 |
| Scream |
|
Twenty years ago today, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson's Scream was released. While younger viewers might not be able to appreciate what it brought to the then dead Slasher genre, they should be able to appreciate the fact that it debuted outside of the Top Ten Box Office before climbing its way up to #1 -- a feat few other films, and almost zero horror flicks, have ever accomplished.
While the sequels were nowhere near as good as the original, they featured an endless string of young Hollywood stars and starlets from the 1990s. Many of those went on to appear in numerous horror films and TV shows, as the genre was renewed by the Scream franchise's success.
We covered Scream in-depth on this blog a few years back. Director, Wes Craven, died August 30th, 2015. Scream went on to gross more than $600mn worldwide, cementing it as one of the most successful horror franchises in film history. The antagonist, Ghostface, has since become a staple horror slasher alongside such onscreen luminaries as Jason, Freddy, and Michael Myers.
Although a fifth Scream installment has been rumored, it has yet to appear.
© The Weirding, 2016
 |
| 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
 |
| Reuters |
Wes Craven started his career with an independent grindhouse flick called Last House on the Left. A brutal rapesploitation revenge flick, Last House on the Left put Craven on the map... so to speak. His follow-up, The Hills Have Eyes, was a somewhat similarly paranoid surreality which immediately became a cult classic. Wes Craven has written most, but not all, of the films he has directed.
While Craven has contributed numerous entries into the Horror genre over the years, he is best-known for having created two of the most lasting and lucrative franchises in the industry: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. Both franchises have spawned numerous sequels and retoolings, established nefarious villains in the horror iconography, launched careers, and changed the Slasher genre.
Craven has also frequently collaborated with Sean S. Cunningham, best known as the creator of the Friday the 13th franchise and its masked villain, Jason Voorhees. A one-sheet for Craven's movie, The Hills Have Eyes, is seen behind Ashe's head in a scene of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. Evil Dead is the movie playing on Nancy's TV in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Craven has a direct connection to three of the biggest Slashers in American cinematic history. Despite a career including works outside the Horror genre, Wes Craven will be remembered for his contributions to the Slasher sub-genre.
Copyright 2014, The Weirding
