Scream (1996)

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer (WGA):

Kevin Williamson (written by)

Release Date:

20 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't Answer The Phone. Don't Open The Door. Don't Try To Escape.

Plot:

A killer known as "ghost face" begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the "Rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Mask | Tabloid | Murder | High School

Awards:

7 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Drew Barrymore	...	Casey
Roger Jackson	...	Phone Voice (voice)
Kevin Patrick Walls	...	Steve
David Booth	...	Casey's Father
Carla Hatley	...	Casey's Mother
Neve Campbell	...	Sidney
Skeet Ulrich	...	Billy
Lawrence Hecht	...	Mr. Prescott
Courteney Cox	...	Gale Weathers
W. Earl Brown	...	Kenny
Rose McGowan	...	Tatum
Lois Saunders	...	Mrs. Tate
David Arquette	...	Deputy Dewey
Joseph Whipp	...	Sheriff Burke
Matthew Lillard	...	Stuart
Jamie Kennedy	...	Randy
Lisa Beach	...	TV Reporter #1
Tony Kilbert	...	TV Reporter #2
C.W. Morgan	...	Hank Loomis
Frances Lee McCain	...	Mrs. Riley
Liev Schreiber	...	Cotton Weary
Troy Bishop	...	Expelled Teen #1
Ryan Kennedy	...	Expelled Teen #2
Leonora Scelfo	...	Cheerleader in Bathroom
Nancy Anne Ridder	...	Girl in Bathroom
Lisa Canning	...	Reporter with Mask
Bonnie Wood	...	Young Girl in Video Store
Aurora Draper	...	Party Teen #1
Kenny Kwong	...	Party Teen #2
Justin Sullivan	...	Teen on Couch
Kurtis Bedford	...	Bored Teen
Angela Miller	...	Girl on Couch
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Linda Blair	...	Obnoxious Reporter (uncredited)
Wes Craven	...	Fred the Janitor (uncredited)
Matt McDonald	...	Video Customer (uncredited)
Henry Winkler	...	Principal Arthur Himbry (uncredited)

Directed by
Wes Craven

Writing credits (WGA)
Kevin Williamson		(written by)

Produced by
Stuart M. Besser	....	co-executive producer
Dixie J. Capp	....	co-producer
Cathy Konrad	....	producer
Marianne Maddalena	....	executive producer
Nicholas Mastandrea	....	associate producer (as Nicholas C. Mastandrea)
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer
Cary Woods	....	producer

Original Music by
Marco Beltrami

Cinematography by
Mark Irwin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Patrick Lussier

