So considering that this is a new blog with hardly any posts, and considering that we’ve just entered Spooktober, I’m going to try and post some film reviews every week. The plan is to have one up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in October (the first one being today, the 2nd, and the final review being on October 30th). 13 reviews of horror films, all personal favorites of mine. Of the 13, only 4 of them can be considered “classics”. The first review is Scream, for two reasons: I just watched it like three nights ago, and Wes Craven recently passed, so this is my way of saying “I respect your work.” The final film I review will be Wes Craven’s other big film, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Having said that, here is the review:
Scream is a 1996 slasher film directed by Wes Craven (of Nightmare on Elm Street fame) and written by Kevin Williamson (the guy who created Dawson’s Creek). Seems like a weird fucking pairing, right? Well, it works extremely well. The script and the directing on this film have hardly similarities, yet they blend together pretty damn well. Let me elaborate. Wes Craven’s directing in the film is very traditional. Not to say that it’s poorly directed. The best part of the film, directing-wise, is how smoothly it moves with the tone shifts in the screenplay. There are plenty of scary moments (the image of Casey Becker’s corpse hanging from a tree in the opening scene still haunts me to this day), plenty of action-y moments (like the chase scenes), plenty of funny moments (Jamie Kennedy and Matthew Lillard in particular are great), and plenty of dramatic moments (primarily dealing with the death of Maureen Prescott). The brilliant thing about the directing is that none of these transitions are jarring to us.
The writing is very ‘90s. The dialogue is almost like something out of an early Kevin Smith film, where all the characters are film experts. This is coming from someone who loves Kevin Smith films (especially the early ones). There are certain moments that are a little cheesy, but they’re few and far between. What sets this apart from a lot of horror films is how invested you get in the character of Sidney Prescott. If you look at other horror film protagonists, they’re usually likable, but they’re never really developed. Sidney has a strong personality, and a fucked up history. Which is another unique thing about this film. The entire film revolves around the fact that someone was murdered one year before the events of the film. And we go with it, because they don’t just bring it up out of nowhere and then drop it. Maureen Prescott’s murder influences the behavior of Sidney through the entire film, as well as having a direct tie to the killers (it’s been out nearly 20 years, so don’t yell “spoiler” if you’ve not seen it already).
Other thoughts: The twist/reveal at the end is cool, but predictable. The score is fucking strange as hell; it doesn’t fit a ‘90s teen film, and it doesn’t fit a slasher film either. It’s not a bad score, it’s just odd. Acting highlights are Neve Campbell, Jamie Kennedy, and Matthew Lillard; everyone else for the most part gives a decent performance (except maybe Drew Barrymore, but she’s not in it too long). Henry Winkler is in it for some strange reason, but he’s not bad (he’s also not in it too much).
