Scream (film)

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Scream
Directed by Wes Craven
Produced by Cathy Konrad,
Cary Woods
Written by Kevin Williamson
Starring David Arquette
Neve Campbell
Courteney Cox
Matthew Lillard
Rose McGowan
Skeet Ulrich
Jamie Kennedy
W. Earl Brown
Joseph Whipp
Liev Schreiber
and
Drew Barrymore
Distributed by Dimension Films
Release date(s) December 20, 1996
Running time 111 minutes
Language English
Budget $14,000,000 USD (estimated)
Gross revenue $173,046,663
Followed by Scream 2
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Scream is a 1996 horror film, directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. The film revitalized the slasher film genre in the mid 1990s, similar to what Halloween (1978) did in the 1970s, by using a standard concept with a tongue-in-cheek approach that successfully combined straightforward scares with dialogue that satirized slasher film conventions. The film features many teen idols of the time, including: Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore, and David Arquette.

Scream became a major commercial success upon its release, and was one of the highest grossing films of 1996. It was also highly acclaimed by many critics worldwide, who appreciated the film's tongue-in-cheek approach. It received an 86% rating at rottentomatoes.com.[1] As a result it spawned two sequels, Scream 2 and Scream 3.

Contents

[edit] Detailed plot treatment

In the film, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) attempts to cope with the anniversary of her mother's brutal rape and murder. Meanwhile, two teenagers at her school, Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) and her boyfriend Steve Orth (Kevin Patrick Walls) have been killed. The next night, while at home alone, the killer, who calls his/her victims on the phone and taunts them before attacking, invades her house and attempts to kill her. The killer is known as Ghostface, who wears a Halloween costume reminiscent of the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch.

Sidney tries to sort through the trauma of being attacked and, in reaction to circumstantial evidence, points an accusatory finger at her boyfriend Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich. She decides to stay at the home of her friend Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) and Tatum's brother Dwight, nicknamed Dewey (David Arquette), the deputy sheriff. While there, she receives a phone call from the killer. Billy is released, as he couldn't have placed the call from jail. Already under considerable stress, Sidney is forced to deal with the scandalization of her own attack by ambitious tabloid television newswoman Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox). Gale is responsible for a tell-all book revealing the promiscuous affair between Sidney's mother and her convicted killer, Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber). School is soon cancelled as a precautionary measure, leaving the building temporarily abandoned. Despite the closing, the school principal (Henry Winkler) is killed and Sidney encounters her attacker a second time, barely managing to escape. Unaware of their principal's fate, the teenagers plan a party. They are joined by Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), a horror movie buff, and Tatum's boyfriend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), who suggested the party. The party quickly becomes a bloodbath as the killer murders Tatum, who dies when she becomes stuck inside an automatic garage door.

In the interim, Gale, sensing the potential for a major scoop, hides a video camera inside the house. She then goes outside and begins searching for anything suspicious, with the help of officer Dewey. Meanwhile, at the party, Billy shows up and is confronted by Sidney; they eventually head upstairs and Sidney loses her virginity to Billy. The partygoers soon receive word of the principal's death, and head to the school football field to find his corpse.

Back at the house, Billy is stabbed by the killer while getting dressed, forcing Sidney to run out of the room to escape the killer. Randy, watching television, narrowly avoids death when the killer walks up to him only to be interrupted by Sidney's screams. The killer leaves Randy and chases after Sidney instead. Inside Gale's news van, her cameraman Kenny (W. Earl Brown) witnesses the killer's attempts to murder Randy and then lets a running Sidney inside. Kenny steps outside the van to try and warn Randy, but has his throat slashed by the killer.

Dewey leaves the house, and falls down to reveal a knife in his back. Sidney runs back to the house where she is greeted by Randy and Stu, who are presented as the only remaining suspects. When they both accuse each other of being the killer, Sidney doesn't know who to trust, and she slams the door in their faces.

Billy comes falling down the stairs, not dead, but seriously injured. Sidney helps him up and gives him a gun for safety. Suddenly, Billy shoots Randy (non-fatally), and shows the blood on his chest is corn syrup (as used in the production of Carrie). Sidney turns and finds Stu, who unveils the voice-changing box.

