Scream (1996)
In a small California town, teens are being stalked and murdered. Before they’re attacked, the phone rings and a mysterious voice asks them, “What’s your favourite scary movie?”, then explains the rules they must follow to live or die. Would-be victim Sidney (Neve Campbell) escapes her attacker, but then must unravel the mystery of the killer, who seems to be targeting people she knows, and may in fact hold the secret to her mother’s death.
Scream was the brainchild of writer Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek) and horror master Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street). Taking the writers knowledge of 90s teen culture, and the directors long track record of classic horror movies, the slasher genre was ripe for the picking (and resurgence). And by this point, audiences had seen all the Freddy Kruger, Friday the 13th and Halloween movies a hundred times or more. They knew the rules, and Scream based its plot off these common horror movie rules. A film within a film, that entertains with its movie references, well-developed characters and clever plot twists.
The influence of Scream spread far beyond the movie world. As the 90’s raced to its conclusions, mobile phones were on the rise, and teens were savvier, more adult and more switched on than ever before. With an inbuilt self-awareness of who we were and where we came from, we liked to poke fun at ourselves and satire was the name of the game. Scream either spearheaded this or woke it up. The famous Ghostface mask worn by the killer became the new Halloween costume each year, and the onslaught of Scream rip-offs were rushed into production. The teen slasher genre was reborn, and churned out one clone after another, as well as three of its own sequels over a fifteen-year period (and a semi-related TV series).
Scream took the trends of the 90’s, and some of its most recognisable stars. Neve Campbell was a household name with her hit show “Party of Five”. Courtney Cox was known to us all as Monica from “Friends”, but played totally against type as headstrong reporter Gale Weathers. The movie that reminded us of the rules, broke them and wrote new ones, took a generation of young movie goers, and rewarded them for their many years of renting videos from Blockbuster. Scream was released at the height of the 90’s young generation, and became the staple film that defined us.
As impactful as the movie was, the teen slasher genre formula of “Everybody is a Suspect” came and went pretty quickly, as none could emulate the success and brilliance of Scream. Horror and thriller movies continue of course, finding new victims and portraying new monster on screen, which didn’t leave much room for the Scream style to continue beyond its initial trilogy. In 2011, “Scream 4” came and went, not doing much to break new ground, but rather rewarding the long-time fans with a trip down memory lane.
But there’s still some spooks left under the black cloak and creepy mask, with Scream getting the reboot treatment (again) in late 2021, and the three original key cast members coming back for more. More of the same, or a brand new game?
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