Strange parody/horror mix with obnoxious characters

Rating: 4/10 (11 November 2015)

Released in 1996, Wes Craven's "Scream" chronicles the murders of various people linked to a high school in a California town by someone dressed in a ghost-face Halloween costume. Neve Campbell plays the protagonist, Rose McGowan her best friend, Skeet Ulrich her boyfriend, Matthew Lillard his best friend, David Arquette the deputy, Courteney Cox an annoying reporter, Joseph Whipp the sheriff and Jamie Kennedy a dude that works at a video store.
People keep hailing "Scream" as some kind of stand-out slasher flick, but it's not IMHO. It tries to walk the balance beam between serious slasher and amusing parody, which creates an odd vibe throughout. At no time was I able to buy what was going on as reality. The camp and contrivances kept screaming "This is all a joke," like Henry Winkler's weird principal. As such, the movie's never scary despite some shocking elements and gore.
Another negative is the host of unlikable, obnoxious or annoying characters. Campbell is serviceable as the heroine and McGowan is awesome just because she's so alluring. Drew Barrymore is also good, but her presence is limited to a glorified cameo in the prologue. I realize that the rest of the characters are so distasteful because this is a whodunit and most of them are potential suspects, but this doesn't take away from the fact that they make for an unpleasant viewing experience. Before you say, "But this is a horror flick and therefore it's supposed to be unpleasant," I get that; I'm talking about how most of the main characters are so repugnant it's impossible to care about them. Let 'em all get slashed to death for all I care, lol. Then there's the ridiculously over-the-top last act, which is so contrived, cartoony and drenched in fake blood you'll just roll your eyes in disbelief. All this is compounded by the clumsy and weak killer, which I suppose makes sense when you later discover who the killer is.
Thankfully, there's some good beyond the three girls noted above (especially McGowan, who's a pleasure to watch), like the numerous references to horror flick lore and the whodunit factor, but none of these redeem it from being a joke of a slasher. It's worth seeing if you like slasher movies, if for no other reason than to see if it matches the over-hype, but you'll probably be disappointed because of the disagreeable characters and the odd horror/parody fusion, not to mention the cartooniness and contrivances.
The film runs 111 minutes and was shot in Santa Rosa, Tomales, Glen Ellen, Healdsburg and Sonoma, California.
GRADE: C-