Scream

Summary

“What’s your favorite scary movie?”

In 1996, Scream was released into theaters. It was directed by legendary horror filmmaker Wes Craven and written by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. Williamson was the talented writer behind the cultural phenomenon Dawson’s Creek, which was easily the most popular show amongst teenagers at the time. Williamson was an openly gay writer with a real knack for writing about teenage characters in a realistic (albeit dramatic) way. I remember that Dawson’s Creek was considered somewhat controversial amongst parental groups due to its frank discussions of teenage sex, but looking back at the show twenty five years later, it is pretty tame. Kevin Williamson wrote the script for Scream as a way of emulating his absolute favorite film of all time, Halloween. The script was originally called Scary Movie, and was purchased for $400,000. The screenplay for the film felt very hip and after being passed around Hollywood it attracted Wes Craven to the project. The film was retired Scream and the advertising campaign showed the attractive “teenage” stars Skeet Ulrich, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and Drew Barrymore as leads. It was marketed heavily to the Generation X teenagers that were still watching the MTV Movie Awards back when MTV still played music videos. When audiences went to see the film, they were in for a fairly large surprise within the opening moments of the film. The shocking opening of the picture led to a groundswell of word of mouth and the film was a huge success at the box office, raking in $173 million dollars worldwide off of a $14 million dollar budget. It was apparent immediately that it would be one of the defining horror films of that decade (it probably is THE defining horror film of that decade,) and it inspired a slew of imitators (Urban Legend, I Know What You Did Last Summer (also penned by Kevin Williamson,) etcetera) and led to three sequels. The film series is being rebooted next year with Kevin Williamson attached as producer. To commemorate the 25th year since the film was released theatrically, Paramount has given the film a brand new 4K UHD release (and a steelbook release as well.) I had revisited the film last year with my oldest son, but I sat down to watch it again the other night.

Spoiler Alert: If you have not watched the film before, please skip over the plot synopsis portion of this review. The opening sequence is not something that I would want to ruin for a first time viewer. I will still try to be somewhat vague, but the opening sequence sets the course for the rest of the film.

As the film begins, Casey (Drew Barrymore) is alone at her house about to pop some popcorn and hang out with her football player boyfriend. She receives a phone call that at first seems like a wrong number. Then the person on the line begins to ask her questions, starting with “What’s your favorite scary movie?” Things escalate from there and soon Casey finds herself in a deadly game with the psychopath on the phone. He wears a Ghostface Killer mask and brandishes a knife. Across town, Sidney (Neve Campbell) is inside her bedroom when she hears a noise outside her window. Her boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ulrich) has found a way up to her window. They discuss their relationship and the lack of intimacy from Sidney since her mother had died a year earlier. He leaves just before Sidney’s father enters the room. The father mentions that he will be out of town for the weekend and staying at a Hilton. At school the next day, the news media, including reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox,) descends upon the high school to discuss the recent deaths from the killer. Gale and Sidney have a stormy relationship because Gale believes that the man put into prison, Cotton Weary (Liev Schrieber,) was misidentified by Sidney as the killer. Sidney can not face the idea that her mother would have willingly had sex with Cotton, who was a positive DNA match from recent sexual activity on her mother’s body. He had claimed that the sex had been consensual. Sidney punches Gale in the face when Gale goes too far with her questioning. That afternoon, Sidney hangs out with her friends – Randy (Jamie Kennedy,) Stu (Matthew Lillard,) Tatum (Rose McGowan,) and Billy. They discuss the killings. Tatum’s brother, Officer Dewey (David Arquette) warns them to stay safe. That night, while Sidney is alone at home, she receives a call. On the line is the ominous voice of the killer. As she runs through her house and defends herself from the killer, she ends up in her bedroom. Billy comes through the window as Sidney sends a message to the police on her computer. Billy drops a cell phone. Fearing Billy may be the killer or is somehow involved, she runs to the front of the house just as Deputy Dewey and a couple other squad cars arrive. Sidney tries to navigate the feelings that she has for Billy, while also fearing that she is being stalked by the masked killer.

