The Tomb of Terror – Scream (1996)

April 16th, 2011 | POSTED BY John Portanova

Any good whodunit has to have a large cast of characters to keep the mystery of the killer’s identity alive. What separates Scream from the majority of these kinds of slashers is that we really get to know the characters in this film. They all seem like real people, and when the killer is revealed we fully understand their motivation. There aren’t any characters that exist only as red herrings, such as a creepy janitor or shifty eyed hobo. The actors all do a terrific job of bringing their characters to life. The standouts are Barrymore, in what might be her best performance, and Kennedy as the ultimate video nerd. That’s not to say that the other actors do a bad job. Campbell, Ulrich, Cox, and Arquette give their all and turn in great performances. Only Lillard falls short of the other actors, mainly because his character can be so annoying.

The script by Kevin Williamson (I Know What You Did Last Summer) helps the actors a lot, giving each character memorable dialogue and a distinct personality. A standout scene in the film features Randy telling a room of partygoers the rules for surviving a horror movie. This is an excellent speech that really shows Williamson has studied horror films and is a big fan himself. The self-reflexive nature may have been the big buzz point back in ’96, but for me the big innovation in the script of Scream is that it is the only slasher to explain how a killer can seemingly be everywhere at once. In most slashers it is just expected that the movie will cheat a little bit in order to keep the suspense up and the mystery going. But Williamson is smarter than that and so he has there be two characters who are working together as the ghostface killer. This reveal leads into my favorite scene of the film, where one of the killers lays out their motivation and the accomplice obviously had no idea that was what was going on. The two then begin to cut into each other to make it look like they were survivors of an attack. At first they are pumped up about the prospect of being stabbed, but realize the pain of the knife as it slides into them. It’s a disturbing moment to see two kids so excited about violence, and the script then gives them added layers as they realize their perfect plan might not be so infallible.

Director Wes Craven had been a well-known horror property for two decades before Scream. His career had been stalling, though, with the high concept Wes Craven’s New Nightmare failing at the box office and even die hard fans staying away from his Eddie Murphy vehicle Vampire in Brooklyn. Scream changed all that. The time was right for teen horror to make a comeback, and Craven was the perfect person to bring it to the screen. His direction during the suspense scenes is perfect, with the opening and the final chase around Stu’s countryside house being highlights. We also get some great shots, such as the ghostface mask being reflected in a victim’s eye. Sequences that have nothing to do with horror are also expertly handled, such as a montage of the town shutting down in the wake of the murders set to Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand.” Craven’s comedic stylings are also highlighted with fun character moments. My favorite is Dewey talking to the sheriff outside of the police station. As the sheriff takes long pulls from his cigarette, Dewey matches him with licks from an ice cream cone. Craven has made many classic horror films, most notably creating the Nightmare on Elm Street series, but for me Scream sits at the top of his filmography.

Scream saved horror in the winter of 1996. The film was a slow burn, climbing the box office ranks over weeks and eventually raking in over 100 million dollars. Suddenly, Wes Craven was once again a bankable name, Kevin Williamson was the hottest screenwriter in town, and all of the actors became stars. Hollywood began churning out self-aware slasher films, a few written by Williamson himself and all copying Scream’s formula of casting popular TV actors in the leading roles. As with every cycle, these teen slashers soon became passé, and more violent torture films started winning at the box office. During this time, Scream became a bad word in some horror communities because of the films it spawned. If this is your take on it, I suggest giving the film another try. It’s easy to forget how well made a film it is. Not only are the script and direction better than is usually afforded the genre, but it’s also a very scary and surprisingly brutal ride.

Final Grade: A

DVD Releases:

Scream was originally released on DVD back in December 1997. Like a lot of early discs, it sported a non-anamorphic transfer. But unlike many early discs, it featured a good bonus feature in an audio commentary by director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson. It’s a fun chat, but low on real insight into the making of the film. The film was so popular after its release that this commentary was actually released onto VHS as well. One unfortunate aspect of every release of the film on disc is that they feature the R-rated version of the film and not the unrated cut. That version features about 20 seconds of additional gore and is only available on certain Laserdisc and VHS editions of the film.

Just a year after the first release, Dimension Films put out a Collector’s Series edition of the film. It carried over the transfer and commentary from the previous edition and added some short fluffy featurettes used to promote the film. These included “Production Featurette,” “On the Scream Set,” “Drew Barrymore,” “What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie?”, and “Why Are People Fascinated By Horror Films?” Also included were 2 trailers, 7 TV spots, a special effects photo gallery (featuring interesting alternate mask designs), cast & crew profiles, and Did You Know? trivia notes. This disc was also included in the now out of print Scream: The Ultimate Collection, along with Collector’s Series editions of Scream 2, Scream 3, and an exclusive bonus disc. This bonus disc included the informative documentary “Behind the Scream,” Scream outtakes, Scream audition tapes, an editing game, fake trailers from Sunrise Studios, crew profiles, and DVD-ROM content, including the original script. Lionsgate released the film on Blu-ray in March to coincide with the release of Scream 4. It is a nearly direct port of the Collector’s Series edition, but with an anamorphic widescreen transfer for the first time. The only missing features on the new disc are the profiles and special effects gallery.