Caution: If you haven't seen the films... here there be spoilers...
I remember when the first Scream movie came out. I saw the previews and thought "eh, that might be decent" before I went and saw it and liked it, but didn't love it. As the sequels popped up I found more of an appreciation for the trilogy as a whole and now it's become a tradition at my house to watch the entire trilogy before every Halloween.
The first Scream film has become one of my all-time favorite slasher movies and while it's sequels as good as the original, they don't suck like they say in Scream 2. Let's talk about all 3 shall we?
The Scream film series is a series of satirical horror films directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson and Ehren Kruger. The main plot involves a psychopathic serial killer wearing a Halloween costume attempting to kill Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and various other characters involved in her life. They revitalized the slasher film genre in the mid 1990s by using a standard concept with a tongue-in-cheek approach that successfully combined straightforward scares with dialogue that satirized slasher film conventions.
They also made a whole lot of money at the box office. Here's the US numbers:
Scream (1996) - $103,046,663
Scream 2 (1997) - $101,363,301
Scream 3 (2000) - $89,143,175
TOTAL: $293,553,139 The three movies in the series share several common elements in their structure and plot.
* every movie begins with the death of a couple
* in the first and third movies, the actual killer is suspected and even taken into custody, only to be cleared due to a loophole
* at the end of every movie, Sidney's romantic interest is shot (and killed in the first two movies)
* the killer or killers always suddenly return when they seem dead (except for Stu), and, all but one time, the killer is finally vanquished with a head injury, usually a gunshot
* the Song "Red Right Hand" is played in all three of the movies.
So let's get to the individual films shall we?
Scream
Summary: A psychopathic serial killer is stalking a group of teens, just like in the movies! Sidney seems to be the main target as the 1 year anniversary of her mother's murder approaches.
Stars: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard, Drew Barrymore, Liev Schreiber
Stuff: directed by Wes Craven... like the original Halloween, "Don't Fear The Reaper" is heard in the movie (it's also in Zombieland)... won several awards, including Best Movie at the MTV Movie Awards 1997... Linda Blair (The Exorcist) has a cameo... Billy Loomis' surname is the same as that of Donald Pleasance's character in Halloween... When Casey's parents come home and see that something is wrong, her father says to her mother, "Go down the street to the Mackenzies' house" which is a quote from Halloween... the school janitor, Fred, is actually director Wes Craven and he wears a sweater similar to Freddy Krueger... the killer was based on the "Gainesville Ripper"... body count: 7
Defining Moment: You quickly learn that nobody is safe, as the movie's biggest star, Drew Barrymore, is slaughtered at the beginning of the film after a creepy phone conversation about horror movies.
Quote: "Life is like a movie. Only you can't pick your genre." These are the horror film rules as stated in the movie:
1. You will not survive if you have sex
2. You will not survive if you drink or do drugs
3. You will not survive if you say "I'll be right back"
4. Everyone is a suspect. Two additional rules come from the killer:
5. You will not survive if you ask "Who's there?"
6. You will not survive if you go out to investigate a strange noise.
Scream 2
Summary: Sidney Prescott relocates to Winsdor College trying to forget what happen in Woodsborro, only to find that another psychotic killer wants her dead. They've also make the Woodsborro events into a motion picture, "Stab", based on the Gale Weathers book and Cotton has been released from prison.
Stars: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Liev Schreiber, Jerry O'Connell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rebecca Gayheart, Timothy Olyphant, Joshua Jackson, Omar Epps, Jada Pinkett Smith
Stuff: Cameos by Heather Graham, Luke Wilson and Tori Spelling... there are several reference's to Courtney's tv show Friends... the killer's comments in the bathroom stall are directly influenced by the killer in Black Christmas... the cast didn't know who the killer was until the last day of filming... most of the outdoor scenes were filmed at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Ga... the stage performance "Cassandra Aria" was written by Danny Elfman... the movie within the movie, Stab, was directed by Robert Rodriguez... body count: 10
Defining Moment: Jada Pinkett Smith's character gets offed in a theater full of cheering people, as they think it's not real
Quote: "Oh please! By definition alone, sequels are inferior films."
The rules for a horror movie sequel:
1. The body count is always bigger.
2. The death scenes are always much more elaborate with more blood and gore.
3. Never assume the killer is dead.
Scream 3
Summary: Sidney visits the set of "Stab 3," after old pictures of her mother become the clue to a series of murders around Hollywood and on the set.
Stars: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Liev Schreiber, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henrikson, Parker Posey, Jenny McCarthy, Patrick Warburton
Stuff: This is the only part of the Scream cycle not to be written by Kevin Williamson... written by Ehren Kruger, who also wrote Arlington Road, The Skeleton Key and The Ring... celebrity cameos include Carrie Fisher, Jay and Silent Bob... most of the story is set in Hollywood and focuses on the making of Stab 3... the house used during the climax is the same house used as a school in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later... Body count: 10... Wes Craven filmed three different endings and didn't tell the cast which one he was going to use... During the studio tour, the tour guide mention's that the next stop on the tour is the set of "Seinfeld" on which Patrick Warburton, who plays Steven Stone in the movie, was famous for role as David Puddy...
Defining Moment: A fistfight between Sidney and the killer brings the trilogy to a close.
Quote: Phone Voice: "When you're friends with Sid, you die."
Horror Film Rules For A Continued Sequel
1. The killer has got be super human - stabbing or shooting won't be enough to finish him off.
2. Anyone, including the main character, can die.
3. The past will come back to haunt you.
Later in the film Detective Mark Kincaid remarks "All I know about movie trilogies is in the third one, all bets are off".
So that's a wrap! I've given you a little bit about the 3 movies so go rent them again or buy them or something and prepare for another, because Scream 4 hits theaters today and Kevin Williamson has said that "it will be the start of a new trilogy."