Scream has aged beautifully. Like Halloween which inspired it, Scream is essentially a timeless horror film. The script by Kevin Williamson struck a nerve with teenagers because of his unique ability to portray teenagers in a way that felt familiar. The teenagers largely talk about movies (in this case horror films,) relationship issues, and they joke around with one another in playful ways. It is all written with polish to accentuate how cool the characters are, but the dialogue is decidedly within the wheelhouse of the average American teenager. The characters are all genuinely funny in the same way that we all had funny friends in high school. Jamie Kennedy’s character Randy responds to the situation in the exact way that a Blockbuster employee would, by relating everything to horror films and the rules that govern slashers. Given that the killer in the film is also a horror fanatic, the film benefits from a somewhat meta approach. It is pretty funny for example when Casey mentions that her favorite horror film is A Nightmare on Elm Street, but all the sequels suck, or when Tatum name drops “Wes Carpenter” while discussing a situation. It is obviously a horror film written by a horror fan and it manages to relish in the cliches that drive the genre while also poking fun at those very cliches. At the core of the film is a solid mystery – who is killing high schoolers and who killed Sidney’s mom? By the end of the film, all is revealed and the answers are satisfying. Kevin Williamson also wrote the solid Scream 2, and his absence was felt in the disappointing follow up Scream 3. 

The film is helped along by a wonderful cast. Neve Campbell was already popular for her work on Party of Five, but she proved to be box office dynamite with the Scream series and Wild Things – which were both loved by all teenagers that grew up in the Nineties. Matthew Lillard is a woefully underrated actor and he is terrific in the role of Stu. I am so happy that he has recently landed some prominent roles including a stint on David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return. Skeet Ulrich is well cast as the boyfriend Billy. Jamie Kennedy also stands out as Randy, who is given many of the best lines in the film. The casting of Drew Barrymore in the role of Casey was brilliant and helped to sell the amazing opening sequence. That sequence was ripped off in nearly every horror film after Scream. Courtney Cox is enjoyable as Gale, and David Arquette is lovably goofy as Deputy Dewey. Henry Winkler is also fun to watch as the high school principal.

Rewatching Scream, the film still has the ability to captivate and thrill. Wes Craven’s natural talent for horror shines in the film’s pacing and ability to generate jump scares. Craven could be such a brilliant filmmaker and Scream is easily one of his strongest films. The movie moves quickly and keeps the suspense levels high. Many of the imitators that followed tried their hand at blending comedy and horror as effectively and easily, but it proved to be a harder task than they imagined. Scream remains a generation defining horror film that has lost none of its charm. 

Video

The new 4K HEVC/H.265 transfer from Paramount Pictures, is a great improvement over the 2011 Blu-ray release. Like many films from the Nineties, Scream has a slightly softer look than the digital film that has become so prevalent over the last couple decades. The 4K UHD brings out much more detail than the Blu-ray release and the source seems to be in great shape. The film’s color palette has never looked better than it does here. The nighttime sequences pop in ways that would be I’m possible without the extra resolution. Because the film also primarily uses practical effects, there are not a lot of moments that suddenly look fake due to the uptick in detail. Fans of the picture should be very pleased with the results of this new 4K edition.

Audio

Paramount Pictures have provided the same great DTS-HD MA 5.1 track for this release as was presented on the prior Blu-ray. Obviously, a Dolby Atmos track would have been a welcome addition, but the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is still surprisingly effective.  Clarity is very good and the track is immersive with strong surround and LFE channels support. While it would be easy to nitpick the release for not going the extra mile, this track still sounds very good overall.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary with director Wes Craven joins screenwriter Kevin Williamson
• A Bloody Legacy: Scream 25 years later – this new piece shows some of the cast and crew interviewed, but is primarily a way of promoting the upcoming 2022 Scream.
• Production Featurette
• Behind the Scenes
• Q&A Session

Overall Scores: 

Video – 4.25/5

Audio – 4.25/5

Supplements – 2.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Scream is one of the defining films of the Nineties and is an enduring classic horror film. It still feels fresh in the same way that its inspiration Halloween still has power over its audience. Wes Craven was a tremendously talented filmmaker when he had a great script to work with, and the script by Kevin Williamson is wonderful. Fans of the film will be pleased to see that Paramount’s new 4K UHD presentation of the film is leaps ahead of the prior Blu-ray visually. The audio presentation is the same as on the prior Blu-ray release, but the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is still a very good track. If you don’t own Scream already, this is certainly the version to purchase. If you do own Scream, I think the visual improvement on the 4K UHD is worth the double dip.