I watched “Scream” with my mom when I was in high school, and it was my first real introduction to horror. Granted, “Scream” is a slasher and is more focused on the gore and blood, and how the deaths can be more creative in the next film than the last, but it still has the jump scares and suspense that makes it a horror genre film.
This franchise has meant a lot to me over the past few years, and it has come to hold a special place in my heart. Even before I started watching this franchise with my mom, I knew who Ghostface was and his role in the horror community. It’s the same one that Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers have in the slasher and horror world. Their iconic characters and masks paired with an iconic song layered over specific scenes enhancing the whole experience better.
I went to see “Scream 7” with my friend during its opening weekend. The film brought me back to the opening scene from “Scream 2,” when Maureen and Phil were killed in the movie theater by Mickey. Knowing the previous installments by heart sets the stage for the rest of the films and helps elevate the viewing experience. Yes, I was a little afraid while watching the movie that my friend and I would find ourselves killed in a similar way as we watched, however unlikely.
These movies are still loved by younger fans, such as myself, though many of us prefer the looks and iconic original killers over the new installments. Skeet Ulrich’s Billy Loomis and Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher killers from the first movie are still prevalent in the Halloween world, with many kids still dressing up as their favorite Ghostface. I watched “Riverdale” before “Scream,” so seeing Ulrich as FP Jones, then as Loomis made me happy because I recognized him in his younger form. I haven’t seen any of Lillard’s recent work, but he did look much more grown up in “Scream” than he did in “Scooby-Doo.”
Even the non-killer characters remain incredibly recognizable in their later years. David Arquette and Courteney Cox are famous from other media too. They are such icons already that it was easy to identify them. The archetypal “spunky best friend” character Tatum Riley in the first installment will always be recognizable by her death in the garage door and her coinage of the name for the killer costume: “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface. I want to be in the sequel.”
There’s so much of this franchise that doing deep dives into each of the movies ends up always being so fascinating, and there’s always more to learn than what’s on the surface. I even wrote my WRTG 105 final essay on the fifth movie. From how the characters interact to how their actors work together and get along off set to what influences other horror directors have on “Scream” director Kevin Williamson with Wes Craven being the most prominent and having the most call-backs; it’s all so interesting how far this franchise can be analyzed. This franchise has meant a lot to me, and it truly is a comfort series at this point. I feel like I can recite the first film almost word for word, a skill that anyone can acquire with any movie they love wholeheartedly.
