Scream was a breath of fresh air when it arrived in 1996. Not only did it turn the slasher film on its head, but it also gave a stagnant horror genre a much-needed new lease on life. Horror cinema of the early-mid 90s was one of sequels and endless Stephen King adaptations. It needed Scream. Badly. As Bob Weinstein, brother of Harvey and head of Miramax offshoot Dimension, said, the horror genre had almost died out by the time Scream came along. According to him, Scream 'is considered a seminal film in the anthology of horror movies and the overwhelming credit goes to the master Wes Craven'. Indeed, Craven's direction was very good, and his handling of the notorious opening sequence was especially so. According to Drew Barrymore, Craven was on the other end of the phone relaying true life animal cruelty stories to the actress in order to get those very genuine tears and exasperations from her. It stands as one of her best performances. After that scene, everything scare in the film, no matter how 'minor', works. The level of visceral violence is just right, as is the balance between horror/comedy. Yes, the film has some self-referential meta moments, but it never overwhelms the narrative, and that is a credit to Craven. Still the best, three sequels and a TV series later.
