Scream
Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, and Drew Barrymore
Directed by Wes Craven
Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, and Drew Barrymore
Directed by Wes Craven
It had been a long time since I had seen Scream and it was one of those movies that I really enjoyed as a teenager but felt that there was absolutely no way it would hold up today. Fortunately, I was wrong. It's just as funny, clever, and tense as I remember it, and it moves along at such a brisk pace that its nearly two hour running time feels much less than that.
Sidney Prescott's (Campbell) mother was brutally raped and murdered a year ago and testimony from Sidney put the supposed killer in jail. However, a brutal slaying of two teens makes some believe that Sidney may have convicted the wrong man and the killer is back again.
This has been said many times before, but the thing that makes this movie work is the simple fact that it knows it's a horror movie. It doesn't try to push the clichés aside, but instead it milks them for all they're worth. It pokes fun at the genre, while at the same time, treating it with utmost respect. The twelve-minute opening sequence with Drew Barrymore is a perfect example. That's a genius bit of filmmaking there. It's so tense and so taut that even though I knew what was going to happen this time around, I was still on the edge of my seat. It's really a brilliant horror movie scene.
Similarly, the film's climactic set piece of the aftermath of a house party (which I would say goes on for a surprisingly long time) doesn't wear out its welcome. The twists keep coming and they're supported by both clever writing and some surprisingly good acting. I never would've thought I could write that Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy were any good in anything, but they really show that given the right lines, they can really deliver. Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich are fine, but a little too mopey for my tastes. Fortunately, they're balanced out by the quirky David Arquette as a small-town sheriff's deputy and Courtney Cox (not yet an Arquette) as hard-ass reporter Gale Weathers.
If memory serves me right, Screams 2 and 3 don't work nearly as well, but perhaps I'll give them another shot in the near future. If you haven't seen this one in a while, it's worth a glance again.
Side Note: Finally...a movie streaming on Netflix that was actually recommendable!
Sidney Prescott's (Campbell) mother was brutally raped and murdered a year ago and testimony from Sidney put the supposed killer in jail. However, a brutal slaying of two teens makes some believe that Sidney may have convicted the wrong man and the killer is back again.
This has been said many times before, but the thing that makes this movie work is the simple fact that it knows it's a horror movie. It doesn't try to push the clichés aside, but instead it milks them for all they're worth. It pokes fun at the genre, while at the same time, treating it with utmost respect. The twelve-minute opening sequence with Drew Barrymore is a perfect example. That's a genius bit of filmmaking there. It's so tense and so taut that even though I knew what was going to happen this time around, I was still on the edge of my seat. It's really a brilliant horror movie scene.
Similarly, the film's climactic set piece of the aftermath of a house party (which I would say goes on for a surprisingly long time) doesn't wear out its welcome. The twists keep coming and they're supported by both clever writing and some surprisingly good acting. I never would've thought I could write that Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy were any good in anything, but they really show that given the right lines, they can really deliver. Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich are fine, but a little too mopey for my tastes. Fortunately, they're balanced out by the quirky David Arquette as a small-town sheriff's deputy and Courtney Cox (not yet an Arquette) as hard-ass reporter Gale Weathers.
If memory serves me right, Screams 2 and 3 don't work nearly as well, but perhaps I'll give them another shot in the near future. If you haven't seen this one in a while, it's worth a glance again.
Side Note: Finally...a movie streaming on Netflix that was actually recommendable!
The RyMickey Rating: B+
Only took you... 30 movies?
ReplyDeleteIve never seen this!
ReplyDeleteEric - It's really pretty good. I mean, you have to go into it realizing that it's a really good slasher pic and nothing more than that.
ReplyDeleteIt's silly, but it's effective and definitely one you should check out just for the "fun level" of it.
And Justin, it wasn't quite 30 movies...more like 10...and I realized that I actually did like one of them that I watched...so, I guess I'm 2 for 10...
ReplyDelete