The Slasher Film is Reborn

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2000)

Every once in a while, a movie comes along and revives or re-
defines a specific genre. Two great examples are "Die Hard",
which gave the action genre a shot in the arm, and "Fatal
Attraction", which gave new meaning to the term "psychological
thriller". In 1978, John Carpenter's "Halloween" revived the
slasher picture, which was spawned 18 years earlier by Alfred
Hitchcock's classic 1960 film "Psycho". In 1996, 18 years after
"Halloween" scared the hell out of movie audiences, the slasher
genre was revived and redefined yet again by Wes Craven's new
nightmare flick "SCREAM". "Scream" tells the story of a rash of
spree killings plaguing the suburban California town of
Woodsboro. These murders seem to be connected to teenager Sydney
Prescott (Neve Campbell), whose mother Maureen was brutally
slain exactly one year earlier. The film opens with a tour-de-force performance by Drew Barrymore, who has the Janet
Leigh role from "Psycho" (first identifiable character who is
killed off early on in the story). Barrymore is terrorized via
telephone (borrowing from such horror classics as "When A
Stranger Calls" and "Black Christmas") by an assailant wearing a
black cloak and eerie "Ghostface" mask. After this harrowing
opening sequence, the fun begins again as the people in Sydney's
orbit become either suspects and/or victims. These characters
(superbly written by Kevin Williamson) include: bitchy,
ambitious journalist Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox, in a knockout
performance); Sydney's best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) and her
ditsy policeman brother Dewey (David Arquette, Cox's on-screen
and off-screen paramour); Sydney's boyfriend Billy Loomis
(played by Skeet Ulrich, a dead ringer for actor Johnny Depp,
who starred in Craven's 1984 classic "A Nightmare On Elm
Street". Ulrich broods much like Depp, and his character's name
is an obvious reference to the characters in "Psycho" and
"Halloween" played by John Gavin and Donald Pleasence); Billy's
goofy buddy Stu (Matthew Lillard); and horror film buff Randy
(Jamie Kennedy). The script includes rich characterizations (the
actors are all in top form as directed by the brilliant Craven),
several plot twists (you'll change your mind a dozen times
before you guess the identity of the killer), references to
other horror films, and an audacious sense of humor. "Scream",
like "Psycho" and "Halloween" spawned a countless number of
clones and imitations in the wake of its success. A must-see for
fans of this genre. My score: 9 out of 10.