Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20266 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-02-26
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With the smash hit Scream, novice screenwriter Kevin Williamson and veteran horror director Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street) revived the mouldering corpse of the teen horror picture, both creatively and commercially, by playfully acknowledging the exhausted clichés and then turning them inside out. Scream is a postmodern slasher movie, a horror film that cleverly deconstructs horror films, then reassembles the dead tissue, and (like Frankenstein's monster) creates new life. When a serial killer starts hacking up their fellow teens, the media-savvy youngsters of Scream realise that the smartest way of sticking around for the sequel is to avoid the terminal behaviours that inevitably doom supporting players in the movies. They've seen all the movies, and the rules of the genre are like second nature to them. One of the scariest and funniest setups features a kid watching John Carpenter's seminal Halloween on video. As Jamie Lee Curtis is shadowed by Michael Meyers and the kid on the couch yells at her to turn around, Craven reverses his camera and we see that the kid should be taking his own advice. The fresh-faced young cast (including Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette) is fun to watch, and their tart dialogue is sprinkled with enough archly self-conscious pop-culture references to make Quentin Tarantino blush. --Jim Emerson

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Commentary By Wes Craven
Production Featurette
Behind The Scenes On The Scream Set With Drew Barrymore
Questions And Answers With The Cast And Crew
Special Effects Gallery
Cast And Crew Profiles
Did You Know Trivia Information
2 Theatrical Trailers
English

Synopsis
A hyper-intelligent serial killer preys on the teenage denizens of a small town, using their fascination with horror movie conventions to set up his diabolical doings. An intelligent, well-crafted thriller from the creator of "A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET." The deluxe version contains a behind-the-scenes featurette and running audio commentary from Craven.

Customer Reviews

Who lies behind the mask?
"Scream" was made in the face of declining audiences for horror: it reversed the trend and triggered a number of glitzy, glamorous, teenage slasher movies in which pretty young things ran around in an atmosphere of high tension, abundant gore, and (often) electrifying cleavage.

"Scream", however, was conceived as a self-parody of the genre - it is shot through with its cast discussing what happens in horror movies and how to avoid becoming the next victim. Its sequels and its emulators have continued this theme.

Godard and Truffaut and the French directors of the 50's and 60's made conscious use of the role of the audience, forcing them to realise that they were watching a film: Wes Craven builds from this basic premise of audience sophistication to recognise that the viewer can be wholly conscious s/he is watching a film, but can still suspend disbelief and, in a horrifying situation, our fears and emotions can be learned via the cinema or television ... or at least pay reference to them. To this extend he makes a statement which parallels Cronenberg in emphasising precisely what impact cinema and television has on popular culture and personal expectation.

The decision to combine horror and comedy may have been a risky one. It's easy to laugh at bad horror, to mock the risible. To make your horror funny from the outset risks diluting it, risks saying that this is simply satire. The best satire twists the knife. And "Scream" pumps up the tension while it gets its laughs.

Neve Campbell plays Sydney, a young woman whose own mother has been brutally murdered. She is trying to get her life back together when two teenagers at her school are butchered. The killer phones them and taunts them before he kills them. She soon finds herself tormented by the killer, who wears a cloak and a Halloween mask modelled on the painting, 'The Scream'. Throughout, Sydney is pursued, not only by the killer, but by Courtney Cox, playing a rabidly determined television journalist keen to get her story and her name in lights.

It's an extraordinarily well directed and edited film, following a very good script, which allows the characters and tension to build ... while seeding the action with enough red herrings to sink a trawler. The characters are often designed as stereotypes, but their interaction and dialogue breathes life into them and engages your attention, keeping both the laughs and the rapid intakes of breath as random possibilities. You're never quite sure whether to relax and laugh ... or wait in case you're caught out by a ... .

Seriously good film, not to be taken too seriously, but to be seriously appreciated for the quality of its production. The DVD offers some excellent extras in terms of commentary and interviews - though it might be best to buy it as one of the packages, either in "The Wes Craven Collection" or "Scream Trilogy".

