Another day, another horror movie in this month of horror movies every night! This time, I watched Scream, a slasher flick that quickly became an iconic movie in its own right while paying homage to several terrific horror films that came before it.
I hadn’t watched Scream in several years, and I am very glad I decided to re-watch it. Scream tells the story of a local killer who terrorizes teenagers in a small town by calling their homes and toying with them before taking their lives. I love this movie because it does two things so incredibly well: it references and respects the tradition of horror established by such classics like Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street while still establishing its own unique approach to the genre. I believe Scream has the best slasher fight scenes in all of slasher horror; every victim fights back, and some of the tussles get absolutely brutal with just enough late-90s, over-the-top choreography to get people hype over how stupid and great it looks simultaneously. Also, Scream can’t be properly talked about without discussing the surprisingly stellar cast! Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and freaking Henry Winkler all offer terrific performances in this very underrated Wes Craven movie (you can even spot the director himself in a not-so-subtle homage to one of his other creations).
Scream is one of those horror films that you can throw on and just have fun with. Its tone is campy enough to not take itself too seriously while still delivering some legitimately good scares and tension. I also forgot how engaging the mystery of the killer’s identity is; I watched it with my girlfriend who had never seen it, and it was a blast seeing her try to follow the clues and verbalize her best guesses right up to the end. If you’ve seen Scream before, I urge you to revisit it; if you haven’t, then reward all your hard work this month with a wonderful little slasher flick that does self-awareness better than just about anything I’ve seen.
