Thursday, October 08, 2020

Scream (1996)

Scream is a 1996 horror movie I had never seen before I watched it on Netflix so I could include it on my horror movie list. It is important in the genre -according to Wikipedia, "Scream was credited with revitalizing the horror genre in the 1990s, which was considered to be almost dead following an influx of direct-to-video titles and numerous sequels to established horror franchises of the 1970s and 1980s"- and spawned a series of sequels. At this point I think Scream is too dated to be effective. Also, these teen slasher movies just aren't my thing.

trailer:



Horror Freak News says, "Scream is an intricate who-dun-it that has lots of characters, creative kill scenes and twists and turns that make it difficult to tell who the killer really is. Nobody can be trusted. I really love this one..." The Telegraph says it "remains a cult classic". Empire Online concludes, "The once hip irony of Scream is now something of a cliche, but after all of the imitations, have another look at the real thing. Clever, quick and bloody funny. 'Bloody' being the operative word." Oh the Horror says it "it stands as one of the slasher genre’s few true masterpieces."

Roger Ebert gave it 3 out of 4 stars and closes with this:
As a film critic, I liked it. I liked the in-jokes and the self-aware characters. At the same time, I was aware of the incredible level of gore in this film. It is *really* violent.

Is the violence defused by the ironic way the film uses it and comments on it? Forme, it was. For some viewers, it will not be, and they will be horrified.

Which category do you fall in? Here's an easy test: When I mentioned Fangoria, did you know what I was talking about?
Rotten Tomatoes has a consensus rating of 79%.

20 comments:

  1. ...oh, not the painting!

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    1. no lol, not the painting, though I have a small print on my wall ;)

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  2. I’ve never seen this movie or its sequels. Just not my cuppa ☕️

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    1. It's important historically, though, so I had to see it...

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  3. I have seen this movie several times. Yes I know Fangoria LOL. This is not the spine thriller but I like the movie and the sequels. BTE Dead Birds is one of my all time faves and just watched it again the other night on Prime. Have a great day.

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    1. I got a kick out of the Fangoria reference lol. Dead Birds is underappreciated, as are horror westerns in general.

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  4. Thank you for your kind Anniversary wishes today! I've heard of this film but never seen it and not likely too, you already know why ...lol 😀. Happy horror movie month! Hugs, Jo x

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    1. It would've had more impact when it was released, I think, but I came so late to horror films I missed all the greats when they were first released.

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  5. I'm not into horror movies to speak of. I loved a list I read a few years ago that included Bambi. Now that's a horror! Mother dead. Forest burned. Nothing natural! EEK.

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh! I hadn't thought of Bambi as a horror film, but yes, I see it now.

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  6. I remember my teenage kids loved this movie. Quite good, although I'm not a big fan of the horror genre.

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    1. I've become more a fan of the genre the more of them I've seen. It was my older son who got me started back when he was a teen.

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  7. Teens love these kind of movies. I know that from my teaching days. Not for me though. But at least you can ay you have seen this film now. Too bad you didn't like it enough.

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    1. As a teen I wasn't a fan. It took me a few decades to catch up ;)

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  8. I actually saw this one. Didn't like it, though - not my cup of coffee!

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    1. Slashers aren't my favorites, but I try to watch them anyway to get a feel for it.

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  9. I saw this awhile ago and recall liking it. I need to watch it again.

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    1. It has flair :) There's a lot to be said for the older horror movies, even if they're not the surprise they were when they were first released.

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  10. I didn't realize how very far behind I was visiting your blog posts. It's NOT that I don't like Horror month on your blog, but for some reason, you just slipped through the cracks. I'm pretty sure a few of my friends and I saw this in a movie theater and I certainly DID scream a LOT. Somehow I can't recommend it, though. I do remember it had a great cast of nearly unknowns (at least to me) at the time I saw it.

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    1. I came to horror quite late and avoided them like the plague except for the old monster movies so saw none of them in the theater. I have a lot of catching up to do lol

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