Do You Like Scary Movies?

Kevin Williamson wrote Scream before ever meeting Director Wes Craven. Kevin Williamson also wrote I Know What You Did Last Summer. But then, instead of writing Scream 2 by himself, it became a movie-by-committee. Nearly a dozen different people had their hands on the script for Scream 2, and it shows. While both of Mr. Williamson's earlier efforts were defined by crisp dialogue and steadily building action, this second Scream movie seems to try too hard. That said, it is still pretty good.

Scream was a defining movie for the genre. Usually when I hear a lot of hype about a movie I react negatively. I kept hearing about how Scream was different from the usual "horror" movie, and I didn't believe it. I read about how Wes Craven had reinvented himself, and I scoffed. I did, however, go see the movie. And I loved it. It truly was different. Funny, scary, and suspenseful, with an incredible series of twists and turns. Despite some desperate efforts on my part to not enjoy the movie so much, I liked it so much I went out and bought it on video last weekend.

If anybody who has seen Scream tells you that he guessed the identity of the killer (never shown until the end), he is a liar. Mr Williamson very cleverly and methodically worked through the list of likely candidates and eliminated them one by one, either by death or by setting up the most unshakable of eyewitness alibis. Of course, I actually went to see the movie because of Neve Campbell, but it really was a good movie, nonetheless.

In the original Scream, the opening scene set the tone for the entire movie. Drew Barrymore is home alone popping popcorn and getting ready to watch a scary movie when the phone rings. Wrong number, she thinks at first, but the scene escalates somewhat rapidly, and both Drew and her boyfriend end up very, very dead.

After this somewhat disconnected opening scene, we meet Neve's character, Sydney. We gradually being to piece together from hints here and there Sydney's story. It seems that Sydney's mother was murdered the previous year, and someone is doing time on death row for the crime, but is he really guilty? It seems not, and the real killer is now working his way through Woodsboro, California.

What sets Scream apart from other efforts in the genre is Mr Williamson's ability to poke fun at horror film cliches while using those same cliches. While other movies may have tried and failed, Scream somehow pulls it off. For example, when the killer calls Sydney and asks about her favorite scary movie, she tells him that she doesn't watch scary movies. Why not? "What's the point? They're all the same — some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act and is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It's insulting." While it is actually Sydney's best friend who fulfills the first part of that recipe for death, not two minutes later Sydney tries to escape out the front door but is unable to. Where does she head next? Upstairs, of course.

Article Author: Phillip Winn

Phillip Winn was the Chief Geek for Blogcritics, and a blogger since 1995. He may currently be found and followed as @pwinn on Twitter.

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