Better than you might think.

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2004)

***Possible spoiler***
I should hate this movie, not only because what it is but because it has spawned hundreds of shoddy movies that has tried to cash in on it's success. I should hate it for what it is because it's a thriller which just tries to look like a horror movie plus it stars David Arquette one of the most annoying actors in the business. But I still can't help myself from liking it.
The plot is at sometimes rather smart. A killer is slaughtering people and terrorizing them by forcing them to answer questions about (in)famous horrormovies. Craven could and should have used this element more than he did since it's a pretty clever idea. Still he makes it work well.
The movie has got some good actors in it: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette is actually good as the nerdy cop here but I think that we should have had the rights to see more of Drew Barrymore. She's easily one of the best actresses in Scream.
The movie has got some scenes packed full of suspense and tension. Sure some scenes may seem clichéd, but not so much that it doesn't work. And this is a movie about movies, so I guess that it wouldn't have that much of a point if it didn't seem clichéd at one point.
The first time I saw this, I had a special kind of feeling in my stomach. I had a feeling that anything could happen. I don't think I've had that kind of feeling watching a movie ever since. It was my first contact with the horror world, even though this is more of a thriller than pure horror.
The only downsides I can figure out was that the plot weakens at the end, and everyone tends to be look a bit too crazy to make it work as good as it should.
So to spell it out: if you want to start to watch horror movies but you don't know where to begin than start here. It might be a blend of thriller and horror but it's still a very fine start. It just worked for me.
8/10