Really smart horror

Rating: 7/10 (13 June 2014)

Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is alone at home and receives crank calls from a creep. Ghostface ends up killing her boyfriend Steve and Casey. It's a great start reminiscent of Psycho where the obvious lead is killed off. This is a horror that knows the history of horror and references it.
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is a virgin despite the efforts of boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). Sidney's mother had been killed a year earlier and she's alone with her father. Sidney put Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) in prison for the crime but he claims to be innocent. The next day, the sheriff with deputy Dewey (David Arquette) start interviewing the students. News reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) is on the case. Sidney and Billy gather with Tatum (Rose McGowan), Stuart (Matthew Lillard) and Randy (Jamie Kennedy) to discuss the murders. Then Ghostface calls Sidney.
There is no doubt that Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson have come up with an interesting take on the slasher movie. It's not just about being more gruesome and bloodier. It's about being smarter. It's not the first one to be self-referencing. It is the one that built a movie around it. The teens are smart and aware. The beauty of this is that this movie is smart for a smart audience with smart characters. The only problem I have is the twisty nature of the reveals and the misdirections. There are quite a few of them and that part seems over-written. Of course, that is commented up by one of the characters and he's exactly right. The movie kind of lost me in that aspect.