Finally, the truth is revealed: The murders were planned and carried out by Billy and Stu, as a means for getting revenge on Sydney's mother; it is revealed that Sydney's mother had an affair with Billy's father and this was the reason for the demise of Billy's parents' marriage. It is also revealed that it was Billy who murdered Sidney's mother and not Cotton Weary, who was convicted of the murder based upon Sidney's testimony; Billy's rage over his parents splitting up because of the affair with Sidney's mother is his motive. Sidney is saved by Gale, however briefly, (she forgot about the gun's safety) until she is again knocked unconscious. Stu and Billy also reveal they have abducted Sydney's father and it was his cellphone they used to make their ominous phone calls, and that they planned to murder Sydney and her father, then stab each other in non-vital places to make it seem like they were victims of Mr. Prescott's emotional and murderous breakdown while getting away with committing the murders. Things begin to fall apart though; Billy stabs Stu too deeply and he begins to bleed profusely. Sidney then manages to escape while they're dealing with Gale, before she kills Stu in self defense. Billy is shot by Gale but comes back for one more scare. However, Sid shoots him in the head, finally killing him. Dewey is shown being carried away in a stretcher, alive.

The film ends at daybreak, with Gale making an impromptu report on the events of the previous night as the authorities finally arrive on the crime scene.

[edit] Production

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (June 2007)
  • Scream was filmed in and around Healdsburg and Tomales, California.[2]
  • The Ghostface character was played mainly by stuntman Dane Farwell. The actors would only wear the costume when it was absolutely necessary, such as taking off the costume to reveal who was underneath.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

  • Sidney Prescott, the main character and protagonist of the film (as well as the rest of the trilogy). Sidney is going through a rough time throughout the film, dealing with problems such as the anniversary of her mother Maureen's murder, as well as her boyfriend wanting to lose their virginity to each other. She has a rivalry with the obnoxious news-reporter Gale Weathers due to her writing a book filled with lies and rumors about her mother's murder trial. Along with Gale, Sidney manages to defeat the killer at the end of the film. Sidney was portrayed by Neve Campbell.
  • Gale Weathers, an obnoxious news-reporter that will do almost anything to get a story. She has a rivalry with Sidney Prescott due to Gale writing a book about Sidney's mother's murder trial that is presumably filled with lies and rumors. Gale also has a love interest with Dwight "Dewey" Riley. She bosses her camera-man, Kenny around an awful lot and doesn't even care about him, especially after he is murdered by the killer, his corpse laid out across her van windshield and her simply shoving him off it. At the film's ending she proves not to be too heartless helping Sidney defeat the killer. Gale was portrayed by Courteney Cox.
  • Dwight 'Dewey' Riley, a kind, yet dopey police officer who is the older brother of Sidney's best friend, Tatum Riley. He helps Sidney sort her life out and has a love interest with the news-reporter, Gale Weathers. Dewey was portrayed by David Arquette.
  • Billy Loomis, Sidney's boyfriend and one of the two actual killers in the film. Billy often tries pressuring Sidney into having sex with him, thus giving up her virginity. He can easily project fear into people, such as Sidney, Stu and Randy, the latter of whom he threatens for implying that he's the killer. Billy was driven insane after his parents divorced and his mother abandoned him, as a result of Sidney's mother Maureen seducing his father. Desperate for revenge, he brutally raped and murdered Maureen before framing her lover, Cotton Weary. During the film's climax, Sidney stabs him with an umbrella, before she and Gale finally shoot him dead. Billy was portrayed by Skeet Ulrich.
  • Tatum Riley, Sidney's best friend, Stu Macher's girlfriend and younger sister of Officer Dewey Riley. Tatum appears to be the complete opposite of Sidney, being stronger-minded and an easygoing type person. Despite this, Tatum looks after Sidney and helps her through her troubled times. She is later killed off during Stu and Randy's party, having her head crushed with an automatic garage door after attempting to escape from the killer when getting beer from the garage. Tatum was portrayed by Rose McGowan.
  • Stuart "Stu" Macher, Tatum's boyfriend and Billy's best friend. Stu is one of the two killers in the film. However, unlike Billy, he is not insane but weak-willed, pathetic and somewhat slow, the combination of these three leading him to be easily persuaded to help Billy murder people. He is also overpowered by his girlfriend, Tatum. He is later killed by Sidney after she pushes a television screen on top of him causing serious electrocution in a form of self-defense. Stu was portrayed by Matthew Lillard.
  • Randy Meeks, Randy appears to be a friend of Sidney, Tatum, Stu and possibly Billy. He is a big horror movie buff and even works in a video store. He is the only one out of Sidney's "gang" not to be dating anyone which he appears to be happy with. It is shown that Randy wants to date Sidney and is notable that he survives the film. Randy was portrayed by Jamie Kennedy.

