Scream
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is struggling, has been ever since her mother was brutally murdered almost a year before. Her boyfriend Billy (Skeet UIlrich) seems unsympathetic to what she is going through, and wants to take their relationship to the next level. When Sidney resists, she wonders if they will even stay together. She has a group of friends she hangs out with, especially her friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) who is dating Stuart (Matthew Lillard), Then there is Randy (Jamie Kennedy), who has a crush on Sidney, works in a video store, and is the resident expert on horror movies.
When her friend Casey (Drew Barrymore) and her boyfriend Steve (Kevin Patrick Walls) are killed, fear
fills the town, and local news reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) is quick to connect the murder with that of Sidney's mother. Sidney already hates Gale for the book she wrote about her late mother, which is about to come out, and resents her intrusions into her life. When a Scream mask is found at the stie of Casey's murder, it becomes the face of what is going on. But as the body count grows, Sidney isn't sure who she can trust... and she thinks she might be the killer's next target.
Hard to believe this film is almost 30 years old. It's just as good now as it was then, and wears well. This is a Wes Craven film, who also brought us Nightmare on Elm Street. A lot of familiar faces here, including David Arquette, who later married Courtney Cox (I believe this is how they met). There is a brief glimpse of the convicted killer of Sidney's mother, Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), who is the subject of Gale's book - she claims he is innocent. I had totally forgotten most of the film, so I was able to be surprised again, as if I was seeing it for the first time. The story is solid, the acting good, the writing good. Also, look for Henry Winkler in an uncredited role as the school principal. This film delivers on all cylinders, and is definitely worth revisiting. I'll give this film 4.5 Stars.
