A horror classic

Rating: 10/10 (19 October 2014)

A maniac is killing off teenagers in the small town of Woodsboro. A bunch of teens (among them Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard) try to figure out who's doing it and why. Meanwhile reporter Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) is trying to get the story from the town deputy (David Arquette).
This came out in winter 1996. By then horror films were all but dead. However this one was a big hit with critics and audiences and started off a new wave of horror films. Why? Because it has a clever script with MANY references to older horror films; established the rules on how to survive a horror film; had smart, intelligent and likable teenagers and basically played with the genre and reinvented it. Also there is a good sense of humor in this but there's also some very graphic gore (especially at the end). This got an NC-17 from the ratings board until director Wes Craven agreed to tone down on the violence. The acting is good all around, it moves at a fast pace and I was constantly entertained by it. Also the opening 15 minutes with Drew Barrymore is terrifying. The only debit is Lillard. He overacts to a downright embarrassing degree and gets very annoying...especially at the end. Still, him aside, this is a great horror film. Highly recommended.