Still Screaming-Looking Back At One Of My Favorite Films

With less than a week to go before Scream 4 hits theaters, now is as good a time as any to take a look back at the film that kick started the late 90’s teen slasher phase, made Kevin Williamson a household name and launched Act III of Wes Craven’s career.  My official position on the new film it seems wholly superfluous and unasked for.  After tales of production woes and a steady stream of average trailers and clips, Craven himself has gone into spin mode, seemingly distancing himself from the film in the weeks prior to its release.

It’s a shame if the film doesn’t work, because I love the first film. Scream has a checkered reputation amongst the horror community. Fans give it grudging respect but point to the scores of imitators that flooded theaters in the wake of its success as a dark moment in horror fandom. Personally, I can’t blame Scream’s success for the lackluster efforts that followed. The film remains a personal genre favorite, and like a Rocky, Groundhog Day or Rushmore, it remains a movie I can break out at least once a year and not grow tired of.

I’m hoping that taking a brief look back at why the film worked for me would spark some enthusiasm for Friday’s release. We’ll only be looking at the first film here. If time permits this week-and with me spending about 1500 miles in my car these next few days it probably won’t-we’ll revisit the fun but flawed sequel and the clearly out of ideas third installment as well. Whether you’re interested in the new film or not, there’s far worse things you could blow $15 on as opposed to the just released blu ray. The film looks and sounds fantastic, especially when compared to the non-anamorphic DVD release.

Scream is a fantastic ‘whodunit’ When slasher films first hit theaters, part of the fun was the guessing game as to who was behind the mask and subsequent killings. Early on in the game mystery gave way to brutality, but early classics like My Bloody Valentine, Happy Birthday To Me, even the original Friday the 13^th focused just as much on the who as the why. Scream brought back that tradition with a group of characters that genuinely had audiences guessing as to who was behind it all. The film’s clever reveal of two masked psychopaths gave a new wrinkle to that twist. Between Billy’s demented revenge motive and Stu’s cheerful willingness to rack up a body count for fun, Scream brought the slasher back to its more humane roots. This fact is all the more important as…

The early 90’s were a cesspool of awful horror movies Much like the Pete Carroll era in between the Bill Parcels and Belichick years in New England found my beloved Patriots wallowing in mediocrity, the early to mid nineties were a lean time for horror. I have a certain fondness for Jason Goes To Hell due to the after events of taking in that film between myself and a certain young lady, but goddamn was that franchise tapped. The Leprechaun films are bad enough to make one swear off Lucky Charms. After thought provoking initial films straight-to-VHS follow ups from the Hellraiser and Candyman series trod on the reputation of their forbearers and let the world know Tony Todd was game to appear in any film as long as the catering was halfway decent. Love it or hate it know, there’s no denying Scream represented the first time in a long while a worthwhile horror film hit the big screen.

Sidney Prescott was the ultimate girl next door Neve Campbell is a beautiful woman. There’s no denying that fact. However, she’s not Hollywood-oh-my-god-would-you-eat-a-sandwich-already-pretty. Often clad in a sweat shirt and jeans, sans makeup, Campbell came across as the kind of girl I could have landed in high school. More importantly, she came off like a high school student, not a pushing thirty actress desperate to hide her age (Hello Tina in the NoES remake). Campbell also exuded a toughness and self assured quality even as her world was crumbling around her that made Sidney an instant member of the final girl pantheon.

The opening scene still rocks The opening sequence with the cat and mouse game between Ghostface and Drew Barrymore on its own would work as a near perfect short film. There’s a genuine tension that films following in Scream’s wake failed to come close to matching. Tipping the cap to Psycho, Scream did the near unthinkable by dispatching the biggest star name in the film just as audiences were settling into their seats. Also, as easy as it is to forget now, especially when horror fans claim scream as the godfather of PG-13 “tween friendly” bloodless slashers, but the film had bite to it. Not only do we have a brutal and violent stabbing death that ended with Barrymore strung up in a tree by her intestines, but there’s a moment that’s every bit as intense where the victim’s mother, twenty feet away indoors, listens to her daughter’s death rattle as she’s dragged helpless through the yard. This was a far cry removed from exaggerated, often comical violence that had been presented for the better part of a decade on screen. By first toying with Barrymore's doomed Casey Becker, then dispatching of her in brutal fashion, Craven demonstrated that his inner psychopath responsible for past squirm inducing films like Last House On The Left still had some life in him. 

Randy as the voice of the fans Scream is still best known as being the film where its characters were aware of the existence of other horror films. There was no better example of this than beloved video store clerk Randy, who had all the standard rules of horror films at the ready: Don’t drink, don’t do drugs, don’t have sex and never ever ever ever say you’ll be right back unless you were just stepping out to sign your death warrant. Randy was the voice of the fans and dare I say, the precursor to characters like Lost’s Hurley, who writers often used as a sounding board for the show’s chatter.

Ghostface is creepy looking as hell Despite five different people hiding behind its mask, Scream’s Ghostface killer provided a new iconic look in the genre, every bit as cool as the burned fedora and hockey mask. Add the voice changer speaking for the immobile mask and the simple weapon of choice in a knife, and I'm hooked. 

It’s the Fonz! and other idiosyncrasies Scream might be the last big horror movie that didn’t have a massive internet push behind it. Aside from the trailers, I’ve done my best to avoid clips for the upcoming film. Back in 1996, you could still walk into a movie relatively unspoiled so brief cameos from Happy Days star Henry Winkler as a jittery principal made for fun moments. Nowadays, “news” sites would have spoiled that appearance six ways ‘til Sunday. Watching Scream now also serves as a nice reminder that not everyone always owned a cell phone. One of the things that pointed to Billy as the killer was the fact that he owned a cellular phone. Not a smart phone, iphone, camera phone, etc. A “cellular” phone. In fact, if you created a drinking game around how often a character used the term “cellular” phone, you’d be smashed by the third act.

Rose McGowan in pigtails Granted she was pretty much the exact opposite of everything that made Campbell’s Sydney so appealing, but damn it I watched a whole half of The Doom Generation after seeing McGowan in that skin tight football jersey in Scream.

Look, this isn't to say Scream is a perfect film. It has its share of problems. Mathew Lillard's instructions seem to consist of making sure he guzzled a gallon of Mountain dew before each take in order to deliver a hyperactive performance that would fit better in a Problem Child film rather than a whodunit thriller. The exposition in the girl's bathroom, delivered in ham fisted fashion by a cheerleader demonstrates Williamson's inability to understand how actual human beings, let alone teenagers, speak. Finally, anytime you pass on an opportunity to kill David, whether in real lie or on screen, you've failed in carrying out a moral duty for the betterment of humanity.