Let's have some rules before you SCREAM

I am not that kind who like to watch horror film. I’m fine if the film has violence and bloody scenes, but I cannot stand the pressure of psychological oppression. When my lecture, Mr. Joe introduced this horror film to the class, I feel like finally there are some horror film for the people who want to watch but too afraid and not dare to watch, just like me. The film is horror, but not too horror, and a little bit funny.

The movie is Scream.

The movie poster of Scream.
(Source: http://i.mtime.com/eagle4/blog/6307521/)

Scream is an America horror film or slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. This film successfully revived the slasher film in 1990s. The dialogue between the actors in the movie is used to irony the horror bloody film is being formulated gradually. The mask wear by the killer in the film has become a classic merchandise in Halloween.

(Source:http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/95344531.html)

The story starts with a high school student, Casey, who live in Woodsboro town is alone at home when her parent night out. Suddenly she receives a harassing phone call and the man keeps asking her questions about horror movie. The moment when she receives the call, she had become the target of a mysterious killer. Then, her boyfriend, Steve, and she was killed by the killer and her body is hang on the tree in front of her house. But these scenes just indicate there is a killer in this town. The main story starts when the main character, Sidney, becomes the target of the killer. And the people around her such as her boyfriend, friends, the policeman, the reporter and etc. have been involved in this mystery killing incident.

This film has a lot of bloody and death circumstances, and the general plot of horror film looks like, which is the identity of killer will be only known when the film is about to finish.

The film combines some different genres to satirize the cliché of horror film. Some genres that I can found are horror, comedy, mystery and action. The combination of genre also makes this film different from the other horror film at that time. It makes the narrative more interesting and not just a normal horror film that scare the audience.

HORROR

Let’s start with the first genre, horror. As I have mentioned in my last blog about another horror comedy film, Zombieland, horror film is designed to frighten and makes the audience panic. This film has a lot of bloody and chasing scenes that can makes the audience feels terrified and shocked. We can clearly see that the sub-genre for this film is massacre or slasher flicks, which is the killer who wearing a mask. Killer is very important character because he is just like the nightmare in this film. The audiences will feel nervous, uneasy and uncomfortable when he appears, just like the characters feels in the film.

Some of the bloody scenes. (Source: https://www.tumblr.com/search/the%20scream%20trilogy)

The killer who wearing mask.(Source: http://popkey.co/m/GMNVQ-scream-movie-murderer-scare-scary-horror)

COMEDY

The types of comedy in this film is slapstick. I found that the action of the killer is a bit clumsy sometime. He keeps falling down or hit by other things when he is going to kill the target. The audience is panic while watching the film because the killer is chasing the target with a knife but suddenly the killer falls down with a funny pose. This totally change the mood of the film.

Another example is when the killer attacks Sidney in her house, Sidney runs to her room and close the door then blocks the door with another store’s door. When the killer come, he can’t enter the room and he just stuck in between the door slit. 

This is one of the scene where the killer wants to attacks Sidney in the school toilet but she avoids his attack and he just bumps into the basin.

MYSTERY

I say this film is some kind of mystery or detective film because the audience will keeps guessing who is the killer. It gives audience time to think and imagine the truth and the identity of killer. But there are also some misleading clues so that the audience will not know the ending before they finish watching the film.

For example, when Sidney attacked by the mystery killer, her boyfriend, Billy appeals at her house at the same time. So Sidney thought that Billy is the killer and she runs away. Then Billy is arrested. But Sidney receives the killer’s phone call again when Billy is in the police station. Sidney starts to think that she is wrong to Billy. Besides, the police officers also found out that the harassing phone calls are not called out from Billy’s cell phone but Sidney’s father’s phone. But actually the killer has two people and one of them is Billy. He traced the calls to Sidney’s father’s cell phone to frame him that he is the actual killer.

The audience will not think that Billy is the killer or even there are actually two killers at first because the story showed Billy seems to be being wronged, and all the evidences are pointed to Sidney’s father, Neil Prescott.

ACTION

Action scene showed when Sidney is fighting with the killer to survive.

(Source: http://wifflegif.com/tags/90541-sidney-prescott-gifs?page=4)

Sidney found out the killer actually is two people, Billy and Stu. She fights with them with the help of reporter, Gale. At last, Stu is killed by Sidney. Billy attacks Sidney but also killed by her by shooting on his head.

(Source: http://wifflegif.com/gifs/483007-sidney-prescott-neve-campbell-gif)

(Source: http://wifflegif.com/gifs/474587-sidney-prescott-matthew-lillard-gif)

There is also a lot of chasing scenes in this film, when the killer is chasing the target/victim all over the house. The killer chases Sidney when she is alone in her house. This is their first met.

(Source: http://wifflegif.com/gifs/483038-sidney-prescott-neve-campbell-gif)

Lastly, I think that this horror movie is more entertaining the audience compared to scare the audience. The story line is more twisted as we cannot figure out who is the killer before we finish watching the film. The combination of genre allow this film has an interesting content.

There is some rules for horror film.
Don't have sex with others.
Don't take drugs or alcohol.
Don't say "I'll be right back.".
Don't ask "Who's there？".
Don't check the source of weird sound alone.

Or else you will die.