I Scream, You Scream... We all Scream
/The sound of a phone ringing; a pretty blonde answers, and a gravelly voice asks her a question;
"What's your favourite scary movie?"
One of the most iconic opening scenes in movie history.
The Scream Movies
My favourite scary movies are those in the Scream franchise. I watch them every October, and I love them as much today as I did the first time I watched them. Yes, I have seen them probably a hundred times.
Scene from the first Scream movie
Scream is one of the most popular horror movie franchises, starting in 1996 with the first movie starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette. They were directed by Wes Craven, well-known in the horror industry for his work on films like Nightmare on Elm Street and classics like The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, and so many others. The Scream franchise has made over $740 million worldwide over the five movies.
The Scream movies are known for being meta, which is when something refers back to or is about itself. In the first movie, characters often comment about who they thought would play them if they made a movie about the murders. All other Scream movies refer to the fictional "Stab" films that were made based on what happened in the original Scream film. The character Randy also likes to discuss the parameters and rules of horror movies. These elements make for a unique horror movie format.
Interesting Scream Facts:
The original movie's cast never saw or met the actor for the voice on the phone. The actor who would be the Ghostface Killer on the phone was left a mystery to the cast members, giving the actors an added element of suspense.
Middle: Wes Craven, Right: Kevin Williamson
The writer of Scream, Kevin Williamson, drew inspiration for the movie from a real-life serial killer. Danny Rolling, The Gainesville Ripper, murdered five college women with a large knife before he was eventually caught. Williamson was watching a documentary on the Gainesville Ripper when inspiration hit for the Ghostface Killer.
The Ghostface mask was found in a random box in someone's garage. They tried to make their own mask based off of the original, but nothing came close to the mask they found. They ended up licensing the mask from Fun World, the original maker of the mask.
A Scream-based TV series came out on Netflix in 2015, where we find a group of teenagers being hunted by a masked murderer with a very large knife. It is a different story with different characters and set in a different town, but it still has the Scream vibe. I recommend season one, but I didn't like season two.
To me, Scream is one of the more unique horror movie franchises. It has a wonderful mix of jump scares, gory kill scenes (without being gross), and just a touch of humour. I don’t think there will be another horror movie franchise that will have that special place in my heart that Scream does.
Though I must admit, the upcoming Scream 6 isn't sitting high on my list of "must-watch movies" since they didn't want to pay Neve Campbell, aka Sidney Prescott, what she deserved, so Sidney won't be in the newest movie.
So, what is your favourite scary movie?
I love to indulge in the dark side of life and party with the monsters under my bed. I have been in love with the horror genre since the age of eleven and haven’t regretted a moment.
