10 Best Horror Movie Opening Scenes Of The 1990s

One of the many reasons Scream's opening is so highly praised is the fact that it wastes no time setting up the premise while also subverting audience expectations.

Although the prologue initially has a subtle, eerie vibe, the tension spikes when Ghostface asks, "I want to know who I'm looking at", since Casey comes to realise her life is on the line. When Casey is forced to play a horror-based quiz to save her boyfriend outside, the tension is cranked up further, since one wrong answer will spell his execution. Of course, the quiz is rigged so Steve is doomed, leading to the first grisly kill.

When Casey is confronted with Ghostface, she puts up one hell of a fight, proving she's anything but a damsel in distress. Despite her best efforts, however, she's fatally wounded just before her parents arrive home.

Even though Scream's opening scene is exquisitely shot, edited, and scored, it was the misleading marketing that made it so shocking. Drew Barrymore's face was deceptively advertised in posters and trailers, implying she was the lead. After seeing the supposed protagonist perish in the first scene, viewers realised straight away that Scream, much like Ghostface, wasn't playing by the rules.