Frightfully witty

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2000)

"Scream" is an outstanding horror film with a sharp sense of humor. Director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson conjured up this very entertaining movie that pokes fun at the slasher movie genre. Neve Campbell's film career took off with her role here as Sidney Prescott, the young high school girl who's a target of the killer that does practically the same thing Michael Myers did in "Halloween". In the midst of all the gory murders, there's delightful bits of comedy. David Arquette (Dewey) and Courtney Cox (Gale Weathers) provide alot of the humor, as do Matthew Lillard (Stu), Jamie Kennedy (Randy), and Rose McGowan (Tatum). Even Henry Winkler has a funny bit part as the principal. Williamson (his first screenplay) became such a hot item after the success of "Scream", he followed this with "I Know What You Did Last Summer", "Scream 2", and "The Faculty". All these movies were either big or modest box office hits. And as for Wes Craven, this is probably his best film to date. I liked "Scream" better than his earlier hit, the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (which was good). Craven would eventually follow "Scream" up with two sequels, but neither one could top the original. Still, a pretty good trilogy that starts with a bang with the first one. This one is the best.
**** (out of four)