In honor of the Halloween season, I wanted to take a look back at the 1996 horror classic “Scream” — a movie that spawned a franchise still ongoing today and why it’s my favorite horror film of all time.
Growing up, I never enjoyed horror movies or anything horror-related because I would always get easily scared and would be scared to have nightmares about them. But “Scream” was one of the few movies that didn’t scare me, instead entertaining me on levels that I didn’t understand.
When I became an adult, I finally realized why — the satirical take on the horror genre, going after slasher tropes. References to other horror movies and the “rules” of how to survive a horror movie. The movie actively lets the audience know that they know the tropes and encourages them to play along. It still makes me laugh whenever I watch it.
Wes Craven is perhaps one of the genre’s most iconic film directors, known for launching the famous “The Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise and carrying an impressive portfolio of horror films in his catalog. The original “Scream,” which debuted in theaters 28 years ago, still makes the list as one of the most memorable slashers of all time. And Ghostface is quite a popular Halloween costume.
Not only did the content of “Scream” prove to be satirical, but the marketing was subversive as well. Drew Barrymore was advertised as the main star of the film, being more well-known in a cast filled with lesser-known actors and actresses. She already racked up several appearances in movies such as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Batman Forever,” and she’s part of the Barrymore family of Hollywood actors. So from a marketing standpoint, it made sense to market her as the main character.
It’s no surprise that the audience was shocked when she was the second person to get killed in the film’s opening sequence. And now the opening has become a famous scene in its own right. After all, who could forget hearing Ghostface coldly ask, “What’s your favorite scary movie?”
I have to talk about the cast performances. While everyone in the cast is incredibly strong — especially Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, an iconic “final girl” in her own right — the one performance that has always stuck out to me is Matthew Lillard as Stu Macher. His performance borders sociopath and psychopath in such a brilliant way, and towards the end, after being revealed as one of the Ghostface killers, he’s asked for a motive. He simply says “peer pressure, I’m far too sensitive.”
It’s up to the audience to determine whether he is genuine or not. I personally think it’s a mixture of the truth and a lie. There is a scene where the other Ghostface killer Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich, talks about how it’s scarier for a horror villain not to have a motive. So I interpret the “peer pressure” motive as a joke.
There’s a reason why the “Scream” franchise is still ongoing. The latest entry, “Scream VI,” was released on March 6, 2023. The 1996 original revitalized the slasher genre and is my favorite horror movie ever. It’s always a killer (pun intended) movie to watch every time.
