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Rating: 8/10 (22 October 2009)

Rule number one: If you have not watched any of the 'Scary Movie' or 'Scream' series, watch 'Scream' first. Rule number two: Watch 'Scream 2' and maybe even 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' then you may safely move onto 'Scary Movie.' I've seen 'Scream' multiple times, but 'Scary Movie' ('Scream's spoof) many more times. It's hard not to laugh throughout this viewing of 'Scream' remembering the hilarious scene-by-scene, line-by-line mock-ups in 'Scary Movie.' That being said, I do remember my first reaction to this movie 13 years ago at its premiere. What a fantastic movie and though it's an homage to previous slasher films (there has to be six dozen references, names, scenes, innuendos in 'Scream') it really reinvented the genre, leading itself into multiple and extremely poor quality rip-offs. In fact, as this brought back the slasher horror and gave it more intelligence, it also brought it back crashing down, harder than before with the horrid carbon copies following. The movie starts with a bang, and the horror references begin early. You think you're watching a Drew Barrymore film, but quickly it shifts to main character Sidney and her group of friends who get picked off one-by-one while everyone's a suspect. Director Craven (loved him as the janitor) has definitely hits/misses (even see part 3 of this series) but his two most influential films – of my generation, that is – is 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Scream.' While this one's not perfect, it's a real gem, with great comedy, homage, great acting, horror; 'Scream' was an excellent balance of all the right elements to horror-comedy and a perfect teen-night-out. Sure, it's now dated, and teens now probably need a little more (thanks, 'Saw' and other torture porn) but anyone growing up in the genre should appreciate this.