Scream

Rating: 3/10 (17 October 2016)

In what should have been the ultimate homage to the horror genre, Scream turned out to be a disjointed look at how horror movies are often perceived. Directed by horror master, Wes Craven, his 1996 film followed a high schooler as she copes with the brutal murder of her mother when it seems as though her killer has returned to terrorize her town. Starring such 90's stars as Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, Scream towed the line between horror brilliance and comedy quite unevenly. It was this disjointed dance among genres that left me far less impressed with Scream than I intended to be, especially having been directed by the man who gave audiences my personal favorite horror franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) a high school senior grieving her mother's senseless murder is stunned when it seems that, just before the year anniversary of her mother's death, the killer is still terrorizing the town. Sidney's world is rocked to its core when the ones closest to her begin being slaughtered in the same senseless fashion as her mother was killed. When the murders keep happening, police begin to suspect that the wrong person may have been convicted of Sidney's mother's murder, and begin to suspect Sidney's father. Convinced that her father is not the murderer, Sidney along with the help of the lead officer on the case, Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) begin to comb over all the case details in the interest of protecting Sidney's father and finding who they believe to be the copycat murderer. Their task is made none the easier by the constant intervention of Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) a money-hungry television reporter who wrote a book about the murder of Sidney's mother, which did little to endear her to Sidney. The more murders that take place, the more the killer's motive looks to be nothing but a game. Initiating the killings with a phone call and a quiz to save their lives, police must learn the identity of the killer before their game runs out.
I wasn't sure what took me so long to see Scream. I am a big fan of the horror genre and had heard that Scream turned the genre on its head and was a fun mystery slasher for horror fans. A couple of poor casting choices and genre jumping, however, ensured that Scream will be a movie I only view once. I have never liked Matthew Lillard in any film I've seen him in. It's a personal problem, I know, but with him having a prominent role in Scream, I could hardly avoid my distaste for him by engulfing into any other actors. Also, the casting of Henry Winkler, as the principal of the high school, in a caricature of his most famous role as Fonzie from the Happy Days was an interesting maneuver. In a way, I admire the choice, as it's not likely those in the audience see Winkler without thinking of his iconic role, but it also pulls you out of the movie a lot to see him doing such an exaggerated caricature unrelated to the film. The other nail in the coffin of Scream was the senseless jumping around between a serious mystery of discovering the identity of a brutal killer, and a cheap laugh grabbing comedy. There were no smooth transitions between the comedy and the drama leaving the film a disjointed mess. A severe disappointment, Scream is a one-time viewing for this reviewer.