[edit] Other characters

  • Casey Becker & Steven Orth, Casey appears in the opening scene of the film being alone in her house. While making Jiffy Pop popcorn and getting ready for her boyfriend Steven Orth to arrive to watch a horror film, Casey gets phone calls from a mysterious stranger who first starts off nice conversation then ends with a taunting and threatening one. Casey is forced to play a trivia game in which she must answer questions correctly to keep her boyfriend, who is strapped to one of her outside patio chairs, alive. Casey witnesses her boyfriend being disembowled, and is then pursued by the killer herself. She is stabbed numerous times, before her horrified parents come home to see her bloody, gutted corpse hanging from a big oak tree across the road. Casey was portrayed by Drew Barrymore and Steven was portrayed by Kevin Patrick Walls.
  • Kenneth "Kenny" Jones, Gale Weather's gullible camera-man. It is shown that Gale is both a bully and a friend to him. However, after he has his throat slashed by the killer and his corpse spread out on her van windshield, she simply shoves him off it for him to land in a nearby field, though this is excused by the fact that she herself was panicking and trying to escape from the killer at the time. Kenny was portrayed by W. Earl Brown.
  • Principal Arthur Himbry, the school principal. He appears very disdainful of his students, describing them as a 'thieving, whoring generation'. He ends up being brutally murdered and hanged from a goalpost, as means of diverting the teenagers attention away from the party in Stu Macher's house, leaving Sidney (and inadvertently Randy) alone with the killer. Himbry was portrayed by Henry Winkler.
  • Sherrif Burke, the police sheriff who is continuously trying to track down the killer. He is shown to have a friendship with Dewey Riley. Burke was portrayed by Joseph Whipp.
  • Neil Prescott, Sidney's father. He is away on business and the suspicion of the killings are being heavily suspected upon him. The real killers, Billy and Stu abduct him and show him to Sidney during the film's near ending. Neil was portrayed by Lawrence Hecht.

[edit] The rules

A signature device, started in Scream and continued in Scream 2 and Scream 3, was the typical "rules" for that type of horror movie being stated by the characters.[3] In Scream, those rules (as described by Randy) are:

  • You may not survive the movie if you have sex.
  • You may not survive the movie if you drink or do drugs.
  • You may not survive the movie if you say "I'll be right back."

Additional rules (according to the killer):

  • You may not survive the movie if you ask "Who's there?"
  • You shouldn't go out to investigate a strange noise if you wish to survive.
  • Never believe the killer is dead, as he'll return for one last scare...

There were also rules used in the trailer:

  • Don't Answer The Phone
  • Don't Open The Door
  • Don't Try To Hide

[edit] References to other horror films

The film features numerous in-jokes and references to other horror projects. The victims in Scream are quite self-aware: they each make clear their familiarity with, and poke fun at, teen slasher and horror flicks, which sets up their fairly ironic responses to the film's situations.[4]

Two of the most common references are to A Nightmare on Elm Street and its director Wes Craven. In the audio commentary for the DVD, Craven says that he almost took out the line where Casey Becker says the first A Nightmare on Elm Street was good but the rest sucked, as he thought it would make him seem egotistical. However, it was pointed out to him that he had co-written the third film and also wrote and directed the seventh. A Nightmare on Elm Street is also referenced in the high school janitor. Fred, played by Craven, wears an outfit resembling Freddy Krueger's. Later in the film, Tatum tells Sidney that she is "sounding like a Wes Carpenter flick", a fictional name created from compounding the names Wes Craven and John Carpenter (co-producer of the first three installments in the Halloween film series, co-writer of the first two, and director of the first).

At one point Billy sneaks into Sidney's room through her window, startling her, in a way that quotes Glen sneaking into Nancy's room in A Nightmare on Elm Street. The similarity between the scenes in emphasized by the physical resemblance Skeet Ulrich, who plays Billy's character, bears to the young Johnny Depp, who played Glen's character.

In addition to its director, Halloween is referenced many times throughout the film. When Casey's parents come home and see that something is wrong, her father says to her mother, "Go down the street to the Mackenzies' house..." which is a quote from Halloween. During the party scene, Randy Meeks, Stu Macher and the other party goers are watching the horror film. They watch many famous scenes such as Michael Myers murdering Bob, as well as Laurie Strode discovering her friend's dead bodies scattered in the bedroom. Billy's surname, Loomis, is the same as that of Donald Pleasence's character in Halloween (1978), which in turn was the name of Marion Crane's lover in Psycho. In a similar fashion to Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), Scream's highly-billed star Drew Barrymore dies early in the film. Referring to Crane's similar premature murder, Robin Wood writes of the "alienation effect" of killing of the "apparent center of the film."[5] In the later stages of the film, Billy Loomis quotes Norman Bates, saying "We all go a little mad sometimes." Licking his fake blood, Loomis says that it is actually corn syrup, "the same stuff they used as pig's blood in Carrie".

