31 Days of Horror: Scream

October 22, 2008: Scream

This movie is one of the best and refreshing horror films that I've ever seen.

It was released in 1996 and during this time, slasher movies were all dying. Jason's and Freddy's hay days were over and the Friday the 13th franchise just took a terrible turn in the 1993 release of Jason Goes to Hell.

The Slasher films went silent until 1994 when Wes Craven released New Nightmare, another installment in his Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. It was better then Jason Goes to Hell, but still didn't add anything new to slasher movies.

Two years would pass and Wes Craven releases, Scream. A slasher movie that will be remembered for putting new life into the genre and making it fun and scary again.

The movie is about a quiet, peaceful town in California that becomes a stomping ground for a psychopathic killer, who is targeting high school students. The killer aka "Ghostface", seems to be the name the horror community gave him, calls he's victims on the phone and asks them questions (example: Name the killer in Friday the 13th?) If you answer that question correctly you win and if you don't you'll loose and the penalty is death. He might also just play around with you and just have a casual, yet scary conversation.

That's what I liked most about this movie, because the characters/killer does go to the movies and know all the horror cliches. So in order for them to survive they have to out smart someone that has seen one too many horror movies, by using their own knowledge of the genre.

I don't want to say much, because if I do it will ruin the movie for you, if you haven't seen it. The movie did spawn two sequels, making the Scream trilogy. The sequels are watchable but not as original and refreshing as this one.

There is also talk about a fourth scream movie and Wes Craven (director for these movies) is also considering on returning to direct.

Side Note: Thank you all for the positive feedback that I've been receiving. If anyone wants to see a deeper look into a movie on the 31 Days of Horror list or any movie, just request it and I'll do I full length review. I'll also do reviews of books, games, and even TV shows if you want, so all you have to do is ask.