Scream Scary Movie Genre | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

'Scream' And How To Redefine The Genre You Helped Create

This week I discuss one of my favorite movies "Scream," and its place in the slasher sub-genre.

41
'Scream' And How To Redefine The Genre You Helped Create

The late Wes Craven's, "Scream" (1996), is easily my favorite horror movie of all time. It is my go-to Halloween party flick. I have many fond memories watching it on a projector in my backyard, surrounded by my closest friends. Part of what makes this flick so fun for Halloween is that it is a slasher horror film, much like other horror classics, such as the "Friday the 13th" series, "Halloween" series, with its latest installment is hitting theaters this month, and Wes Craven's other horror series, "Nightmare on Elm Street."

Slasher flicks have been on a roller coaster of popularity ever since the 1970s, because of the popularity of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Although that slasher film is a little hard for me to stomach through, it is still an important staple of the sub-genre of slasher horror movies. The guts and gore thrown around the narrative is still seen in slasher flicks today. Within the 70s, it was body-gore horror, like in "Texas Chainsaw," the 80s saw a popularity of bizarre/over the top deaths, such as Johnny Depp's death scene in "Nightmare on Elm Street" when he gets sucked into his bed, TV and all.

The 90s, on the other hand, saw a strange combination of the two above. Most of this is due to the 90s seeing a large decrease in interest for the slasher genre, as many people had their favorites already, and were not interested in seeing the same tropes being projected on a big screen again. It's also partially because of the 'staleness' in the genre that lead to perhaps one of the best examples of a meta-movie, "Scream."

Although this series is chalk full of horror tropes, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), is the 'final girl/scream queen,' Dewey (David Arquette), and other officers are bumbling policemen who don't take the murders seriously until it is too late, and of course the 'rules' of horror movies are ever so present. But it's this last example that makes this series, in my opinion stand out from the rest.

Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), Woodsboro's resident film buff, rattles off three rules that characters in a horror movie must follow in order to survive. You can't have sex, drink, or do drugs, and god forbid you say, "Hello? "Who's there?" and of course, "I'll be right back." In any other series, this list reads with certainty that those who break the rules are next on the chopping list. In "Friday the 13th" Mrs. Voorhees kills teen counselors because they were fooling around instead of watching her son Jason.

But in "Scream," Sidney, who for the entire narrative of the film has not slept with her boyfriend, Billy, loses her virginity right before the film's climax and final reveal; Billy is one of the killers, and even killed Sidney's mother. This reveal rattles Sidney, and the entire audience, after all, we have just seen Sidney seal her and Billy's fate right? In any other movie this would be the case but in the first installment of the franchise, Craven turns horror fans on their heads as they realize that the man who helped create these horror rules is dead set (literally) on breaking them.

It is because of Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson's acknowledgement and separation of the slasher genre that makes "Scream" one of my favorite slashers and one of my favorite movies of all time. What's your favorite movie to watch during Halloween?

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

146
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

1467
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less
Christmas tree
Librarian Lavender

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is one of my personal favorite holidays because of the Christmas traditions my family upholds generation after generation. After talking to a few of my friends at college, I realized that a lot of them don't really have "Christmas traditions" in their family, and I want to help change that. Here's a list of Christmas traditions that my family does, and anyone can incorporate into their family as well!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Phases Of Finals

May the odds be ever in your favor.

2327
Does anybody know how to study
Gurl.com

It’s here; that time of year when college students turn into preschoolers again. We cry for our mothers, eat everything in sight, and whine when we don’t get our way. It’s finals, the dreaded time of the semester when we all realize we should have been paying attention in class instead of literally doing anything else but that. Everyone has to take them, and yes, unfortunately, they are inevitable. But just because they are here and inevitable does not mean they’re peaches and cream and full of rainbows. Surviving them is a must, and the following five phases are a reality for all majors from business to art, nursing to history.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments