Scream

 “What’s your favorite scary movie?” That’s a question you may not want to answer if you want to keep your head, as the terrorized teens in Wes Craven’s bloody good slasher spoof find out when they tangle with a mysterious maniac who has an uncanny knowledge of horror movie clichés.  Aided by Kevin Williamson’s meta-clever screenplay, Scream sees Master of Horror Craven reinvent the tired teens-in-peril genre, adding in satirical high school drama and lovingly sending up such masked killer movie tropes as “let’s split up and find out what’s going on,” and “the virgin will survive.” Amazingly, Scream still manages to be faithful to the horror premise, and starting with a genuinely frightening opening sequence featuring a nasty phone call to an increasingly freaked-out Drew Barrymore, the film sustains a comedy/horror high-wire act that never fails to deliver chills and thrills (not to mention a surprising amount of blood and guts) on a way-over-the-top funhouse fright ride. Who’s the killer? It could be anyone in the huge cast filled with ‘90s superstars, including Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, Rose McGowan and Matthew Lillard. One of Craven’s most popular films and the first in an extremely successful scare franchise, Scream will definitely have you screaming for more! (Dir. by Wes Craven, 1996, USA, 111 mins., Rated R)