direction and the absolute charm of the cast. In particular, I have to give high praise to Williamson's script, which is expertly refined and finds a pitch-perfect balance between self- aware comedy and fiendish horror thrills. The characters in the film have all seen the slasher flicks the killers are trying to emulate, leading to a lot of wonderful moments. Including a laugh- out-loud scene where Sidney explains the common rules of horror film bimbo's doing things like "running up the stairs" when they should be running out of the door only to see her ironically forced into the same situation. Or the iconic scene where supporting character Randy (Jamie Kennedy in what is perhaps his most well-known role) literally explains the rules of surviving a horror movie to his drunken party-going classmates while they hoot and holler and intentionally break the rules.
Craven's direction perfectly compliments the wonderful screen writing. Craven, an icon who will be sorely missed after his recent unfortunate passing, was an authority in horror three decades in a row, he helped to define the direction the horror genre was heading, between "Last House on the Left", "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and this film. His sense of visual storytelling had a sense of class and his guidance in his cast and crew helped translate Williamson's fantastic writing to the screen almost flawlessly.
And then there's the cast. Good lord is this a great assembly of performers. Neve Campbell is endlessly likable and identifiable as out troubled heroin. Supporting roles played by the likes of Jamie Kennedy, Skeet Ulrich and Mathew Lillard are all great additions and give great justice to their roles. (Yes, even Kennedy and Lillard- who can be disliked in some circles, are excellent here.) And the film even introduced relative newcomers Courtney Cox and David Arquette to a wider audience with their scene-stealing roles as reporter Gale Weathers and Deputy Dewey Riley. Wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL cast!
Heck, even the sort-of pink-elephant element of the film being "so 90's" (one of the reasons why some younger people I know are hesitant to give it a shot) lends to its charm, because it's such a refreshing time-capsule of nostalgia. This is one of those films where, despite the carnage, it'll give audiences who were alive in that decade a fuzzy sense of years-long-past. And it gives the film a further layer for re-watching and re-visiting, especially when analyzing and comparing it to other horror films over the years.
It's without doubt a classic. Nearly without flaw. Still relevant to this day thanks to its wonderful observations on genre. And still fiendishly haunting and uproariously hilarious.
"Scream" is easily a 10 out of 10. And still very much well-worth watching for not only fans of horror, but fans of film as a whole.