Scream

Scream Fans!

Slashers lead the Box Office in the 1980s but had faded from their former glory by the 1990s until Wes Craven read Kevin Williamson's script for Scary Movie.

Craven retitled the movie Scream and reinvented the Slasher.

Williamson's script was a lovingly cynical, but smart and funny, take on the Slasher sub-genre.  Craven was best known for creating one of the most popular Slasher franchises in American cinematic history, A Nightmare on Elm Street.  While a literal homage to the genre, Scream's self-awareness alone earned it points for originality when it premiered; the entire movie is about second-guessing The Slasher Movie and the formula is laid-out before you.

While Scream reinvented the Slasher, it could not revive it entirely.  It did revive the Horror movie, though, which had largely been reduced to a quirky and harmless preoccupation with the Occult or overtly Supernatural.  The genre continued in this general direction, with both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed becoming American television hits, but franchises like Saw and Hostel also appeared.

Sadly, Williamson was typecast too quickly and never managed to match the success of Scream.  Most of his other films were obvious vehicles meant to jumpstart young actors' careers but weren't as clever, fun, or insightful as the original Scream.

Similarly, the Scream franchise sold-out quickly and the sequels lack the snappy dialogue, creativity, and sheer brutality of the first.  In its defense, Scream had painted itself into a corner the first time.

Copyright 2014, The Weirding