10 Perfect Horror Movies About Hollywood

With a multitude of sequels of varying quality and such cultural influence, it’s easy to forget just how difficult a feat the original Scream pulled off. To make a hugely accessible and enjoyable feature that simultaneously skewers slasher movies while contributing one of the genre’s best films is remarkable.

With horror maestro Wes Craven at the helm and a note perfect script from Kevin Williamson, though, the 1996 film managed just that. Scream is the tale of a small town beset by a masked murderer. So far, so rote, and that’s just the point. The killer, Ghostface, is paying bloody homage to the horror films of the past, and genre savviness might be the one thing that can stop him.

Scream’s brilliance comes from how well it plays within its own rules. Jamie Kennedy’s Randy establishes the tricks of the trade early on, and for the most part, we stick to them. If you don’t see a character die on screen, they’re not dead. If you stray from society’s codes of conduct, you’re liable to get murdered.

A film packed with Easter eggs and delivered with a real sense of joy, Scream remains the template for postmodern horror.