Casting by
Lisa Beach

Production Design by
Bruce Alan Miller

Art Direction by
David Lubin

Set Decoration by
Michele Poulik

Costume Design by
Cynthia Bergstrom

Makeup Department
Howard Berger	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Kamar Bitar	....	special makeup effects coordinator
Karen Bradley	....	makeup artist
Lynn Marie Curreri	....	hair stylist
Theodore Haines	....	special makeup effects crew (as Theodore J. Haines)
Bill Hunt	....	special makeup effects crew
Garrett Immel	....	special makeup effects crew
Robert Kurtzman	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Melanie Levitt	....	makeup artist
Robert Maverick	....	special makeup effects crew
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects supervisor (as Greg Nicotero)
Barbara Olvera	....	key hair stylist
Kris Ravetto	....	makeup artist
Christina Raye	....	hair stylist
Carol Schwartz	....	key makeup artist
Christine Stahl	....	special makeup effects crew
Ramon Velazco	....	special makeup effects crew
Louis Kiss	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Daniel K. Arredondo	....	post-production supervisor
Stuart M. Besser	....	unit production manager
Cary Granat	....	executive in charge of production
Richard Potter	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel K. Arredondo	....	second second assistant director
Heather French	....	dga trainee
Nicholas Mastandrea	....	first assistant director (as Nicholas C. Mastandrea)
Lucille Ouyang	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Charlene Barr	....	art department production assistant
Braxton Bragg	....	carpenter
Robert Burg	....	painter
James Burke	....	stand-by greensman (as James Burke)
Victoria Carlson	....	stand-by painter
Robert J. Carlyle	....	construction coordinator (as Robert Carlyle)
Debra Echard	....	additional set decorator
Josh Ian Elliott	....	on-set dresser
David Erickson	....	painter
William A. Fobert	....	construction general foreperson
Wendy Gayner	....	painter
Lori Harrison	....	property buyer
Lori Harrison	....	set dresser
Bernie Honigman	....	painter
John Paul 'J.P.' Jones	....	property master (as John 'J.P.' Jones)
Richard Lambert	....	lead person
Gerald Lehtola	....	art department coordinator
Kenny Montante	....	local lead person (as Ken Montante)
Carrie Nardello	....	painter
Scott Newell	....	carpenter
Teresa Nielsen	....	paint foreperson
Nanci Noblett	....	set designer
Katsuhiko Okada	....	carpenter
Leslie Turnbull	....	painter
John 'Skip' Weaver	....	assistant property master
Art Williams	....	carpenter
Dwight Williams	....	local construction coordinator
Skip Crank	....	props (uncredited)
Phillip Thoman	....	lead greensman (uncredited)
Gary Thomas	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
John K. Adams	....	adr supervisor (as John Adams)
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer
Roy Baker	....	foley artist
Paul Benedici	....	foley mixer
Beau Biggart	....	adr mixer
Paul B. Clay	....	sound supervisor (as Paul Clay)
Tom E. Dahl	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Tom Dahl)
James DiStefano	....	cable person
Stan Fiferman	....	foley artist
Sam Gemette	....	sound effects editor
Richard Bryce Goodman	....	sound mixer
Bob Goold	....	dialogue editor
Tom Ketterer	....	sound assistant
Steve Kohler	....	sound recordist
Vanessa Lapato	....	sound assistant
Marla McGuire	....	dialogue editor
Jean-Marie Mitchell	....	sound assistant
Vic Radulich	....	dialogue editor
Sean Rush	....	boom operator
Leslie Shatz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Pat Somerset	....	adr editor (as Patrick Somerset)
Ken Somerville	....	foley mixer
Chris Sparkes	....	pdl
Lee Tinkham	....	adr mixer
Scott A. Tinsley	....	sound effects editor (as Scott Tinsley)
Dinia D. Watkins	....	sound coordinator
John O. Wilde	....	dialogue editor (as John Wilde)

Special Effects by
Mark R. Byers	....	special effects foreman (as Mark Byers)
Frank Ceglia	....	special effects supervisor

