Before starting the whole review , of course you know why I'm making this review of the 1996 film Scream, right ? It's the same thing as the Spider-Man movie review series which was uploaded some time ago, which I made to welcome the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home .
So before starting with the review of the Scream 2022 film, I will also review the 4 releases of the Scream film so far. This is to welcome or hype the release of the fifth film in the slasher horror franchise , Scream (yes, the title is the same as the first film) on January 12, 2021.
Well after knowing the reason, let's just start this Scream review . Oh yes, I remind you once again, because these 4 films are technically old films, so I assume that many of you have seen all of the films.
So don't be surprised if the 4 reviews of this Scream will be in HEAVY SPOILER format ! So yeah, for those of you who haven't watched it yet, well , take it at your own risk. Okay, let's just start this Scream review .
Ghost Masked Killer Action in Woodsboro
Okay, for nostalgia reasons or yes, to give you a little idea for those of you who haven't watched it, I will start this Scream review by discussing the plot of the story again.
Scream is basically also a teen movie ( teen movie ) in the 90s decade. This is evident through the main characters who are still attending Woodsboro High School . At first, the lives of all these teenagers were calm.
But everything turned tense, when there was a murder of a student named Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) at the beginning of the film. He was killed by being stabbed and all his internal organs burst out. The one who kills is a ghost masked figure and a black robe which later, this killer figure is given the nickname Ghostface .
At first, all Woodsboro residents and us as an audience, thought that this death was just random . But as the film progresses, it is revealed that Casey's murder has a strong, long, and complex chain of connections with the main character of this film. Yes, that is true. Who else but Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell).
Revenge of Anger With Sidney
In this film, Sidney is said to be still very traumatized by the death of his mother, Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee). Maureen died 1 year before the events of this film. He died after being impregnated and brutally murdered by a figure named Cotton Weary (Liv Schreiber).
However, upon further investigation, it was not Weary who killed Maureen. And now, the real killer is still on the loose terrorizing Sidney and those closest to him. The killer is revealed to have a very bitter grudge with Sidney and his entire family.
Because of this, as a result, Sidney is now only able to continue to avoid and survive from the real Ghostface . Luckily he wasn't alone.
Because his close friend Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) and his brother who is a Woodsboro deputy sheriff, Dewey Riley (David Aequette), always accompany and protect him. However, this still does not stop the number of other victims who fell at the hands of Ghostface .
As a result, now only Sidney is smart enough to save his life from Ghostface 's sharp stab .
Aware of the Real World
Actually, if we review the plot, the plot of the Scream story is very common. We have seen the premise of this in other horror films ( whether the sub-genre is the same or different).
But what makes the plot in Scream look and feel different is the genius of the scriptwriter Kevin Williamson ( Dawson's Creek , I Know What You Did Last Summer ) and the gokil horror director and maestro, Wes Craven ( A Nightmare on Elm Street ).
Both of them in presenting the story of this film, apply a very gokil concept and are very different in their time. Specifically, both apply the concept of a satirical parody and self-awareness to the real world.
I mean here, all the characters in this film universe , like us, are also aware of previous slasher horror films such as: Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street , and Friday the 13th .
Then after that, the film characters, especially the character named Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), discuss every detail of the scenes in the films, even to the point of discussing the "rules " of this film genre .
So at that time, the concept of self-aware storytelling really felt very fresh. Because in general, as we have watched so far, each slasher horror film exists in its own fictional world.
We've never seen anything like Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in the Halloween movie, with a figure let's say Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) in Friday the 13th .
There will still be one exception to that statement. That is when Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) fought Freddy Krueger (Rovert Englund) in the cult classic film , Freddy VS Jason (2003).
Still Still and Became Iconic Slasher Horror Movie
Well, the cool thing is that even though Scream is a parody as well as self-aware satire , Craven and Williamson are still making their films as slasher horror films in general.
Yes, there are indeed a lot of semi-meta self-conscious references and jokes. But at the same time, both of them succeeded in making this film a slasher horror film in general and even more so, iconic.