IMDb > Scream (1996/I)
Scream
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Scream (1996) -- A psychopathic serial killer is stalking a group of teens just like in the movies!
Scream (1996) -- A psychopathic serial killer is stalking a group of teens just like in the movies!
Scream (1996) -- A psychopathic serial killer is stalking a group of teens just like in the movies!

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   83,914 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 82% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Wes Craven
Writer (WGA):
Kevin Williamson (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Scream on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 December 1996 (USA) more
Tagline:
Don't Answer The Phone. Don't Open The Door. Don't Try To Escape. more
Plot:
A psychopathic serial killer is stalking a group of teens just like in the movies! full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
7 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(458 articles)
‘Taken’ Director ‘Signals’ For ‘More’ ‘Action’
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 4 November 2009, 11:00 PM, PST)

Williamson reveals 'Scream 4' details
 (From digitalspy. 4 November 2009, 5:36 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Clever, scary and funny - a must-see for horror fans more (737 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Scary Movie (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong graphic horror violence and gore, and for language.
Runtime:
111 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Colour
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
South Korea:18 (re-rating) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:R-18 | Sweden:18 (director's cut) | Austria:16 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Argentina:16 (director's cut) | Australia:MA | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Israel:16 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 (director's cut) | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (original rating) | Norway:18 (director's cut) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Greece:K-17 | Brazil:14

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Justin Shenkarow loved the screenplay so much that he elected to take a minor behind-the-scenes role. His name appears 25th from the bottom of the credits. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Stu is talking to Sidney at near the end of the movie, he hands the phone to Billy, who gets mad and throws it back at Stu. The phone is shown that it hits him and falls to the ground but when Stu picks it back up to talk on it, its on the counter and easier for him to pick up. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Casey: Hello?
Phone Voice: Hello.
Casey: Yes?
Phone Voice: Who is this?
Casey: Who are you trying to reach?
Phone Voice: What number is this?
Casey: Well, what number are you trying to reach?
Phone Voice: I don't know.
Casey: I think you have the wrong number.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Greek: Friday Night Frights (#1.6)" (2007) more
Soundtrack:
I Don't Care more

FAQ

Was Maureen Prescott raped?
What are the differences between the R-Rated cut and Unrated Director's Cut version of the movie?
Who killed whom?
more
21 out of 22 people found the following comment useful.
Clever, scary and funny - a must-see for horror fans, 13 April 2007
8/10
Author: Max_cinefilo89 from Italy

Making a brilliant, original horror film is pretty hard these days, since practically everything has already been told, and more than once. Using that premise, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson came up with Scream, whose cleverness derives from the fact that it knows every single stereotype of the genre and satirizes them.

Take the opening sequence, for example: a young girl (Drew Barrymore) is making popcorn and waiting for her boyfriend when she suddenly receives a phone call. Normally, this would be a huge clichè, only this time the killer decides to play a little game (horror film quiz, naturally) with his victim. In fact, the only reason why he kills her is that she gave the wrong answer to one of his questions (those who haven't seen Friday 13th might want to skip that bit, as it spoils said movie's ending). That scene is both very scary (the murder is quite graphic and disturbing) and at the same time funny (it tests the characters', and the audience's, knowledge of the horror genre), and the rest of the film continues in the same vein: after the first killing, the masked psychopath starts disposing of other teenagers in the town of Woodsboro using the same technique. One of the targets is Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), whose mother was raped and killed the year before. This implies the killer might be the same, but who could it be? Sidney's distant father? Her mother's lover (Liev Schreiber)? Or some random guy, with no motive at all?

Fortunately, it is not the last category: this murderer has a motive and a plausible identity as well. But it isn't the payoff that makes Scream interesting; it's how Craven and Williamson get to it, by outlining the genre's conventions (some of which were actually invented by the director himself) and using them in a clever, if self-referential, way. The point of the movie is, the more you know of this kind of films (pay attention to the rules, stated by geeky film buff Randy), the more chances you have to survive (although you must take into account that the killer has seen the same movies). The in-jokes that would ruin other films are the very cause of Scream's success, with memorable scenes such as the villain mimicking the movie his victims are watching or Craven's unmissable cameo as a janitor wearing Freddy Krueger's outfit (not to mention priceless lines like "Movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative!").

In other words, Scream is a smart, effective horror film, which manages to amuse and scare in equal measures. Definitely worth watching, even if the two sequels (especially Scream 3) don't really match the original's intelligence and, forgive the expression, originality.

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Just watched it for the first time HereWeGoAgainn
Who thought Stu and Billy were... summergirl726
Q: Does anyone know the name of this movie? Waz-Q8
Favorite Line? jdrichards1
Why were they stabbing each other? SPOILERS moviephan52
Neve Campbell Makes ME Scream! ecavuto
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