By the mid-90s, the slasher movie genre was beginning to feel a bit tired. There was a lack of originality and all the movies covered familiar terrain. Then one movie came along and changed the genre forever. Scream was an inventive, energetic and thrilling boost of energy that was needed at the time.
The concept of a masked killer who stalks a bunch of good-looking teens sounded like nothing new, but there was a lot more going on with the film. But after over 20 years since it was released, does the movie still feel as fresh? Here are some of the reasons Scream has aged poorly and some reasons it is timeless.
Aged Poorly: The Drew Barrymore Twist
Most horror movies wait until the end to give a big twist, but Scream got the shocks out of the way in the very first scene. The movie brilliantly marketed the slasher movie with Drew Barrymore as one of the stars. She was on the posters, in the trailers and even did interviews for the movie. So it was a pretty big shock when she is killed off in the first few minutes.
The twist was so effective and put audiences on the edge of their seats for the rest of the movie. Sadly, it is one of those twists that is pretty much public knowledge now and viewers can no longer experience how shocking that was at the time of its release.
Timeless: The Opening
Even without the surprise death of Barrymore, the opening scene is one of the most iconic in horror movie history and one of the best scenes in the film. As Barrymore prepares popcorn to watch a movie, she gets a mysterious call which quickly turns threatening.
The audience is thrown right into the movie in this intense and clever scene that expertly builds from mundane to terrifying. Barrymore is excellent in the tormented role and it kicks the movie off in epic fashion.
Aged Poorly: Teenagers
Teenagers have usually been the main targets in slasher films for some reason and Scream is no different. But while the movie does have some fun playing around with the well-worn stereotypes, they do carry on the genre tradition of casting people who are much too old to play teens.
Most cast members were in their mid-to-late 20s at the time of filming, and while there are movies that have stretched that age limit even more, it is distracting. The cast is great and likable, but they are certainly not convincing as high school students.
Timeless: The Mystery
Some slasher movies present the killer openly, like with Michael Myers in Halloween. But other films in the genre like to add a little mystery as to who the real killer is. As the genre went on, the killer's identity became more obvious in subsequent films.
Scream displays its love of the genre and its desire to reconstruct it by creating a genuine mystery. The movie does a wonderful job of making everyone a suspect. With small details and throwaway lines, the suspect list grows and grows. Even the more cliched choices are hinted at, then exonerated, then hinted at some more. It makes the movie so much fun.
Aged Poorly: Sex
Sex has always played a big role in slasher films, mostly due to the exploitation nature of the genre. Scream examines this trope and even plays with the idea of sex leading to certain death in horror films. However, when it comes to the topic of sex regarding the main character of Sidney, the movie veers into uncomfortable territory.
Sidney is hesitant to have sex with her boyfriend due to past trauma in her life. This leads to other characters, including her friends and the aforementioned boyfriend, shaming her for being so being prudish until she eventually relents.
Timeless: Meta Humor
Though there had been horror-comedies before, Scream was a film that brilliantly and mercilessly used the horror movie trappings to tear apart the genre itself. This is one of the first slasher movies in which the characters acknowledge that it feels like they are in a slasher movie.
The brilliant idea not only helps the film play with the audience's expectations, but it also made for some genuinely funny moments. Characters commented on tropes and clichés in hilarious ways and created a number of gags that lovingly mock the genre.
Aged Poorly: The Rules
One of the most inventive things that the movie introduces is the rules for surviving a horror movie. The character of Randy is a horror movie fanatic and through his obsession with the genre, has been able to determine what gets characters killed in these situations.
This is another clever way the movie comments on the genre it's in. The problem is that these rules no longer really apply to modern horror movies. This is actually a testament to the success of Scream, as the genre had to change as a result of the film. Unfortunately, that makes the "rules" feel outdated.
Timeless: Killer Twist
As much as Scream throws out a lot of possibilities about who might be the killer, it still manages to surprise the audience with a very simple yet brilliant idea — two killers. The idea seems so simple but it really does take you by surprise.
The multiple killers help to eliminate possibilities about who it could be so it keeps you guessing right up until the final reveal. This also allows the movie to play with the obviousness of the boyfriend being the killer while actually following through with the cliché.
Aged Poorly: Cell Phones
Cell phones play a big role in the Scream films and it was a fairly new concept for horror movies in 1996. Needless to say, the technology seen in the movies feels pretty dated today. The cell phones and big bulking bricks would probably elicit some laughs from modern audiences.
The use of cell phones in the film has also become impractical. The killers use cell phones to taunt their victims, but those calls would be extremely easy to track these days.
Timeless: Ghostface
While Scream pays homage to John Carpenter's Halloween in many ways, it also managed to create its own iconic cinematic killer. The so-called Ghostface is a great villain with a memorable look thanks to that famous mask.
Even though a new killer has become Ghostface in each new film, that mask has remained the image of the series and has gone down as one of the most popular horror movie characters of all time.