It’s A Scream, Baby!

It’s all hats off to Wes Craven, (and Kevin Williamson but for the sake of the article will will focus on the former), may he rest in peace, for giving us a fun, self-referential horror franchise that has spawned a few sequels and a TV series, Scream. The first movie came out 20 years ago, and it was fun to get a movie that talks about itself, because they talk about the horror genre inside the movie that we are watching. Not to mention that it was the movie that put Drew Barrymore back on the map, even though she gets killed in the first five minutes. The movie begins with a seemingly innocent phone call and it ends up being a deadly game. It’s here that we get the most memorable line of the entire franchise, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” The killer keeps asking her questions until she finally meets her demise.

The rest of the movies centers around Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell.

Sidney is the typical high school girl-next-door. The day after the first killings we meet Gale Weathers, a bitchy reporter, played by Courtney Cox. And a bit later we meet Deputy Dewey Riley, played by David Arquette. These are the three main characters that carry the franchise. As the film goes on, we discover that Sidney’s mother was brutally killed the year before in the same manner of the current murders.

Sidney has a boyfriend, Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich. We remember him as the asshole that became obsessed by way of a spell in The Craft. Anyway, he is kind of a creeper, always wanting to get in her pants. When Sidney is attacked for the first time she locks herself in her bedroom until the killer is gone and in pops Billy through the window. Totally from A Nightmare On Elm Street, when Johnny Depp comes in through Nancy’s window. She thinks it’s the killer, and has him arrested, only to be called by the killer later at her friend Tatum’s house. Her friend is played by the awesome Rose McGowan.

So, the next day, school is cut short because of the murders and, of course, there is a party. Typical high school students, any excuse to get drunk and get high. Not that I was goody-goody or anything. So they all go to Stu Mocker’s house, who’s played by Matthew Lillard. The final bloodbath is about to commence, and Gale Weathers is there watching and waiting.

As the party breaks down, a few more murders happen and we discover who is behind the Ghostface mask. And of course it’s the boyfriend and the host of the party. As they have Sidney in their grips, she asks them why they killed her mother. Billy has the answer, “She was a slut-bag whore…” Because of that, his mother left town. Psycho mama’s boy. Stu was just a lap dog. She ends up defeating the two with the help of Gale, bringing us to the end of the first movie. But not before there is a flash of the Ghostface, telling us there will be a sequel. And there is…

In the timeline of the movie, it’s a few years later and Sidney has moved away to go to college. The overall formula of the story is the same. It begins at a movie theater with two students going to see a movie of the events that happened in the first movie. The movie is hilariously called “Stab.” These two are played by Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett. You’ve got to have the African-American element in horror movies. They are killed in the theater and then the title appears.

Once we see Sidney, the new cast begins to be introduced.

The murders are all over the news, and lo and behold, Gale is there, ready to get the scoop. Initially she is there to interview Sidney along side Cotton Weary, the man she first thought killed her mother. Pissed off, Sidney punches Gale. Upon hearing about the murders, Dewey arrives to help Sid.

He tells her that killer is probably already in her life. How creepy would that be to think about? After surviving a horrible experience, it starts up again and they are after you. What’s fun about this one is that there is a movie within the movie about the first movie.

As the film goes on, the next murder is of a girl, played by Sarah-Michelle Gellar. Yes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And during this, you can’t help but shout out, “Come on Buffy, kick his ass!” So after her death, Gale sees the names at the police station and realizes that each one has a name from the victims in the first Scream. A copycat? Yes and no. The ultimate goal, of course, is to get Sidney. As the film goes on, the killer goes after Dewey and Gale. Gale manages to escape and poor Dewey is stabbed again and left for dead.

Because of what is happening, Sidney is getting taken to a safe house, only to be attacked once again. The car crashes and Ghostface kills her best friend and dorm roommate. Bringing us back to the campus where the final showdown of this film can take place. She hears music coming from the auditorium, which lures her inside. Looking around, she sees no one. On the stage, her boyfriend, Derek, played by Jerry O’Connell, literally falls from the catwalks tied up to a Sun meant for the play in which Sidney is the star. But before she can untie him, the first killer reveals himself, and kills Derek. It’s her friend Mickey.

