Best movie ever made

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 1998)

rating (* to *****) : *****
To me, Scream is the most wonderful movie ever made. Me liking scary movies, it satisfies me, but it's also from time to time hilariously funny. Especially the opening sequence is brilliant. It kicks off really gently (someone's made a wrong phone call to a teenage girl), but suddenly, things start to get creepy, and tension is accumulating. Moreover, it's not only scary and funny, but it's also a parody on late '70's/'80's slasher movies. All the main characters know that the killer is following the common rules of those scary movies, and Wes Craven is constantly showing us several horror clichÃ©s and meanwhile scaring us to death. I had never seen a Wes Craven movie before (except the weird Swamp Thing, which looked really messy to me), and this movie showed me his qualities very clearly. I think he has viewed a lot of horror material, and he knows how to use it, combining it with his overall scary movie directing experience. David Arquette is quite alright, although a bit awkward in his acting. First time starring in a box office smash hit is really something of course. I've seen Scream 2 as well, and I thought his acting in that movie was really bad, but here, he manages. I always regarded Neve Campbell as a soapy bad actress, who's just lucky she got the Sidney Prescott role. But she is unexpectedly great, her character is interesting and after me viewing her in the cinema I had a lot of respect for her. Courteney Cox is good, she seems quite fit for this over-the-top role of obnoxious tabloid TV reporter, and it requires no special acting abilities. Matthew Lillard was great. He was funny, but he also managed to show some real acting skills. Rose McGowan does an excellent job, I've seldom seen an actress liking her part so much. She's Neve Campbell's best friend, and she brings life into her funny character. Skeet Ulrich is okay, considering he just has to stand there, talk like a normal high school guy, and be handsome. I think he could do better in other roles. Jamie Kennedy is, although somewhat annoying, great. He's very convincing as the horror movie genius. Finally, it's not really fair of me to review a Drew Barrymore movie, considering she's my favourite actress and mere idol. But she was lovely! Although she dies after five minutes, she manages to portray a real character. Oh, she's fabulous!