SCREAM

In the picturesque town of Woodsboro, California, high school student Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) becomes the target of a masked killer known as Ghostface. It has been exactly one year since the murder of her mother and as the body count rises among her circle of friends, Sidney finds herself unsure of who to trust. The investigation is led by bumbling Deputy Dewey Riley (David Arquette). He’s joined by ambitious reporter Gale Weathers, played by Courteney Cox, who was Arquette’s real-life wife at the time. Mention must be made of the iconic opening scene where Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) prepares to watch a scary movie alone at night. The phone rings and a gravelly voiced stranger begins a creepy conversation that leads to a violent showdown. It’s considered to be one of the most effective starting sequences in horror history and is a masterclass in tension, smashing predictability by killing off the film’s biggest star within the first twelve minutes. This is the original and, so far, the best of the ‘Scream’ franchise. It’s the perfect slasher film, combining an engaging story with solid acting, great momentum, and moments of humour. It has the perfect balance of suspense, unexpected jump scares, and a high kill count. The frequent, witty references to other horror movies are superb and show how much the writers truly love the genre – not to mention that this OG paved the way for an entire generation of new slasher content. I accidentally booked this as a Friday the 13th screening thinking it was ‘Scream 7’ but it was a happy mistake to make since it had been 30 years between viewings. Fingers crossed for the next instalment – this one will be tough to beat!