By Michael Lyons
"What's your favorite scary movie?"
This, now iconic line of dialogue, has become somewhat ironic for the film that coined the phrase.
That's because, twenty-five years after it was first uttered, one of the answers to the question could be the movie that gave us the famous phrase itself, Scream.
Penned by writer Kevin Williamson and directed by horror movie maestro Wes Craven, Scream turned the horror movie genre and the movie industry upside down and sent executives screaming down the hallways of Hollywood studios in attempts to duplicate the film's success.
Before the word "meta" was a thing, Williamson (a struggling screenwriter at the time) took a familiar story of teenagers stalked by a knife-wielding killer. However, he set it against a world where the teenagers involved were familiar with the tropes found in some of the most famous "slasher movies," bringing up the familiar scenes found in such films. In contrast, a killer bears down on them in their town.
We hurtle into the film with a now-famous and chilling opening sequence. A teenager named Casey (Drew Barrymore, in an extended cameo) is home alone and tormented, first by phone and then in-person, by a figure clad in a black robe with a terrifying mask that resembles the famous painting "The Scream" by Edward Munch.
The killer (eventually referred to as “Ghostface”) goes on to terrorize the town, especially high schooler Sidney Prescott (played well with tortured empathy by Neve Campbell).
And as students and residents get "offed" one-by-one by the mysterious masked murderer, what Sidney and the audience learns is that, in the words of the film's video store nerd, Randy (Jamie Kennedy, as great comic relief) is that "Everybody is a suspect!"
The killer could be Sidney's boyfriend, Billy (Skeet Ulrich), or his best friend, Stu (Matthew Lillard), or intrepid news reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), or seemingly innocent Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette), among others.
Throughout its twists, turns, and "red herrings," Scream smartly keeps the audience guessing and guessing incorrectly (at least during a first viewing) until the film's final revelation of who the killer is.
While this is going on, there are many references to the past slasher movie blockbusters that paved the way for Scream. This starts right from the film's gripping opening, during which "Ghostface" (the terrific, tense voice of voice actor Roger L. Jackson) quizzes Casey over the phone about famous horror movies.
The genre then goes on to serve as the backdrop for the remainder of the film, with tropes - such as characters saying "I'll be right back," only to be killed and the killer, thought to be dead - rising up one last time, are called out as events happen in the film.
There's an exceptionally entertaining scene in which Randy lays on the couch watching John Carpenter's classic Halloween while the killer stalks him from behind.
The best part is that Scream uses all of this, not entirely for laughs, but also to significant, horrific effect. Craven, a true master of his craft, brought tens,e audience squirming scenes effectively to life. A sequence in which Sidney is trapped in a car while the killer lurks outside is brilliantly executed.
Scream, released on December 20, 1996, generated tremendous word-of-mouth success, grossing $173 million at the worldwide box office.
Three sequels, parody movies, and a TV series followed. A fifth sequel is slated for release next year. 'Ghostface" has also made appearances on countless peices of merchandise, and, especially during our current Halloween season, the costume is still a favorite.
Twenty-five years later, Scream has emerged, not just as perfect viewing as we approach Halloween, it's also left an indelible, horrific "slash" into our movie pop-culture consciousness.
And, if anyone needs proof of that, just simply say, "What's your favorite scary movie?"
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