Scream

The 1996 film SCREAM is quite an effective horror movie. It's a film so stylized and defined by horror director Wes Craven and his screenwriter Kevin Williamson, that it has, with time, become a defining film of the 90's. It's theme is self-awareness, and how in spite of that feature, people still do the same old shit. SCREAM tells the tale of a bunch of high school students who undergo the usual territories of a horror film, are aware of what comes with that territory, and still act stupid. In the lead as Sydney Prescott is Neve Campbell. Sydney and her group of friends laze about and talk about the "rules to survive a horror film" and callously discuss the newly murdered classmates at their high school. There's a backstory. Sydney's mother was raped and murdered a year ago, and Sydney is still feeling the hurt. But now its the anniversary of the killing, and new murders are taking place. Connection? SCREAM has its faults. It's a little repetitive near the end, and it's perhaps a little less important than it thinks it is, but it's a pretty solid film with an interesting premise that pays off in humorous and even scary ways.
Scream: ★★★