A brilliant combination of horror, pop culture, and humor
Scream provided the horror genre with a significant shot in the arm when it was released in 1996. This movie was a whole bunch of horror films all rolled into one, yet it was also quite original and unlike what had come before. Along with the undeniable creepiness and suspenseful nature of the wonderfully complex plot, Scream brilliantly incorporated pop culture and humor. It paid homage to its antecedents, referring to 14 different horror movies of the past, incorporating scenes (and that powerful Carpenter music) from Halloween into the plot itself, citing the unspoken rules of horror movies, and sneaking in great cameo appearances by Linda Blair and "Fred" the janitor (played by Wes Craven himself).

The phone call from the killer gimmick works very well here, providing Scream with its own peculiar trademark. I certainly had no idea about the true identity of the killer at the end, and I was thrilled to discover all of the rich nuances fuelling the entire killing spree. Scream is not your typical slice and dice flick with an easily identifiable bad guy and a plot that serves no more purpose than to provide an excuse for killing people. Script writer Kevin Williamson is a veritable genius, a man whose love of horror movies fuels him to put together a story that will involve the audience's mind as well as its emotions. The manner of murders are refreshingly varied, partly because the masked killer is so doggone clumsy most of the time and has to rely on devices other than his shiny big knife. I found the suspense level of every important event almost perfect. The soundtrack also adds strength to the whole effect, featuring great tracks such as Don't Fear the Reaper and Red Right Hand (which was originally used in a classic X-Files episode).

Of course, even the best script will fail without a talented cast, and Scream is blessed with some of Hollywood's best performers. Neve Campbell is of course the perfect Sydney; Drew Barrymore is largely responsible for making Scream's opening scene one of the most memorable of all time; Courteney Cox is the perfect self-centered tabloid reporter; David Arquette is actually likeable for once in his role as the somewhat dim-witted deputy sheriff; Rose McGowan is the quintessential best friend (and a total knockout); Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard play their roles perfectly; and the character of Randy Meeks, the self-proclaimed horror expert, is one of my all-time favorites. Even the Fonz himself, Henry Winkler, plays a part in the film. I don't think you could put together a better overall cast for a horror movie, and that is one of the real secrets of Scream's success.

No matter how many times I watch Scream, I never fail to get completely drawn into the suspense. The DVD makes the experience even better with its load of goodies-a number of trailers, Wes Craven's commentary, some behind the scenes footage, interviews with cast members about the movie and about horror in general, cast biographies, trivia information, etc.. One really interesting note about this film is revealed in the credits: this movie was made "No Thanks Whatsoever To: the Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board" because the school board backed out of its decision to let part of the movie be shot at its local high school, citing the film's excessive violence. I believe this movie does what horror is supposed to do: draw out your own fears and negative emotions, transfer them to the screen, and send you away feeling invigorated, refreshed, and glad to be alive.

"Do You Want to Play Psycho Killer?"
The town of Woodsboro is being haunted by a series of brutal murders. But the focus seems to be Sidney Prescott (Never Campbell). But this isn't your normal serial killer. Instead, the killer has been influenced by the horror movies he or she has watched over the years. Disguised with a Ghostface mask, the killer calls and daunts the victim before arriving to slice and dice.

While most of the high school takes it as a joke, Sidney is taking it seriously. But who around her might be the killer. Maybe it's reporter Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) looking for her next story. What about film geek Randy (Jamie Kennedy). Boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) is a suspect, so that makes him innocent, right? Then again, any of these people might become the next victim. Will knowing the rules of the horror genre help them make it out alive?

Okay, so this is so NOT my normal genre of film. And yes, it definitely earns its R rating with brutal violence and horrid language. But I have always had a fascination with the genre, so when this movie became a surprise hit, I wound up checking it out. And the mystery fan in me loved it. The clues and red herrings are everywhere. However, the jump factor had me going from the start as well. Yes, I jump quite easily. My roommate used to laugh at me watching this film, in fact.

The thing that sets this apart from other slasher films is that we actually do get to know some of the victims before they die. These aren't just the stock characters you'd normally find, but real people.

Okay, so the other thing that set it apart is the humor. These characters know they are in a horror fan and talk about how to make it out alive. Of course, convention is thrown on its head (at times). But that wink at the audience as it attempts to scare us silly adds to the fun.

While most slasher movies still don't entertain me, I keep coming back and watching this franchise. If you want your scares with a post modern edge, this is the place to turn.