Scream (Collector's Series)

A Wes Craven Masterpiece! It was 1996 and the horror genre was literally DEAD. Oh sure, horror movies were still being made but most of them lacked any real creative writing instead focusing on rehashing the same old formula over and over (with the exception of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare which did break new ground). Only the very best of them were (Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, In The Mouth Of Madness, Silence of The Lambs, Seven) were lucky enough to break even or do really well in the box office. Certainly the sub-genre of “slasher” movies were scraping the bottom of the barrel at this time in film history. Thus sets the stage for December 1996 and the previous high points for Dimension Films were “The Crow” and “Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers”. The 4-year-old studio is still looking for their crown jewel project that would put them on the map as legitimate contender among the big boys.At this same time an unknown but determined writer named Kevin Williamson has locked himself into a hotel room for 3 weeks determined to not go home until he completes the writing of a screenplay for his newest story which he is simply calling “Scary Movie”. To make a long story short, he completes writing the screenplay and begins to shop it around to film studios. The Weinstein brothers at Dimension films love it, they sign Kevin Williamson to write the film and after initially being turned down by Wes Craven, Wes gave it a second chance and agreed to come aboard to direct the film whose name was later changed to “Scream”.Wes Craven has an incredible legacy in the horror genre that shaped and re-shaped the entire genre over the course of 40 years of his films. He revolutionized the genre in the 80’s with “A Nightmare On Elm Street” and now over ten years later he was about to do it once again with the Scream franchise. Scream is a genuine masterpiece because it not only contains all of the elements needed for a fulfilling horror movie, it goes one step further and introduces new ideas while being done with a keen sense of self-awareness throughout the movie that had never been done before in the genre. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare started to explore this idea of self-awareness of the actors within the movie but in Scream he took it to the next level. We see the now famous “Rules To Survive A Horror Movie” as perfectly explained by one of my favorite Scream characters Randy. Moreover, this thread of self-awareness runs throughout the picture from multiple characters but never done in an “over the top” manner where it does not “work” within the context of the moment.It is the story of a small town where people are being brutally murdered and the killer’s attention begins to focus on the lead character Sydney Prescott and as the film unfolds there is revealed a much larger back-story that is under girding all of the events which are happening. No one can create tension and suspense in a scene better than Wes Craven and he is arguably the star of this film because of how brilliantly he tells the story visually from behind the cameras. Scream delivers at all the important angles and keeps you guessing as well as jumping throughout! The ending is fantastic and very original!!I am a STICKLER for not giving spoilers and even though this film is now TWENTY years old I will still not reveal anything more specific about the film other than to say, this is a MUST watch film for anyone who enjoys a top-shelf murder mystery, suspenseful thriller and slasher horror. Wes Craven’s direction and tone for the film is nothing less than SUPERB and combined with brilliant writing this is an instant classic and is no surprise to this fan/viewer that it turned the entire horror genre upside down upon its release. Horror movies are not supposed to make hundreds of millions of dollars in the box office but Scream and it’s sequels have done just that. It is NO accident!!This is the film that sparked a myriad of “copy-cat” films in the late 90’s and early 2000’s who were desperately trying to reach the success of the Scream franchise but all of these far more inferior films failed miserably to do so.Finally, if you have never seen Scream and perhaps you’re not a fan of the horror genre please hear me out, you owe it to yourself to watch this film at least once! Twenty years later it still stands up tall and towering over the genre. Sadly, Wes Craven passed away in August of 2015 but thankfully he was able to see the incredible fingerprint he left on the film industry which he helped shape since the 1970’s. I can only imagine what new projects he would be working on right now which upon completion would once again revolutionize the genre. Rest In Peace Wes Craven and thank you for over forty years of SCREAMS!!!!

No review needed! Look at this cover! A must watch.

Good if you want a jump scare movie night. Added to our Halloween movie list.

My kids wanted to watch the original after watching the new one, they liked it and laughed on how corny some scenes look lol.

I love the killers—definitely one of the better Screams.

all time great slasher

This was my first favorite teen horror flick in the 90's. I LOVE Scream.... the first one is the best one. I remember going out and buying a voice changing machine right after this... lol . :P A classic 90's horror movie and a must watch for horror fans.

Directed by: Wes CravenWritten by: Kevin WilliamsonStarring:David Arguette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrick, Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan, Roger Jackson, Matthew Lillard.This is an excellent story about a killer who dresses in a dime store ghosty face costume. He sneaks around the little town of Woodsboro heckling people with vicious phone calls (thanks for the terror Roger Jackson) and stabbing them if all goes as planned. He is an uncoordinated villian and ends up sprawled on the ground as often as his victims. It is an off beat approach to a horror movie that paid off at the finish line like Seabiscuit to win. Many a risk was taken in this film and one has to give credit to Craven and Williamson for pulling it off. What's so unusual? The dialogue in this movie drops the name of about a dozen other movies. The result is not meltdown, but upbeat. Also the so called objective reporter is a main character exploiting the story for her own book sales. So Gale (Cox) becomes a character with a past who has angered many with her selfish style. Another odd thing: Craven goes for laughs here and there. Usually a horror flick is serious and goes for fear. Other things you don't often see in a shocker is very good to excellent photography: inspirational sunsets, sweeping panning shots.Campbell and McGowan do a great job as two feisty friends both with some smarts. Barrymore shows some very good acting during the film's opening scenes. A strange sound occurs in this movie as Neve opens a closet. I have never heard a kind of electronic moan and thought it added some freshness. Music was good featured by an acoustic version of "Don't Fear the Reaper". One more comment: there were of course scary bloody moments in this movie. When Wes goes for terror, he doesn't mess around. He'll make you feel like it's all happening outside your bedroom window. Maybe it is? The phone will ring first.This movie gets my vote as a groundbreaking great idea. Give it a try.

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I think this is one of the best horror movies ever made. The Scream Trilogy is a scary horror serise that will always be my favorit. The scene in the beginning with Drew Barrymore had me screaming. Neve, Courtney, and David are all great. David plays a great funny stupid cop. Courtney play a hot reporter who's funny but bitchy. and Neve plays a Great Scream Queen. She's right up there with Jamie leigh Curtis. Although the 2nd and 3rd are better this is a must see!

It's one of my favorite films, happy to be able to watch it again.

Had to ask for refund as the disc jumped a bit but I have seen this film before. I fancied seeing it again and I still find it quite good for a horror, if a bit over the top. I read other reviews and found some were right about the actors Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy and Matthew Lillard etc did appear too old to be playing high school students. I remember watching this as a teenager and did find the actual scary mask scary, it still worth watching even if it is quite dated now. The other sequeals are never as good since the character of 'Randy' (Jamie Kennedy) gets killed off. The strange thing I thought was seeing Happy Days actor play the schools headmaster didn't think that was the right choice. There are worse horror films to watch and that this is rather old, it still worth a viewing again. Though the clever plot was that there are actually 2 killers wearing the same 'scary mask'. Won't say who they are though.

bought this film recently as the last time i watched scream i was very young and it scared the crap out of me especially the mask. now when i watch it i think how was i scared its very lame and stupid and dated and hardly scary but u cant help but love it! its directed by the great wes craven (nightmare on elm street) and has a great storyline throughout that keeps u guessing who the killer is and a great twist at the end, the acting is ok except for david arquette who u have got to say is a terrible actor and his character dewey is the thickest cop u will ever meet but it has both the horror and comedy. so its a classic film that every horror fan should see or own XD