(Reviewed by Eminem4569) - "There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to survive a horror movie. First, you can never drink or do drugs. Second, you can never have sex. BIG NO NO. It's a sin. It's an extension of number 1. And last, you can never, ever, ever under any circumstances say "I'll be right back," 'Cause you won't be back.” -Randy in Scream

Thank you Mr. Craven and Mr. Williamson for bringing back the old school horror film. Yes, that's what I was saying back in 1996, then I Know What You Did Last Summer and Co. came out...

The film starts with naturally, a teenaged girl, Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) at home alone. She gets a frightening phone call from a creepy voiced menacing man. He begins by talking her up, maybe a little flirty, but nothing inappropriate. He quizzes her on films; this guy likes again, naturally horror films. She is also a bit of the horror buff; she likes A Nightmare on Elm Street but not the sequels, however her favorite is Halloween. As the conversation goes on he begins to ask personal questions and gets creepy. She hangs up on him causing him get angry. He then calls back, shouting at her furiously. This is not the type of guy you want to see furious. The opening ends rather messy, instead of explaining in detail, I will let you see the film or use your imagination.

Scream has one the best opening sequences in horror film history. The tactic of making the opening sequence shocking and violent can be a great technique or it can backfire. When used correctly it can show the audience what can happen, the danger zone and that the chance of this brutal act is always a possibility. It can set the tone of terror for the rest of the film. Scream, just as Halloween, used the opening sequence perfectly.

However, the polar opposite technique is to keep the terror a mystery. If the audience does not see the violence right away, they will be on the edge of their seats until it happens. This is what Alfred Hitchcock did in Psycho. However, what Scream and Psycho do have in common is the slaughtering of the first billed starlet. Drew Barrymore and Janet Leigh were supposed to be the leads in these respected films. So instantly they were crossed off as possible victims in the audience’s mindsets. The techniques used in Scream’s opening sequence and Psycho’s shower scene made the murders were that much more effective at shocking, because they were unexpected.

After Casey Becker ends up in a body bag the killer turns his attention to Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell). One year ago, Sidney's mother was raped and murdered in a highly publicized case. As the stalking becomes more rampant the media attention on this case grows and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox-Arquette) who covered Sydney’s case soon shows up to the high school much to the disliking of Principle Arthur Himbry (The Fonz, oops, Henry Winkler).

The film soon turns into a whodunit. This town unlike conventional horror towns doesn’t have any legends about Michael Myers, Jason’s or Freddy Krueger’s. Some believe it is Sydney’s dad. Others believe it is her boyfriend (Skeet Ulrich). It could also be one of the many other High School kids running around (including actors Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy and Mathew Lillard). The Sheriff (Joseph Whip) and Deputy Dewey (David Arquette) are the ones investigating the murder.

"If you were the only suspect in a senseless bloodbath - would you be standing in the horror section?" - Randy

Randy (Jamie Kennedy) knows his horror. All of the high schoolers in this film know their horror, at least to a degree. The teens may not know that Jason did not show up till the 2nd Friday the 13th, however they know he was the real star of the saga. That is part of the fun of this film, to keep this from being a standard horror film; they broke the clichés by putting teenaged characters that know the clichés into a very tongue-in-cheek script. However, the reason some of these kids like horror is the same reason some of them will be killed…

"When do we see Jamie Lee's breasts? I want to see Jamie Lee's breasts." - Stu

Wes Craven was born to direct a film like this. He adds all the horror ingredients perfectly while also treating us to humor that is always ironic and never campy. The reason this works is because Craven, never one to take himself too seriously, pokes fun at his own reputation and his movies, at one point calling himself Wes Carpenter (pointing out how often people get him and John Carpenter mixed up).

The first 90 minutes of the film is done perfectly. The climax has a nice twist, however, as it goes on it gets a little silly and protracted. This should probably have been cleaned up as it is one of the films few flaws. This modern horror classic could then leave a little bit better taste in our mouths.

"Never say who's there? Don't you watch scary movies? It's a death wish. You might as well come out to investigate a strange noise or something." - Ghostface

***½ 3 and a half stars