Now it’s time for the second killer to be revealed. Gale comes out. And then a reporter we’ve seen throughout, played by Laurie Metcalf. We all know her as Jackie from Roseanne. It’s Mrs. Loomis! “Billy’s Mother,” and as for the question of “why” they are killing, Mickey is just a psychotic, where as Mrs. Loomis just snapped after Billy’s death and sought revenge.

It’s good to see a killer using a classic motive. During the battle, Gale gets shot and Cotton comes in to save the day. Which technically he did, but Sidney and Gale finish the job. Now we think that the story is over. Nobody could be after her now right? Wrong! Which brings us to Scream 3.

Scream 3 came out three years after the second.

In the movie timeline it’s about four or five years after the college murders. Stab 2 has been made and they are on the set of Stab 3, which is actually really cool to see. The setting is the set of Woodsboro, and the houses from the first Scream. It gives you an entire look as to what it is like to be on a real movie set and the magic behind it.

So to get the ball rolling in this one, it starts with a random girl who calls Cotton Weary. Being a horny bastard, he starts talking with her. Then the unthinkable happens, the voice switches to that of the killer looking for Sidney once again. Sidney has been in hiding, which you can’t blame her. Twice, psychos have come after you, I would have moved to a remote island in the middle of the ocean. Not knowing where she is, Ghostface kills Cotton and his girlfriend. We catch up with Gale speaking at a college to future reporters and journalists. After, an inspector approaches, and tells her about the murder of Cotton.

Ghostface left behind an old picture of Sidney’s mother, giving us the inkling that there is a backstory that about to unfold. Gale is now helping the police and not in for her own personal gain, which is a cool transformation for her. She goes to the studio, and discovers Dewey. He survived because the killer stabbed through old scar tissue in the second one. Then the cast of Stab 3 begin to die, next is the dumb blonde, played by Jenny McCarthy. And for some reason, her death cracks me up every time I watch it. After her death, another picture is left behind.

Now the cops are looking for Sidney. Ask and ye shall receive, she walks right in as Dewey is calling. There is so much that Sidney never knew about her mom. The photos left behind are headshots. And the backstory unfolds a little further. Gale looks further into the photos, and finds that she was an actress back in the 70s. Hollywood back then was something else. If girls wanted parts, they had to fuck for it. Which, I wouldn’t be surprised if that still happens.

The director of the now-dead movie has a birthday party at his house, and invites the remaining cast. And, being a horror movie, they get picked off one by one. Ghostface is able to lure Dewey and Gale, because the distorting device copies voices. Once the cast is dead, the killer calls Sidney using the two as leverage. Being the hero she is, she has to save them.

Time for the showdown.

Sidney is chased into a hidden theater inside the house, and being projected is a video of her mother coming in and out of a cheap motel with Cotton and Billy’s mother. Who the hell is doing this? It’s the director of the movie, and also Sidney’s long lost brother. He is the one that showed this film to Billy and started all of this madness. He was insanely jealous of her because she got fame. Fame she never wanted. All these killers are just crazy. Well now, “hero and villain come face to face.”

Finally, after a pretty cool fight scene, Sidney defeats her bother, and is finally able to move on with her life. The movie ends with Dewey proposing to Gale, which is funny because the David and Courtney had just come back from their honeymoon just before filming. The madness is finally over. Until 11 years later…

It’s been a long 11 years and entire decade of horror movies have been made, and a lot of remakes. At first, I was a little skeptical when I heard of another Scream coming. But then I read that Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette were going to be back to resume their roles. This got me excited. Courtney and David had gotten a divorce, so there are not a lot of scenes with the two of them together.

Stab!

The movie begins with intro scenes to a few of the Stab sequels. At this point, there have been seven Stab movies, but no longer involving Sidney Prescott. There is a hilarious cameo with Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell. We are now back in Sidney’s hometown of Woodsboro. And it’s a new generation of bait for Ghostface. Because it’s been so long, the murders have now become something of a joke in their eyes. Until, once again, murders begin once again. Not because Sidney is in town, but because it’s time for the next generation to have a horror massacre. Only this time, instead of movies being made about it, Ghostface films the killings, thus creating snuff films, to make the killer even more infamous.

