Scream (1996 film)

A surprising number of well-meaning(? maybe?) adults didn’t get the commentary and humor behind “Scream” on its release, though, in their defense, ask the average twentysomething in 1996 what “media savvy” meant and they’d probably guess some kind of croissant. At present, it is obvious, glorious, and surprisingly effective. I was expecting much of this to register as old hat, especially after decades of horror films becoming increasingly metatextual, but this has just the right amount of spice, where characters will cite “Wes Carpenter” but also take the film’s threats seriously. A nearly two-hour horror film that just flew by.

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