10 Best Horror Movies For Virgins

6. Scream

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Dimension Films

Like some of the other filmmakers referenced in this piece, Wes Craven is one of the best to ever do it.

By the time of Scream's release in 1996, Craven already had impressive offerings like The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and The People Under the Stairs on his CV.

The point being, Wes Craven is an all-time great of the genre. And with Scream, he took everything that had become so formulaic and generic about the horror genre, and he completely flipped it on its head.

Scream is an example of true genius within the horror genre. Craven managed to poke fun at the overplayed tropes of the genre, while likewise still managing to make his tongue-in-cheek picture a terrifying experience upon a first viewing.

As is often the case with such a game-changing, switch-flipping movie, a slew of imitators and copycats would follow, but they would all pale into insignificance when compared to the brilliance of Scream.

Follow-up Scream 2 was similarly great, Scream 3 was good, Scream 4 was a tad so-so, and the Scream TV series was a bust. But for a movie that served as a fork in the road that changed the direction of the horror genre, you need look no further than that first Scream film.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.