After the murders, we are introduced to Sidney’s cousin, Jill, and her friends Kirby and Olivia. Dewey is now the Sheriff, and more of a hardass. Gale has left behind the journalism life and living back with Dewey. Sidney has written kind of a self-help book and is on tour, with Woodsboro being the last stop. She’s moved on, and wants the quiet life back in her town. The police show up a bookstore where Sidney is and find the bloody knife and mask in her trunk. Blood is smeared all over her the books. A total foreshadow that something bad is going to happen to her.

At the police station, Jill, Olivia, and Kirby show up saying they got a phone call from the killer. Asking the famous question “What’s your favorite scary movie?” We go to Jill’s house and meet Sidney’s aunt, Kate, played by the badass Mary McDonnell. Kirby and Jill are watching a movie, and Olivia calls them, and they watch her get killed next door. Sidney runs over to try and save her, and fights off the killer but doesn’t defeat him. It’s way too soon in the movie. But it is cool to see her transformation, in the fact that she refuses to be a victim. She’s a fighter.

Now it’s time to try and find out who the killer is. Because it’s been a decade, the rules of old horror movies aren’t exactly applicable. The killer is more brutal, with a much more sadistic attitude. Ghostface is not just after Sidney, he wants her to suffer through the last remaining members her family, leaving her completely alone, and vulnerable. The town begins to blame Sidney once again. Right, she totally called Ghostface, and said, “Hey, I’m coming back to town! Time to do your thing.”

That night, Gale meets two boys that lead Cinema Club at the high school has some questions, but they want to talk to Sidney. Movies are about her: “She’s the star.” So they go, and ask who they think the killer might be. They mention he’s a Stab fanatic, and there is a marathon of all seven movies. It’s at this point that Sidney realizes that the killer is patterning the kills to that of the original movie.

It’s great how Scream 4 goes back to the original.

It is another sequel, but it follows the rules of a horror remake. Nowadays, anything goes, and nobody is safe in the movies. Heroes get completely fucked up and left for dead, and the villains can win. But because this is Scream, there has to be a hero. The final bloodbath isn’t at a big party like the original, but at a small gathering of friends. Here we have our remaining cast now. Jill, Kirby, the two guys from Cinema Club, and Jill’s ex. We are lead to believe that it’s him, but much to our surprise it’s not. Sidney comes to save the day, only to be thwarted by the killers. There are two. Upon the removal of the mask, she is horrified to see who is behind. JILL. And the other is Charlie, one of the guys from Cinema Club. Jill has been pissed off, because she wants the fame of the tragedy, but doesn’t want to share it. So she kills him, and begins to throw herself around the room fucking herself up. As she falls next to Sidney she gets in the same position in which she lying. It’s kind of like there is a transfer of souls happening.

Then they are taken to the hospital. Dewey tells her that Sidney might just make it. Jill can’t have that. One more final showdown and Jill is ultimately killed. And the movie ends with all the focus on Jill being the survivor. She got her wish, but didn’t get to enjoy it. I believe that’s what they call irony.

Scream 5?

After watching all these films again, I wonder will there be a Scream 5? With the passing of Wes Craven last year and Kevin Williamson busy with other projects, who knows. There have been recent grumblings of Quentin Tarantino, perhaps wanting to have directed the first scream. Now that would be one way to keep the franchise moving forward. With a fresh set of eyes and ideas on it. Tarantino’s name on the poster would sell some tickets in itself to the Tarantino die hards. This would also bring a new group of people to the franchise perhaps, since as he has yet to direct a horror movie.

With all that said and done, I have had blast watching all the Scream films again. Following Sydney’s character arc throughout the series is great.  From victim, to loner, to fighter, she’s a tough chick, and will not go down easily. And the supporting casts in each film are just plain fun. I love Rose McGowan and Mary McDonnell. Wes Craven really got some great talent. I mean come on, Jackie from Roseanne as a psycho killer is just fantastic. Once again, all hats off to Mr. Craven for leaving behind a fun and game changing little franchise.