11. The Rules
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvLpbHKV1_8 By 1996, audiences were fully aware of all the tropes of horror films, yet most slasher movies featured characters who are totally oblivious to those tropes. These teenagers have never seen another horror film before? But the Scream movies brilliantly follow people who know the ins and outs of the genre just as well as you do, and that makes it even scarier when they all start to die. In this scene, Randy lays out these rules for surviving a horror film, explaining that you can never have sex, drink or do drugs. Meanwhile, the innocent virgin always makes it to the end. This meta moment also works because while they're talking, Sidney is about to have sex with her boyfriend upstairs, and therefore she'll no longer be safe. Randys dialogue even comments on the formula of Scream itself, as he gets excited about the obligatory shot of the womans breasts and then the movie cuts right to Sidney taking off her shirt. Its a sequence that doesnt treat audiences like theyre idiots, aware that you've seen this all before and are ready for something new and surprising. With the last act, Craven is about to offer that.
Brendan Morrow
Contributor
Lover of horror movies, liker of other things. Your favorite Friday the 13th says a lot about you as a person, and mine is Part IV: The Final Chapter.
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