Scream

It's been a long time since I last watched Scream. Actually, it's probably been since those dark times. The age of the celebrity filled, self-referential bad slasher.

We all know the story, killer calls house, asks horror trivia, menaces our damsel, pop up scare, chase, kill. That's pretty much Scream. There's some stuff about Sidney's mom being murdered in a similar manner, typical slasher tropes of sex, partying, and relationships. The investigations prime suspect is Sidney's dad, but then the twist! The one we all saw coming cause the boyfriend was a creep. But ya, that's Scream. Horror movies *nudge nudge, wink wink*, celebrities, I'm a slasher, BOO!

The thing about Scream is that Ghostface is not at all intimidating or frightening. There is nothing about him that stands out. He's not big, he's not fast, he's not very smart. In a movie where the killer calls his victims beforehand you would think he would have a threatening voice, but nope. Even his voice is "meh". Now you can argue, "Well that is what makes him scary! He could be anyone!" That argument would have some sort of reasoning if this movie took place around Halloween where a bunch of costumed people were running around, but it doesn't. As is, he's just some average Joe in a cheap costume running around with a kitchen knife.

Beyond Ghostface, my biggest problem with the movie is just how bland it is. Nothing about it stands out, nothing pops. Its all a sea of pretty faces, "I'm trying to be clever" dialogue, and sub par kills.

Then there is the Scream effect. The dark age of horror. We saw clone after clone come out, I Know What you Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, a whole slew of bland new wave slashers. It was horrible. I remember hating that those were the movies representing my favorite genre back then, and I feel that same embarrassment now knowing that there will always be a place for Scream in the history of horror movies.

Scream was a standard issue slasher with a big name behind it, that's it.