In 1996, the teen slasher horror genre was revitalized. All it took was one movie and one word: Scream. The Wes Craven-directed film became a smash hit. The script, written by the would-be Dawson’s Creek creator, Kevin Williamson, was revolutionary. It was a deconstruction of horror tropes and clichés. Just as much as it was a legitimate thriller. The series is continuing on thirty years later with more films and a lasting pop culture impression. It’s even finding its way into commercial parodies.
The opening scene of Scream is iconic. It features Drew Barrymore going about her evening when she starts getting odd phone calls. The calls become more threatening, though, leading to a pop quiz on horror films with life-and-death consequences. Then there’s a chase sequence and film history was made. Maybe it’s fitting then that the film is being referenced in a commercial for a Chase credit card.
Yeah, it’s an obvious pun but the “Chase” involved this time is just the company. And they’re offering a cash back Freedom rewards card. Not sure what the interest rate is though. That could be scarier than anything in this economy. Kevin “any ad that pays money” Hart is here as well. He’s the one calling up Drew with the creepy voice to let her know about her new cash back card. It is what it is, a fun little throwback but we’re not really here to talk about the card. We’re here because of Scream.
The movie was a blessing and a curse to the horror genre. From one perspective, it gave rise to horror being legitimate theater experiences again. It’s a fun film, has some decent scares, some better written characters than you’d expect, and it’s pretty smartly written. Credit goes to Williamson for the wit and Craven for the horror. But it also had a kind of reductive impact on horror movies too thanks to trend chasing.
Because Scream met with the success that it did, imitators would follow. Horror was younger and hipper now in a way that didn’t help the genre. For example, I Know What You Did Last Summer happened because of Scream. The film was based on a book of the same name. It took the psychological suspense and thrills out of the story to replace it with more murdered teenagers. While we did get Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, we also got Halloween: Resurrection. The world did not need this film. Basically, Scream opened the door to films that wanted to emulate its hip cynicism. They largely failed.
But here we are, three decades on, and Scream deserves its recognition. Here’s to you Ghostface. Kinda sad that your legacy involves credit card commercials. But, well, better to sell out than fade away, right?
