"You sick fucks, you've seen one too many movies!!!!"
Guilty as charged.
Scream is one of Wes Cravens finest films to date, because of how much fun it is. It follows the story of Sidney (Neve Campbell) as she finds herself stuck in a town where a seriel killer is on the loose. It's a fairly typical teen slasher story which becomes not so typical with the help of some characters that constantly spit out the "rules" of horror movies (and yet they still fall into the same old routine ....what up with that?).
The film is full of delightful "surprise" performances, among which are Matthew Lillard as Stuart (A delightfully zany, infectious performance), Jamie Kennedy as Randy (a surprisingly well-done performance on his part as the horror movie buff), Rose McGowan as Tatum (Sidneys Best Friend), David Arquette as Dewey (The bumbling rookie cop assigned to protect Sidney), and the always wonderful Henry Winkler as Mr. Himbry (The school principle, after viewing his performance here all I can say is "Wow, the Fonz don't fuck around.").
The only really good lead actor is Neve Campbell as Sidney. She is great as she plays a different kind of heroine. I can't say as much for her leading man though. Sure, Skeet Ulrich tries to do good as boyfriend Billy, but I just couldn't fully buy into him. He was much too mysterious and campy for my tastes, he was practically licking every line of the script up like Hannibel Lecter when he talks about Fava Beans. If he showed a little self control he would have gone farther in my book.
Now, Scream is constantly cited as one of Craven's best films...but not for why you might think. As a pure horror film, the movie fails at just about every angle you could imagine. I never once felt any bit of real suspense during the running time (except during the finale...and even then it was pretty toned down for my tastes). I'm sorry Wes, Scream is JUST NOT SCARY. However, It's a perfect party film and I could see myself easily re-watching it during the Halloween season (Speak of the devil). While it may not be much scary, it's still a perfectly fun family horror film that just about anyone twelve and over could handle.
So if you're craven some Craven feel free to give this fun little flick a try. It may not make you scream, but you're sure to have a good time.
3/4 stars
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Scream was an OK movie, maybe bordering on good. It's legacy, to me anyway, is more setting back to prominence the genre of film spoofing. Scary Movies 1,2,3... and then Date Movie, Meet the Spartans, etc. I barely remember the meat and potatoes of Scream, but I (unfortunately) remember the crap from the Scary Movies. I know, why'd I even see them to begin with? Sometimes it's the only thing on TV. Sad.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the movie isn't meant to be super-scary. It is a horror film, but it's more of an homage to the classic low-budget horror movies, only this film is smarter. There are so many wonderful horror references in "Scream." It's a film about the horror audience and less about a serial killer. Great flick, in my opinion. Nice review, Dan.
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