Todd Gaines’s review published on Letterboxd:
Revisiting Scream after watching the latest Scream reminded me why Scream (96) and Halloween (78) are my two favorite slasher movies of all time.
Just a few notes:
Kevin Williamson’s wit and self-awareness are on full display. The opening sequence with Casey is arguably one of the greatest “shock” openings of any movie I can think of. The back-and-forth banter between Casey and Ghostface is sharp writing. The opening is still terrifying as fuck.
We have rules to survive a scary movie, which are told to us in the film, yet the characters break the rules to survive. Then we have 178543445 clones of Scream that go back to the same ole’ slasher movie rules. This is why I’ve searched for the next Scream since 1996.
Wes Craven set the shots up. Kevin wrote the opening, but Wes filmed it. The curfew party at the end is another example of Wes at his best. My favorite scene might be when Sheriff Burke and Dewey are talking outside. Burke takes a drag off a cigarette, while at the same time, Dewey mimics him by licking his ice cream cone. Sheer brilliance!
The decision to use the right music is another killer decision. The way Don’t Fear The Reaper is covered in an acoustic “innocent” sounding version is straight fire. Also, Red Right Hand is the ultimate theme for the Scream franchise.
Everyone has different favorite characters. Of course the eventual legacy characters all do their thing. Of the lesser talked about characters, I really like Cameraman Kenny and the way he is always eating. He doesn’t take any shit from Gale either. I guess my favorite characters are Stu and Tatum because they are both funny as fuck. As far as acting though, Skeet Ulrich might’ve had the “best” performance. That man knows how to eye act. The way he acts with his eyes is a true gift.
Scream is my jam, and it is definitely worthy of a perfect score.
![Crawlspace Dweller Matt [♥]](https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/avatar/twitter/8/3/7/6/8/shard/blob-0-80-0-80-crop.png?v=b79d023c9a){kind=small}