As Stu and Billy reveal themselves to Sidney as the killers, they stand head to head, echoing a famous still photo from the film The Thing With Two Heads (1972).

Many films are briefly mentioned during a scene in which Billy and Stu visit Randy at work at a video store. Films Randy mentions include Candyman, The Howling, Prom Night, Everybody's All-American. Frankenstein is showing on the monitors.

Tatum mentions The Town That Dreaded Sundownwhile she, Dewey and Sidney are buying for the party.

During the party scene, the partygoers are struggling which movie to watch. The possibilities include The Evil Dead, Hellraiser, The Fog and Terror Train. Clerks is seen as a videotape on top of a television. During the party scene, when Billy arrives, Randy exclaims "Who let Leatherface in here?". Leatherface is the antagonist in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

In addition to mentioning several horror films throughout the film, many minor characters were portrayed by actors that have worked with Wes Craven before and have also appeared in prominent horror films. For example, Linda Blair, who played Regan in "The Exorcist", also plays the obnoxious reporter who approaches Sidney when she first returns to school. Joseph Whipp, who plays Sheriff Burke in Scream, also plays the sheriff in "Nightmare on Elm Street." Frances Lee McCain, playing Tatum and Dewey's mother, also played the part of Billy's mom, Lynn Peltzer, in 1984's "Gremlins."

Other films that are seen or mentioned throughout the film include:

[edit] Satirical/self-referential style

Scream is very much aware that it is a movie, and has fun with this. During the opening scene, Casey discusses movies, sequels, and trivia with the killer on the phone. Randy seems almost unable to tell the difference between a movie world and his own world. He constantly compares what is going on to situations in horror films, and at one point even says: "If this was a scary movie, I would be the main suspect." Randy also seems to believe very devoutly in his "Rules For Surviving a Horror Movie;" he eventually believes that the only reason he himself survives is because he's a virgin. Billy also comments that life is just "one big movie. Only you can't pick your genre."

Most notable of all, the climactic scene of the film revolves around the characters watching the movie Halloween, unaware that they themselves are being watched on a hidden camera. At one point Randy yells at the movie: "Look behind you, Jamie", unaware that there is also a killer behind him (and the actor is also named Jamie). Kenny watches this from inside the news van, and also yells: "Behind you, kid." The result is a movie character(Kenny) watching what the hidden camera in the room shows, giving advice to another movie character(Randy), also watching a movie, also giving advice to a movie character(in the movie he's watching).

In addition to this, the movie features cameos (Linda Blair and Henry Winkler) and general references to Hollywood figures (such as Sharon Stone and Richard Gere).

[edit] Reaction

[edit] Box office performance

The film opened in 1,413 theaters, taking $6,354,586 in its opening weekend. It went on to gain a domestic gross of $103,046,663, with, as of 2007, a worldwide lifetime gross of $173,046,663.[6] It peaked at number 3 in the U.S. domestic box office.

[edit] Critical reception

The reaction to Scream was generally very positive amongst film reviewers, who appreciated the shift from the teen slasher films of the 1980s and their "endless series of laborious, half-baked sequels."[2] Williamson's script was praised as containing a "fiendishly clever, complicated plot" which "deftly mixes irony, self-reference and wry social commentary with chills and blood spills."[7]

Roger Ebert appreciated "the in-jokes and the self-aware characters", but was confused over whether the level of violence was "defused by the ironic way the film uses it and comments on it?"[4] The New York Times says "not much of 'Scream' is that gruesome", but observes that Craven "wants things both ways, capitalizing on lurid material while undermining it with mocking humor. Not even horror fans who can answer all this film's knowing trivia questions may be fully comfortable with such an exploitative mix."[3]

Scream ranked number 32 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies and number 13 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

[edit] Awards

The film won several awards, including Best Movie at the MTV Movie Awards 1997, and Saturn Awards for Best Actress (Neve Campbell), Best Writer and Best Horror Film. Craven was awarded the Grand Prize at the Gérardmer Film Festival.[8]

[edit] Cultural impact

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

The film inspired a revival of interest in the genre including Cherry Falls, Urban Legends, and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Two sequels were produced (Scream 2 and Scream 3), with Williamson's I Know What You Did Last Summer following in 1997. It was also the inspiration for several parody films such as the Scary Movie series and Shriek if You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth. "Scary Movie" had been Scream's working title.

Ghostface's mask has become an icon in horror films, seen in windshield stickers and other media.

The film has been parodied many times on television. During the 1997 MTV Movie Awards, the opening scene was parodied, with Mike Myers calling and terrorizing Casey Becker instead of the film's killer, Ghostface.

