"It parodies, it scares, it satirizes... but that's not all!"

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2008)

After a period of endless slasher flicks, body-count films or "date movies" in the 80's, following the success of John Carpenter's classic(which really isn't that much of one, there's hardly any blood), Halloween, of 1978(which I'm not claiming to be the first of its kind, I've heard of Black Christmas, which is said to also fit as such a film) the genre died out somewhat. With Scream, it was rejuvenated somewhat(at least for a few years), whether that was the intent or not. Love or hate that it had that effect... a respectful parody is such a rarity that it really ought to be commended, even if one doesn't care for the genre(which is not to say that I don't, I may have only seen a few of the older ones, but I do seek out these films). This is half-way a parody of aforementioned sub-genre of horror, and equal parts an entry into it. The clichés are all here, intentionally so, and the film manages to entertain with both halves, and these mesh remarkably and admirably well. The nods, both the obvious and the subtle ones, are all good. The casting is impeccable. The music, both the score and the songs used, all top-notch. The acting is spot-on. The direction is excellent... character introduction, building of suspense, plot exposition and development, high marks, all the way. The script is well-done. The gore isn't as bad as it could be, not sure I'd really call it excessive, but the amount of blood is massive(necessary for the spoofing). I've yet to see a recent movie of this kind which surpasses this one. Now, I'm surely not the first to point this out, but... why, exactly, were two full-on spoofs done after this, mainly using this for inspiration? Never mind that neither are that good, and that that they hold no respect of the films they make fun of, but why do a send-up of a parody? Wayans', come on, you can do... uh... well, still, don't do it again. "Shriek" team... well, you guys I don't know. But I digress. Frequently. I recommend this to any fan of parodies, horror films, and this particular kind of, well, both. 8/10