Stunts
Noby Arden	....	stunt performer
Christine Anne Baur	....	stunt performer (as Christine Baur)
Clay Boss	....	stunt performer
Anthony Cecere	....	stunt coordinator
Christopher Doyle	....	stunt performer
Dane Farwell	....	stunt performer
Frank Lloyd	....	stunt performer
Kathy Marshall	....	stunt performer
Allen Robinson	....	stunt performer
Lynn Salvatori	....	stunt performer
Lee Waddell	....	stunt performer
Deborah Alexander	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph J. Allen	....	grip (as Joe Allen)
Kevin Ball	....	second company grip
Jason Boccaleoni	....	lighting technician
Marty Brenneis	....	video playback 24 frame
Jeffrey N. Civa	....	second assistant camera
Egor Davidoff	....	camera loader
Peter Deming	....	additional director of photography
Ron Diggory	....	rigging grip
Dick Dova	....	grip (as Richard Dova)
Bernie Druckman	....	video playback 24 frame
Lisa K. Ferguson	....	camera loader (as Lisa Ferguson)
Norris Fong	....	grip
Kirk R. Gardner	....	Steadicam operator
Paul Hughen	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Doug Hunt	....	video assist operator
Dan Kneece	....	Steadicam operator
Mark A. Lewis	....	rigging lighting technician
Steven Mann	....	Steadicam assistant
Scott Medcalf	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Nicholas Meeks	....	grip
David Moir	....	still photographer
Marie Pedersen	....	Steadicam assistant (as Marie Pederson)
Scott Andrew Ressler	....	first assistant camera (as Scott Ressler)
Jamie Ronnei	....	grip (as James Ronnei)
Charles J. Schray	....	dolly grip
Mark Shankel	....	grip
Charles M. Smallwood	....	first company grip
Kelsey Smith	....	lighting technician
Penny Sprague	....	Steadicam assistant
Steven Strong	....	lighting technician
Terry Sullivan	....	lighting technician
Robert D. Tomer	....	camera operator: "a" camera (as Robert Tomer)
Renee Treyball	....	second assistant camera
Gary Katsuya Ushino	....	first assistant camera (as Gary Ushino)
Mark Van Loon	....	Steadicam operator
Jay W. Yowler	....	chief lighting technician
Dario SanMiguel	....	grip (uncredited)
John E. Stephens	....	grip (uncredited)
Gary Katsuya Ushino	....	Steadicam assistant (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Nancy Hayes	....	extras casting
Nancy Hayes	....	local casting
Sarah Katzman	....	casting assistant
Merv Ladd	....	extras casting
Merv Ladd	....	local casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ricki Fournier	....	costumer
Mathew Hooey	....	costume supervisor
Patricia Kazmierowski	....	costumer
Gary J. Saldutti	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Lynn Dupre	....	apprentice editor
Peter Devaney Flanagan	....	first assistant editor
Paul Kieran	....	assistant editor
Ryan Krayser	....	post-production assistant
Mike Mertens	....	color timer (as Michael Mertens)
Yvonne Valdez	....	second assistant editor
Tina Anderson	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator (as Peter Anthony)
Marco Beltrami	....	conductor
William Boston	....	orchestrator (as William A. Boston)
Tim Boyle	....	score mixer
Julian Bratolyubov	....	music preparation
Ed Gerrard	....	music consultant
Jeffrey Rabhan	....	music supervisor
Rose Thomson	....	background vocals
Ken Watson	....	orchestra contractor
E. Gedney Webb	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Pete Brocco	....	driver
Bruce Callahan	....	driver
Kevin Carstenson	....	driver
Jeff Coffman	....	driver
Ben Davis	....	driver
Steve Earle	....	driver
Don Feeney	....	driver
Mike Ford	....	driver
Scotty Goudreau	....	driver
David Joseph	....	driver
Rose Malley	....	driver
John Martin	....	driver
John Mattson	....	driver
Glenn Midcap	....	driver
Brian Joseph Moore	....	driver (as Brian Moore)
John Peters	....	driver
Dan Porteous	....	driver
Carsten Rabehl	....	driver
Derek Raser	....	transportation coordinator
Susan Rice	....	driver
Mike Sawyer	....	driver
Ken Skinner	....	driver
Rick Suggett	....	driver
Geoff Teagardin	....	driver
J.T. Thayer	....	transportation captain
Earl Thielen	....	driver
Tracy Thielen	....	driver
Henry Travers	....	driver
Chuck Visconte	....	driver
Jill Wattles	....	driver
Gene Hubert	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Steve Alterman	....	adr loop group
Casey Bishop	....	adr loop group
Paul Boettiger	....	production assistant
Tara Boger	....	adr loop group
Alice Brooks	....	adr loop group (as Alice Livingston)
Robert Cable	....	accounting assistant
James Capp	....	production assistant
Jessica Closson	....	production assistant
David Crockett	....	production accountant
David Denison	....	production assistant
Andrew Durham	....	assistant production office coordinator
John Embry	....	production assistant (as John D. Embry)
Lauren Feige	....	production assistant
Greg Finley	....	adr loop group
Laura Galt	....	adr loop group
Ivan Genit II	....	assistant production accountant
Ivan Genit II	....	payroll accountant
Michael D. Gillis	....	location assistant
Thomas M. Harrigan	....	assistant location manager (as Thomas Harrigan)
Doris Hess	....	adr loop group
Eric Klosterman	....	location manager
Mary Ellen Leonard	....	craft service
Ivy K. Lukas	....	production assistant
Kristen March	....	assistant: Mr. Woods
Chad Maxwell	....	production assistant
Lisa McCampbell	....	assistant: Ms. Maddalena
David McCharen	....	adr loop group
Jeremy Miller	....	adr loop group
Mo Milligan	....	assistant: Ms. Konrad
Julie Plec	....	assistant: Mr. Craven
Claire Raskind	....	unit publicist
Noreen Reardon	....	adr loop group
Lizzie Schwartz	....	assistant: Mr. Woods
Sam Shank	....	production assistant
Justin Shenkarow	....	adr loop group
Michelle Stevens	....	accounting production assistant
David Thornsberry	....	additional location manager
Christian Evol Wadman	....	production assistant
Annie Welles	....	script supervisor
Dean Wright	....	production office coordinator
Katherine Zilavy	....	production secretary
Brian Dettor	....	office production assistant (uncredited)
Theresa Donahoe	....	stand-in: Neve Campbell (uncredited)
James Marlowe	....	location scout (uncredited)
Stephanie Siemiller	....	photo double (uncredited)

