witty entertaining original chiller

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2005)

SPOILERS Horror is one of the most varied genre around. Handled well and you could be looking at multitudes of weak inferior sequels, handled badly and you could be looking at multitudes of dire sequels. Either way, the world is going to suffer when you create a fresh story. Written in 1996, no film is a better example of this than 'Scream'. Refreshing and original, it was a superb film primarily because of the fact that it rejuvenated a sickly direction. Whilst authors like Steven King were writing excellent books, the adaptations were often weak, at the same time old series like 'Halloween' and 'Friday the 13th' were stale and beyond saving. Horror needed a new direction, and by bringing teenage life into the equation writer Kevin Williamson did this. Creating a clever and witty story, Williamson and legendary director Wes Craven brought fresh life into a fading genre and managed to give us one of the finest teen based stories for decades. An entertaining film, with some outstanding butchery, 'Scream' is a pivotal film which you can't help but enjoy.
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is your typical teenager when her mother is murdered. Beginning the film never fully recovered Prescott's past comes back to haunt her when a killer in a white mask begins to slaughter her friends.
'Scream' is one of those movies where the intelligence which went into writing it is so easily ignored. Beautifully written, it is in effect a satire of the entire Horror genre. It manages to poke fun at the thing it is actually resurrecting. With a killer wearing a mask based on a famous painting (and a film title to match), certain aspects about it are just magnificent. Whether it's Drew Barrymore's brief cameo or Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy analysing the rules of horror, so many moments are memorable and entertaining. Few spoofs are ever that long lasting, but by inverting the idea and actually poking fun at itself, 'Scream' manages to guarantee itself a worthy place in the history books.
True there are flaws, the acting is dire, one or two lines make you groan in disgust, but these flaws feel like they are intended. It's like Wes Craven knew that to do a true horror, certain 'flaws' had to be implemented, and it's hard not to admire his skill at matching Kevin Williamson's magnificent story with equally stunning direction. Craven is a Horror God, and with 'Scream' he proved once more how clever he really is.
Until 'Scream', Horror was terminally ill. Old and tired, it had no new ground to really cover. Suddenly though Williamson and Craven built a new road. Making a joke out of the genre, 'Scream' managed to put a nail into the old style of horror design and simultaneously give life to a new direction. It is a landmark film and is a joy to watch. Bloody entertainment at a new level.