Youth is a Dream

It was at the impressionable age of 11 that I saw Scream (1996). I’m not proud of it, but Scream changed my horror loving life. And, sadly, in my twisted little mind, I developed a huge crush on rat faced Skeet Ulrich. Oh, the joys of youth.

Credited with revitalizing Wes Craven’s career, Scream brought back the slash and stalk horror films of the 70’s and 80’s and made the idea fashionable again. And boy did it. Suddenly Scream costumes were everywhere, and they still remain on Halloween shelves every year, far beyond the point that children of trick or treating age would possibly know what the costume is in reference to.

Scream has a sense of humor, and pays repeated homage to other horror films, with references ranging from blatantly obvious to deliciously subtle. Scream also offers a few memorable scenes that have somehow managed to stick it out after all this time (yes, nearly 20 years, good god do I feel old). Who among us didn’t cringe a little when Tatum (Rose Mcgowan) was crushed in the garage door? When Casey (Drew Barrymore) is seen hung from a tree with her ‘insides on the outside’. When Randy (Jamie Kennedy….remember Jamie Kennedy?) outlines the rules of survival in a horror film.

Some magical chemistry of actors, music, horror references and general silliness put Scream on the map and managed to spawn a number of terrible sequels (and reportedly, an upcoming TV series…..how indeed). There’s a reference to the sequels of A Nightmare on Elm Street, a dig to all of those terrible films, as Wes Craven sold the rights to the film following the original. Perhaps this indicates that he takes no responsibility for shitty sequels, but anyone who’s seen the following few Screams knows better.

I know more about this film than I should share with you here, and if you ever get the chance to watch it with me, don’t. I know all the lines and I incessantly spout them off at inopportune times, ruing the entire vibe.

The acting is passable, if forgettable. The story is fairly lackluster, but that hardly matters in the grand scope of things.Scream remains a classic, and it hardly seems worth dissecting. Just let it live. Enjoy the cheese and the handful of genuine scares (there’s no longer a fragment that scares me, but 11 year old me was another story) and the general fun. As I’ve said, Scream has a sense of humor, and it truly doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you go into it feeling the same, you walk away satisfied. Scream seems like just the ticket to transition your tween daughter from frightened scattered childhood memories of The Exorcist to full on horror fiend. Not scary enough to scar, but scary enough to leave you asking for more.

Oh, the good old days.

“Youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

Life Lessons:(I admittedly didn’t have to fish very far for these gems.)

1. Never drink or do drugs. (You’d better not kid.)

2. Never have sex. (till you’re thirty).

3. Never say ‘I’ll be right back.” Because you won’t.

4. Never ask, ‘who’s there?’. Come on, Casey, you should’ve known better.

5. Don’t investigate strange noises.

Bonus: Don’t run up the stairs when you should be running out the front door.