matt qt’s review published on Letterboxd:
Scream is undoubtedly one of the most influential horror films, spawning a whole era of horror which tried to recreate the magic of this film. Scream brings something completely new to the horror genre, it is a self-referential movie that is completely aware of its own cliches and tropes. And of course, it was made by none other than Wes Craven, whose films helped to perpetuate many of the horror tropes referenced in Scream. It’s meta structure was surely a shock to horror fans everywhere, and even with this genre experimentation, Scream still manages to be a highly effective slasher. Starting from that opening scene, Scream is different from all previous slashers. The eerie voice of the phone call and the progressive fear developing on Drew Barrymore’s face never fails to send a shiver down my spine. It’s too bad that Scream doesn’t maintain this eerie atmosphere along with its slasher elements like its predecessors of Halloween and Black Christmas. But nonetheless, Scream is the greatest pure slasher to come out since the slasher golden age. The way it lays out all of its tropes in the beginning, and tricks it’s audience, is a revolutionary strategy for horror. Scream completely deserves all of its current status and prestige.