One of the unique aspects of the film involved the mystery surrounding the identity of the killer (a plot device that had not been used for some time) and the twist ending in which it is revealed there are in fact two killers, this also became a popular trend amongst the horror revival that followed.

[edit] Soundtrack

Scream: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture
Scream: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture cover
Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released December 17, 1996
Genre Alternative rock
Length 46:30
Label TVT
Professional reviews

When Billy comes into Sidney's room at the beginning of the movie a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" performed by Gus Black is played. This song is played in the first Halloween film when Annie and Laurie are on their way to baby-sit.

The theme song for all three movies is "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

An alternate version of the music video "Drop Dead Gorgeous" by Republica featuring clips from the film was shown on music networks such as MTV. Although the song can be heard in the film, it does not show up on the soundtrack album. The song was also used in one of the TV promo spots for the film.

The soundtrack album was released on December 17, 1996 featuring songs from the film. A CD featuring Marco Beltrami's orchestral music for Scream and Scream 2 was released on the Varèse Sarabande label in 1997.[9]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Youth of America" - Birdbrain
  2. "Whisper" - Catherine
  3. "Red Right Hand" - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
  4. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" - Gus
  5. "Artificial World" [Interdimensional Mix] - Julee Cruise
  6. "Better Than Me" - Sister Machine Gun
  7. "Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)" - Soho
  8. "First Cool Hive" - Moby
  9. "Bitter Pill" - The Connells
  10. "School's Out" - The Last Hard Men
  11. "Trouble In Woodsboro"/"Sidney's Lament" - Marco Beltrami

[edit] VHS and DVD releases

The original, gorier version of the film was released on VHS in 1997. The box covers classified the film as rated "R" even though it was actually the unrated version. The unrated cut was only available on video when the film was released for sale to the general public while the rental version, released earlier that year, still contained the theatrical cut. The unrated version was officially released as "The Director's Cut" on laser disc but has yet to be released on DVD in America. The unrated version has been released on DVD in other regions such as Europe and Japan with quality varying. Differences in the film include: A shot of Steve's entrails falling out of his stomach; a longer, slower version of the shot where Casey's body is shown hanging from a tree; Tatum's head getting crushed by the garage door; More blood can be seen pouring down Kenny's chest after getting his throat slashed; A more graphic version of the scene where Stu and Billy cut each other.

When the film was released for sale on VHS in 1997 it was available in several different forms including three collectible covers with one featuring Drew Barrymore's face, one had Neve Campbell's face and the other had Courtney Cox's face. There was also a collector's set which came with the wide screen version of the film on one tape and another tape featuring the movie with audio commentary by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson. The set also featured a special Scream phone card with 10 minutes of talk time and three large collector's cards with the faces of Drew, Neve and Courtney (the same images used on the special VHS covers).

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1074316-scream/
  2. ^ a b Stack, Peter. "FILM REVIEW -- Satirical `Scream' Is Out for Blood -- and Lots of It", San Francisco Chronicle, December 20, 1996. Retrieved on 2007-01-27. 
  3. ^ a b Maslin, Jant. "Scream", The New York Times, 1996-12-20. Retrieved on 2007-05-31. 
  4. ^ a b Ebert, Roger. "Scream", Chicago Sun Times, December 20, 1996. Retrieved on 2007-01-27. 
  5. ^ Wood, Robin (1989). Hitchcock's Films Revisited. London: Faber and Faber, 146. ISBN 0571162266. 
  6. ^ Scream. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
  7. ^ Harrington, Richard. "Go Ahead and 'Scream'", Washington Post, December 20, 1996. Retrieved on 2007-01-27. 
  8. ^ Awards for Scream (1996/I). IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
  9. ^ Carlsson, Mikael. Scream/Scream 2. Music from the Movies. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Scream
Films: Scream • Scream 2 • Scream 3
Characters: Sidney Prescott • Ghostface • List of Scream film trilogy characters
Cast: David Arquette • Neve Campbell • Courteney Cox • Rose McGowan • Sarah Michelle Gellar • Skeet Ulrich • Scott Foley • Patrick Dempsey • Jamie Kennedy • Matthew Lillard • Drew Barrymore • Parker Posey • Jenny McCarthy • Emily Mortimer • Jerry O'Connell • Timothy Olyphant • Laurie Metcalf • Deon Richmond • Liev Schreiber • Jada Pinkett Smith • Omar Epps
Crew: Wes Craven • Kevin Williamson • Ehren Kruger
v • d • e
Films directed by Wes Craven
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scream_%28film%29"
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