Scream (1996)

A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a new killer, who targets the girl and her friends by using horror films as part of a deadly game.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Kevin Williamson

Stars:

Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette

11 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A year after her mother's death, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends started experiencing some strange phone calls. They later learned the calls were coming from a crazed serial killer, in a white faced mask and a large black robe, looking for revenge. His phone calls usually consist of many questions, the main one being: What's your favorite scary movie? Along with much scary movie trivia, ending with bloody pieces of innocent lives scattered around the small town of Woodsboro.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | slasher | masked killer | female protagonist | mystery killer | 

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Taglines:

Make Your Last Breath Count.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Ghostface mask was first developed for novelty stores during the Halloween season between 1991 and 1992 by Fun World employee Brigitte Sleiertin as part of a series titled "Fantastic Faces", the mask itself known as "The Peanut-Eyed Ghost". The final design was approved by Fun World Vice President Allan Geller. Wes Craven claimed to have originally found the mask, but later clarified that he had misremembered the event, and that it was producer Marianne Maddalena who discovered it. She found it while inside a house during location scouting for the film and brought it to the attention of Wes Craven, who set about trying to obtain the rights to use it. Fun World licensing director R.J. Torbert joined Fun World in 1996 and was given the task of naming the mask prior to its film debut, deciding on "GhostFace" with the blessing of Fun World owners Stanley and Allan Geller. Torbert felt it looked like a "ghost in pain", believing it to be a unique design. The Ghostface design and title are owned by Fun World.

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Goofs

Shadow in the school bathroom.

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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.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

No thanks whatsoever to the Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board.

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Alternate Versions

A video version released in late 1997 includes some of the cut footage. There is also a boxed set with the widescreen version, as well as a widescreen version with commentary that does not include the extra footage.

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Connections

References A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

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Soundtracks

Better Than Me
Performed by Sister Machine Gun
Written by Chris Randall
Courtesy of Wax Trax! Records/TVT Records

User Reviews

Scary, funny and clever – the best Scream movie by miles

Almost a year after someone raped and killed Sidney Prescott's mother in the small town of Woodsboro, someone is killing teenagers. When Sidney herself becomes a target, the link is apparent and her missing father is a suspect. However, as with all good scary movies, everyone is a suspect.

The film that sparked the revival of horror movies (Halloween H2O, I know what you did last summer, Urban Legend etc all followed…..thanks a lot!). This stands out from all those (and it's lackluster sequels) by being really good and clever. The story is nothing more than the standard slasher plot – but it avoids the cliches quite well. In fact it uses the cliches as references and makes plenty of jokey references to other movies and the supposed rules of horror movies – we even have a quick flash of a caretaker dressed in Freddy's jumper and hat!

That doesn't mean it's not scary – it is! From the tragically horrible opening 10 minutes through each gory killing the tension is high and the shocks are real. The plot twists nicely and the ending is much better than most slasher movies (including the absurd endings of 2 and 3). This manages to be fresh, clever and scary – getting by any sticking moments with it's tongue in it's cheek.

The cats are good – Campbell is a believable virgin, scarred by what happened to her mother – before she starts turning into Buffy the vampire slayer in parts 2 and 3. Cox is excellent playing against type and David Arquette is funny as the Deputy Sheriff. Kennedy as Randy is also funny as the movie geek – in fact he remains the highlight of the next 2 films. The cast being filled of up and coming faces (including Ulrich) makes it even more thrilling when the `wrong' people get killed, technically all the cast are `unknowns' who usually make up the body count, so really anyone can potentially get offed.

Overall funny black comedy, scary thrills and gory excitement. A rare treat – a really good teen horror movie

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Scary Movie

Filming Locations:

3871 Tomales Road, Tomales, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,354,586, 22 December 1996

Gross USA:

$103,046,663

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$173,046,663

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Woods Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1