live for this one

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2006)

i have literally just turned off my DVD player, and am once again amazed by what wes craven accomplished with "scream." with one minor exception, i find this movie to be flawless every time i watch it. the opening sequence alone justifies my giving this movie a rating of ten. i had the good fortune to see this movie initially at a press screening, and had no idea miss barrymore would be getting it so early on. while this stunt may now seem cliché, back in the summer of '96, no one imagined the fate awaiting drew. while i doubt it was the first, "scream" is certainly one of the best examples of what has become a trend, the idea of self-reflexive cinema. while even i found the tongue-in-cheek campiness of the third installment slightly excessive, "scream" managed the perfect balance of 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' and restraint. in fact, the only part of this movie i found lacking was the identity of the killers. maybe it was because i saw them as being so wishy-washy, but skeet ulrich and matthew lillard did not fabulous serial killers make.