  scream is a 1996 american slasher film written by kevin williamson and directed by wes craven. the film stars neve campbell, courteney cox, drew barrymore, and david arquette. released on december&nbsp;20,&nbsp;1996, scream follows the character of sidney prescott (campbell), a high school student in the fictional town of woodsboro, who becomes the target of a mysterious killer known as ghostface. other main characters include sidney's best friend tatum riley (rose mcgowan), sidney's boyfriend billy loomis (skeet ulrich), billy's best friend stu macher (matthew lillard), film geek randy meeks (jamie kennedy), deputy sheriff dewey riley (arquette), and news reporter gale weathers (cox). the film combined comedy and "whodunit" mystery with the violence of the slasher genre to satirize the clichÃ© of the horror genre popularized in films such as halloween and friday the 13th. the film was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters who were aware of real world horror films and openly discussed the clichÃ© that scream attempted to subvert. based partly on the real-life case of the gainesville ripper, scream was inspired by williamson's passion for horror films, especially halloween (1978). the script, originally titled scary movie, was bought by dimension films and was retitled by the weinstein brothers just before filming was complete. the production faced censorship issues with the motion picture association of america and obstacles from locals while filming on location. the film went on to financial and critical acclaim, earning $173&nbsp;million worldwide, and became the highest-grossing slasher film in the us in unadjusted dollars. it received several awards and award nominations. the soundtrack by marco beltrami was also acclaimed, and was cited as "[one] of the most intriguing horror scores composed in years". it has since earned "cult status"
1990s_teen_films 1996_albums 1996_films 1996_horror_films English-language_films Film_scores_by_Marco_Beltrami Films_about_revenge Films_directed_by_Wes_Craven Films_set_in_California Films_shot_in_California Scream_(film_series)