The original self-referential horror film is still the best

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2018)

21 years later (wow, I can't believe it's been that long) "Scream" still holds up. Neve Campell plays a teen who's mom was murdered a year earlier by Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) and she and her friends are now being stalked by a new killer wearing a ghostface mask inspired by Edvard Munch's The Scream. What made this film stand out at the time was it's self referential humor that called out the many over-used tropes of 70s and 80s horror films. Jamie Kennedy's video store clerk character actually names some of them at one point in the film when the group is watching John Carpenter's "Halloween," stating that in order to survive a horror movie you must 1.) never have sex, 2.) never drink or do drugs, and 3.) never say "I'll be right back." "Scream" came out at a time when horror films were getting pretty tired and formulaic, so a film that called out the formula while also being scary and exciting in it's own right deservedly became a major hit, spawning three sequels and a TV series. Most horror films at this time were the likes of bad Chucky, Freddy, Jason, Howling, Omen, Amityville, Leprechaun, and too many other unwanted sequels to mention, so something original was very welcome (okay, the early 90s also had some good horror films too; Misery, Night of the Living Dead, Nightbreed, Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Tremors, Body Parts, Candyman, Lord of Illusions, In the Mouth of Madness, and The Frighteners, but far more of this era were garbage). This film does get credit and/or blame for spawning a spate of imitators that were equally self referential and winking at the audience, which itself got very tired and thankfully ended when more straight-faced of horror films took over again following Eli Roth's intense "Hostel" in 2005. "Scream" was directed by Wes Craven, who actually gets credit for helping establish the formulas Kevin Williamson's script mocks. Although the script is clearly making fun of these well worn horror formulas and cliches, it also has an affection for them, gleefully embracing the horror topes of everyone's-a-suspect, the-final-girl, or the-killers-not-dead to name just a few. The film also features a terrific cast, who were great at the time and is even better now, including Neve Campbell as the final-girl, Courteney Cox as a pushy reporter, David Arquette as a dopey cop, Henry Winkler as the principal, Linda Blair in a cameo as another obnoxious reporter, director Wes Craven as Fred the Janitor, and various teens include Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, and Rose McGowan. There's also voice artist Roger Jackson as the memorable scary voice on the phone and Drew Barrymore is great in a Marion Crane-like cameo for the opening sequence of the film. Looking through the film's other credits, it was edited by Patrick Lussier, who'd go on to direct the underrated "Drive Angry" and co-write the surprisingly good "Terminator Genisys." The film was shot by Mark Irwin (who also photographed my kids' current favorite movie "Descendants 2"), brining sharp fluid photogrpahy to the picture, along with a nicely consistent color scheme that's vibrant and also muted in a way that recalls the VHS horror films of the 70s and 80s. My main complaint about the film is that I personally do not like films that are so overly self referential and break the third wall. I prefer my horror film to be straight-faced, but this is forgivable given state of horror films at this time and also how sharp Williamson's script is at times. Overall, "Scream" is a suspenseful, clever, and witty mystery with a strong cast and loads of fun gory scares along with way.