Thanks
Sheree Green	....	special thanks
Frank Okun	....	special thanks
Les Perry	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Dimension Films (presents)
• Woods Entertainment

Distributors

• Dimension Films (1996) (USA) (theatrical)
• Becker Home Video (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Laurenfilm (1997) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Scanbox Entertainment (1997) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (1997) (UK) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (1997) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Filmes Castello Lopes (1997) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Les Films Number One (1997) (France) (theatrical)
• Kinepolis Film Distribution (KFD) (1997) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Asmik Ace Entertainment (1997) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Lider Films (1997) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cecchi Gori Group (1997) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (1997) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Alliance (199?) (Canada) (theatrical)
• RCV Film Distribution (199?) (Luxembourg) (theatrical)
• Dimension Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Fox Network (1999) (USA) (TV)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• MAWA Film & Medien (1998) (Germany) (DVD)
• RCV Home Entertainment (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• RCV Home Entertainment (1999) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• RTL (????) (Germany) (TV)
• RTL2 (2006) (Germany) (TV) (as "Scream - Schrei!")
• Vídeo Arte (199?) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• K.N.B. Effects Group

Other Companies

• Alexander, Halloran, Nau & Rose  legal services
• Anvil Post Production  foley recording
• Buena Vista Sound  re-recording facilities
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Clay Digital Sound  sound editing
• Compass International Pictures  Halloween footage courtesy of
• Consolidated Film Industries (CFI)  titles and opticals
• Creative Casting  casting
• Dennis Reiff and Associates  insurance
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Film Finances  special thanks
• Fun World Division of Easter Unlimited Inc.  Ghost Mask courtesy of
• Great Northern Brokerage Services  insurance
• Hayes & Van Horn Casting  local extras casting
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• K!SSPROOF Entertainment  cast appearance booking
• Lightworks  edited on
• MCA/Universal Pictures  Frankenstein footage courtesy of
• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• RD Negative Cutting  negative cutting
• Sonoma County Film Commission, The  special thanks
• The City of Healdsburg  special thanks
• The Santa Rosa City School Governing Board  no thanks whatsoever
• The Santa Rosa Doubletree Hotel  special thanks
• The Sonoma Community Center  special thanks
• Tomkats Catering  catering

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic horror violence and gore, and for language

Runtime:

111 min | Germany:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 (re-rating) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:R-18 | Sweden:18 (director's cut) | Austria:16 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | France:-12 (re-rating) | Netherlands:12 (tv rating) | USA:TV-MA (tv rating) | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (uncut) (2011) | South Korea:15 (re-rating) (2011) | Brazil:16 (re-rating) (2010) | Romania:I.C.-14 | Argentina:16 (director's cut) | Australia:MA | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 (cut) (video version) (1997-2011) | Germany:18 (original rating) (1996-2011) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Israel:16 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 (director's cut) | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (original rating) | Norway:18 (director's cut) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Greece:K-17 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Bradley Video, Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Janeane Garofalo turned down the role of Gail Weathers.

