Scream

With “Scream”, a truly inspired Craven gives us a metacinematic film of unquestionable value in which he analyzes and isolates the stylistic elements of horror movies, particularly the slasher variety.

Loaded with ironic self-awareness and biting inside jokes and references, this phenomenological analysis of the horror genre is also surprising for the noteworthy lucidity of its prophetic underlying theories, with one in particular standing out – that the slasher-movie fad is nearly played out already, having been squeezed dry of any intrinsic value years ago (to that end, the absurd finale with an endless stream of increasingly more contrived plot twists is absolutely outstanding).

There are plenty of characters, but the one who stands out is the horror movie expert who uses his “extensive knowledge” to cite the cardinal rules for not getting killed in a horror movie:

1. never have sex;
2. never drink or do drugs;
3. never, under any circumstances, say “I’ll be right back”.

On top of all that, he manages to keep everyone focused at critical junctures: “This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life for one last scare“. Additionally, there’s no lack of insight into the general movie industry and its current commercial imperatives: (“If it gets too complicated, you lose your target audience“, and “Let’s face it, baby, these days ya gotta have a sequel“).

Finally, it bears mentioning that beyond the intended metacinematic interpretation, “Scream” definitely succeeds on a pure entertainment level; built on top-notch suspense and decent acting, the film is enhanced by a commendable soundtrack.