RepoJack’s review published on Letterboxd:
The opening scene with Drew Barrymore is one of the best prologues in horror movie history. In addition to being inventive and intense, it plays homage to the opening of Halloween (1978) and the premise of Black Christmas (1974)/When a Stranger Calls (1979).
And then right after the prologue, Wes Craven provides a nod to his own Nightmare on Elm Street as Skeet Ulrich (Billy), Johnny Depp's doppelganger, climbs through the second story window to see Neve Campbell (Sydney).
The whole movie is a love letter to both the horror genre and the 90's, accompanied by a banger of a soundtrack. So many scenes stirred up nostalgic memories:
* Growing up in Northern California.
* In the video rental store with friends picking a movie.
* High school parties (and beer bongs!).
I've got a great idea for a drinking game -- every time ghost face tries to stab somebody and misses, you have to drink. I think you'd get pretty drunk.
Neve Campbell and Rose McGowan are excellent. I love that scene in the garage where McGowan thinks ghost face is her boyfriend and says "Cute. What movie is this from? I Spit on your Garage?" (and apparently Rose McGowan was REALLY cold during that scene. 😍).
And for the discerning eye, you can catch various Easter Eggs, including a "sneeze and you miss it" cameo by Linda Blair of The Exorcist as a news reporter.
The worst part of Scream is the romance between Courtney Cox and David Arquette. If they didn't end up hooking up in real life I would've thought it was forced.
I wonder what will happen to these horror movies that feature landline phones 20-30 years from now. Would Scream or The Ring be as effective if the evil whatever was calling a mobile phone? I doubt it.
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Watched for Horror Hunt #34 (April 2021)
11. Watch a horror film that is local (Scream is set in Sonoma County, an hour from my home town).