Goofs:

Continuity: Randy says "Here comes the obligatory tit shot" while watching Halloween (1978) and everyone cheers, supposedly at the sight of breasts, but the scene they are watching at that precise moment doesn't show nudity. The girl's breasts in Halloween aren't revealed until a later scene (and, some claim, not at all in the video version).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Casey:Hello?
Phone Voice:Hello.
Casey:Yes?
Phone Voice:Who is this?
Casey:Who are you trying to reach?
Phone Voice:What number is this?
Casey:Well, what number are you trying to reach?
Phone Voice:I don't know.
Casey:I think you have the wrong number.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

Soundtrack:

First Cool Hive

Hate To Admit It, But It's Great

There's more than a few reasons to hate `Scream'; the main reason would be that the film single-handedly resurrected the teen-slasher genre, a movie category that had long been beaten to death. Because of the success of `Scream', witless horror crap like `I Know What You Did Last Summer' and `Urban Legend' got greenlighted, half the teenage casts of various WB television shows got summer acting jobs, and some awful scripts that should've been left dead and buried `Teaching Mrs. Tingle' got to see the light of day. `Scream' is responsible for a lot of garbage. But the truth of the matter is, `Scream' is also a phenomenal movie.

The plot of `Scream' is very simple: a masked knife-wielding maniac is busy stalking the students of High, killing them off one by one. The killer's inordinately obsessed with one girl, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who of course gets involved in the quest to unmask the killer. The catch (in case you don't already know it), though, is brilliant. Everyone in the film is familiar with all the slasher film conventions. They know that you shouldn't walk in the woods alone at night. They know that having wild sex is an unwritten invitation to be hacked to pieces. They know not to say things to each other like `I'm going outside for a cigarette; I'll be right back.' -- such statements are virtual death warrants. One of the best examples (and best characters) of this is Randy (Jamie Kennedy), the film-obsessed nut of the film, who actually goes so far as to muse what `real' actors and actresses should play the other characters in the film, going so far as to joke about who gets to be Tori Spelling. All the dumb conventions of slasher films are pulled out of the shadows, exposed for what they really are . . . and then, some of them get used anyway, because the characters willingly choose to ignore those conventions. Some cliches are thrown away, while others are embraced. `Scream' really turned the horror/slasher film genre on its ear, becoming the first truly suspenseful and exciting slasher film in many, many years simply because it suddenly had a million new avenues to explore. The film's self-awareness allowed to move in brand-new directions . . . and suddenly, scenes that used to be predictable in other slasher films suddenly become incredibly intense in `Scream'.

Director Wes Craven was perfect for this film -- as director of slasher classics like `Nightmare On Elm Street', he easily sets the visual feels and style of film to perfect evoke all the slasher films of yore . . . and then, much like `Scream's' script, chooses to either faithfully follow the tried and true, or to go off in competely unexpected directions. Either way, Craven manages to create a lot of absolutely nail-biting, thrilling scenes. He also doesn't hold back with the gore, which is always a plus in great slasher films. The acting ranges from barely mediocre to good -- Neve Campbell's okay as Sidney; Courtney Cox is pretty good as tart-tongued reporter Gail Weathers; Jamie Kennedy rules as Randy the film geek; and David Arquette is utterly bland and forgettable as Deputy Dewey Riley, the sad-sack policeman. But casts in slasher films don't particularly matter anyway; the good ones are all about suspense, terror, and gore. And in `Scream', Wes Craven provides massive amounts of all three of those criteria.

The irony is, `Scream' spawned dozens of imitators, and by spawning imitators, all the new avenues opened up by `Scream' quickly got old and boring once more. Still, purely on its own merit, it's an excellent film. The best slasher film of all time is still John Carpenter's `Halloween', without question, but `Scream' actually runs a close second. It's well worth watching. Grade: A-