"Scream" 1996

“Scream”

I am not usually a fan of the slasher flicks. Really any movie that gratuitous in any respect usually falls off my radar pretty quickly. I don’t like action movies that are just about how high the body count will go. For me, if the story is good, I can watch just about any genre.

Wes Craven has made some good horror movies. “Nightmare on Elm Street” is a classic. I had heard about “Scream”. I didn’t rush to the theater to see it. It wasn’t until it came to video that I caught it. I was working for the movie distributor and the studio had a screening. There was a theater in town that specialized in second run movies and was also a lounge. You could get pizza and beer. They had midnight showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” every Saturday night. It also allowed smoking at the time. Now it is illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants in my state. It is still strange to go somewhere that still allows smoking like a casino.

Anyway, they had a screening of “Scream”. My husband loved the screenings. They always had unlimited pizza and snacks. You had a table to hold all your stuff and the chairs were super comfy. It was really a fun place to see a movie. It closed down a few years ago.

This movie was surprising. It followed the “Psycho” format of taking a well known actress and killing her off pretty early in the film. Drew Barrymore was easily the most famous cast member when the movie came out. She plays Casey who is getting ready to watch a scary movie. She is waiting for her boyfriend to show up when the phone rings. The call starts flirty but takes a serious turn. Soon she is playing a game of Trivial Pursuit for her life.

Phone Voice: Name the killer in Friday the 13th.
Casey: Jason! Jason! Jason!
Phone Voice: I'm sorry. That's the wrong answer!
Casey: No, it's not. No it's not. It was Jason.
Phone Voice: Afraid not. No way.
Casey: Listen, it was Jason! I saw that movie 20 goddamn times!
Phone Voice: Then you should know that Jason's mother, Mrs. Voorhees was the original killer. Jason didn't show up until the sequel. I'm afraid that was a wrong answer.
Casey: [Weeping] You tricked me.
Phone Voice: Lucky for you there's a bonus round, but poor Steve... I'm afraid he's OUT!

Casey and her boyfriend Steve are the first victims. But the teens in this town aren’t stupid. They know the rules.

Randy: There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex.
[crowd boos]
Randy: BIG NO NO! BIG NO NO! Sex equals death, okay? Number two: you can never drink or do drugs.
[crowd cheers and raises their bottles]
Randy: The sin factor! It's a sin. It's an extension of number one. And number three: never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, "I'll be right back." Because you won't be back.
Stu: I'm gettin' another beer, you want one?
Randy: Yeah, sure.
Stu: I'll be right back.
[crowd cheers]
Randy: See, you push the laws and you end up dead. Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen with a knife.

Neve Campbell is Sydney Prescott. Her mother died the year before and she fingered the man that went to jail for the crime. She is still struggling to move on with her life when the new murders bring it to the forefront. She is also familiar with the rules but not a fan of the movies.

Phone Voice: Do you like scary movies?
Sidney Prescott: What's the point? They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It's insulting.

Courtney Cox is Gale Weathers, a tabloid reporter who is always looking for a way to further her career.

Gale: If I'm right about this, I could save a man's life. Do you know what that would do for my book sales?

David Arquette plays Dewey, a typical small town cop who is ill-equipped to handle murders of this magnitude.

Gale: You look awfully young to be a police officer.
Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley: I'm 25 years old.
Gale: You know, in a demographic study, I proved to be most popular amongst males 11 to 24. I guess I just missed you.
[giggles flirtatiously]
Gale: Of course, you don't look a day over 12. Except in that...
[She looks him up and down, admiringly]
Gale: ... upper torso area. Does the force require you to work out?
Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley: [Charmed, despite his common sense:] No, ma'am. 'Cause of my boyish good looks, muscle mass has increased my acceptance as a serious police officer.

The movie is well acted, has a decent back story and is just plain fun. I have the first three movies, but haven’t seen the fourth one yet.

It was fun seeing it in a smoky theater in comfy chairs with pizza. I jumped a few times, but it was really good. It really launched a new horror movie era which has produced some smart and funny movies. Of course the gratuitous slasher flicks are still out there.

You just aren’t going to catch me seeing any of them.

Unless the pizza is free.

Maybe.