Scream Series - Review after thoughts...

[ali...oops]

After typing up my mini-reviews of the SCREAM sequels for the Blood Theatre’s Guide to Gore, I realized that there are a few things I wanted to mention about the series as a whole-

I recently watched the entire series with a friend who had never seen them before. After the first one she told me that what she liked about the film was how real the chase scenes felt. I thought about that and carried it in the back of my mind for the next three films. She is right and it is true of all the films, not just the first.

When a character is being chased you feel the sense of urgency, every bump and bruise along the way seems like it hurts. The objects used during the chase are there because they actually belong in the setting. Nothing feels placed for advantage. The obstacles created are realistic and plausible. If you were to look at it from their point of view; it’s life or death, you have limited time, and only these things around you, you would probably come to the same conclusions that the characters do. Not once did I sarcastically say “oh yeah right!”

This is a slasher film which makes the chase a vital element. I especially love that it’s not a killer who walks and is still always behind you. Save those for films about evil entities like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, there is nothing humane about those guys, so they can get away with it. The Scream killers are always just regular people, ones that we get to know throughout the film. So their stalking abilities definitely need to represent that of an average human.

Each film also includes a large cast of well known actors. Recently with Scream 4, you see at least one actress from almost every popular prime-time show in just the opening sequence alone.

I also love that the SCREAM series never had a need to come up with ridiculous sequel titles like “Scream 2: Ghost faced Revenge”, it’s just straight to the point 1, 2, 3 and 4.

I really enjoy this series since it’s the one that I grew up with and got to experience in theatres. I highly recommend it to everyone.

*NOTE: I am not knocking slow walking stalkers, I actually love them, it’s just nice that Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson realized that this wasn’t the type of film for that sort of thing. I just hate it when it’s out of place.

[Ames]

Dead on, Ali! That's exactly what made Scream a sensation.

When Scream came out, it felt like a horror movie I hadn't seen before. There was no monster, no supernatural being, no gypsy curse etcetc. Most "real life" staker-killer types are in the suspense psychological thriller category. Scream didn't take itself too seriously to fall in that section (as it was originally meant to be a spoof), which helped make this one of the best rides of the mid-late 90's. 

Scream is the "real" slasher flick, a throwback to films before the Freddies, Jasons and Chuckies to which of course I still adore. The now legendary introduction not only set an exciting tone for the rest of the film, but set itself apart from the other films coming out at the time, putting pressures on the horror industry to capture the feel Scream created. Without a doubt, it spawned I Know What You Did Last Summer, which really finished off the 90's with a stalker feel.

That said, the chase scenes were cringing. I had my shoes in the victims at all times. I felt like "that could have been me" in the very first scene. When we got close to the hero, we started to feel that "survival of the fittest" instinct kicking in. Awesome, awesome series!

[CK88]

Scream still holds up to this day and the opening is one of the best openings put to film. The 2nd one is good, just not the same calibre. The 3rd is pretty trashy and got way too tongue and cheek.

I liked the 4th one and thought it was the best since the first.