Scream [1996][Blu-ray]
CAUTION - SPOILERS AHEAD!
CAUTION - SPOILERS AHEAD!
Rewatching all of the Scream movies in preparation for the latest release reminded us just how much we loved the franchise growing up. The perfect blend of horror with just a sprinkle of comedy, the original 1996 title, Scream, ticks all of our boxes. Written by Kevin Williamson, and directed by horror pioneer Wes Craven, it centres on a string of gruesome murders in the quiet town of Woodsboro.
We’re first introduced to Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore. Presented front and centre on a lot of the promo materials, as well as the on the cover of the home releases (ranging from VHS to Blu-ray), so you’d be forgiven for thinking that her role is a big one - though this seems to be a common occurrence in more recent times, for almost entirely different reasons. Scream invites you to drink down that assumption, with Casey slain by Ghostface mere minutes into the movie. It’s something you don’t expect, least of all to one of the ‘bigger’ names on the cast list - giving Scream the first of its many twists. Our ‘actual’ main character is Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell, whose mother was murdered one year prior to the events of the film, and finds herself being a target of the serial killer, Ghostface.
Filled to the brim with references, both subtle and obvious, ranging from mentions of other horror movies and their antagonists such as Jason Voorhees (and his mother), to Halloween’s Michael Myers, to a janitor that is visually reminiscent of Freddy Krueger - a little cameo from the director, Wes Craven - and character costumes such Tatum’s cropped football jersey that is a clear nod to Johnny Depp’s character Glen in A Nightmare on Elm Street. The soundtrack perfectly complements the movie too, with tracks like ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ giving a subtle nudge to Ghostface’s identity, and the classic ‘Red Right Hand’, which I cannot hear in anything else without it reminding me of Scream.
The movie is an almost satirical take on horror, paying homage to all of the greats that came before it, but also being clever enough to make things more humorous, and more human as a result. It keeps you guessing too, with many little hints as to who the killer might be, with dramatic shots on characters at certain moments, and plenty of suspicion cast at everyone (both from the viewer’s perspective, and other characters). There’s a moment in the video store where Randy proclaims “there’s always some stupid bullshit reason to kill your own girlfriend” where a woman overhears, before shaking her head and walking away shocked.
Ghostface, the killer - or killers, as it’s later revealed - is flawed, and frequently overcome by their targets, albeit only temporarily, and makes a lot of clumsy mistakes, and this adds to the human aspect of the villain, as many typical horror movies have overpowered, almost (and sometimes actually) supernatural entities hunting down their victims. If anything, Ghostface can sometimes be a little too slapstick, leading to tension-breaking moments like his whole hunting down of Tatum (whose dress sense, might I add, was everything I wanted as a teen).
There’s a significantly co-dependant relationship between the killers, Billy and Stu; with Billy being the more headstrong and sinister of the two, and Stu being more goofy and reliant on Billy’s instruction (also evidenced through Stu’s reasoning of ‘peer pressure’). Their ‘dynamic duo’ is hinted at frequently throughout the film, and becomes more evident upon a second watch, with a lot of jokes being passed back and forth between them, and you can work out who is responsible for each of the murders by observing who is available at the correct point in the timeline, as well as the behaviours of whoever is in the mask at any given point.
Overall, Scream is a fantastically entertaining time - and survives beyond a first-time watch, with successive viewings leading to you noticing more and more, from the killers’ interactions with each other and with other characters, to the numerous references throughout. It’s well worth a second watch, purely for the added experience of looking out for Billy and Stu’s teamwork, with this adding a really interesting layer to the mix. It’s a movie that we’d recommend to even those who aren’t big fans of horror, as it’s not as over-the-top violent as some (although it does have its moments), so if you haven’t yet had your first venture into the Scream franchise - you should. And let us know - what’s your favourite scary movie?
In the end, we decided to give Scream the Collecting Asylum rating of 10/10.
Have you seen Scream? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
