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Scream (1996)

tomatometer

83

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 59
Fresh: 49 | Rotten: 10

A great mixed of bone chilling suspense and witty dialogues.

75

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 16
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 4

A great mixed of bone chilling suspense and witty dialogues.

audience

70

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 440,198

My Rating

Movie Info

Scream is at once a slasher film and a tongue-in-cheek position paper on the "dead teenagers" movies of the late 1970s/early 1980s that plays as half-parody, half-tribute. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is having a rough time lately: she's still getting over the brutal rape and murder of her mother a year ago, and now one of her friends (Drew Barrymore) has been killed by a lunatic who harassed her with terrifying phone calls, then stabbed her to death while wearing a Halloween costume. Soon

R, 1 hr. 50 min.

Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

Kevin Williamson

Dec 2, 1997

Miramax Films

Cast

All Critics (59) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (10) | DVD (20)

The pic's chills are top-notch, but its underlying mockish tone won't please die-hard fans.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comments (3)
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The assumption that there's something inherently clever about a slasher movie making reference to both its genre and the filmmaking process is a fundamental flaw of this tiresome, blood-filled comedy.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (4)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Turns slasher flicks into slapstick.

April 12, 2002 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The best fright fest of the '90s.

January 22, 2002 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A bravura, provocative sendup of horror pictures that's also scary and gruesome yet too swift-moving to lapse into morbidity.

February 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Not even horror fans who can answer all this film's knowing trivia questions may be fully comfortable with such an exploitative mix.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Remains a highly polished piece of meta-slasher mayhem.

May 20, 2011 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | Comment
Lessons of Darkness

...a fun, well-paced slasher...

April 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

Maybe not the first metamovie, but certainly the one that popularized the genre.

March 4, 2011 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comment
LarsenOnFilm

Graphic mystery-homage to teen-slasher movies.

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Once all pretense and self-congratulatory winks to the audience have finished, the climax pretty much goes on auto-drive relying on the basic slasher fare...

April 28, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comments (2)
Cinema Crazed

Self-knowing badness is in fact badness; it might actually be worse than just regular old badness because it is, in addition to everything else, smug.

July 12, 2009 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comments (3)
Antagony & Ecstasy

A pointedly knowledgeable, frequently funny satire on slasher conventions and a terrifically scary, joyously suspenseful horror picture.

October 15, 2008 Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | Comment
DustinPutman.com

It's not stupid, it's not wussy and it pulls off a couple of pretty nasty jolts.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Fans of the genre can enjoy the way it plays with horror's conventions. Others can just chew their fingers in fright.

September 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Witty, tightly structured, and often effective as a straight horror film.

August 18, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

At last, a horror movie to shout about!

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Ironically, the predictability is actually one of the film's virtues.

September 15, 2005 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | Comment
TheMovieReport.com

A fun, scary and entertaining movie

January 25, 2005 Full Review Source: Slasherpool | Comment

Its commercial success was well-justified.

September 4, 2003 Full Review | Comment
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It's been a long time since a teen-slasher movie has offered up anything but dull buckets of gore. With Scream, the genre reclaims its roots.

October 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | Comment
Cincinnati Enquirer
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Scream

Principal Himbry: You make me so sick. Your entire havoc-inducing, thieving, whoring generation disgusts me. "Now everybody is a victim and everybody is a suspect!"Scream is one of the greatest achievements in horror history. It's a movie that is so many things all at once. It has it's straight horror plot that is like

January 18, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

I had never seen the interest in a slasher film. However this is no slasher film, this is a cult classic. From the first moment you are drawn in with interesting shots and plot devices as the excellent story is played out.It's tongue in cheek, it's brutal at times, it's ridiculous and the acting would usually bring me

August 19, 2011
Adam Kelly

Super Reviewer

    1. Sidney Prescott: It's okay, Tatum she's just doin' her job.
    2. Gale Weathers: Yes, that's right.
    3. Sidney Prescott: So how's the book?
    4. Gale Weathers: Well, it'll be out later, this year.
    5. Sidney Prescott: I'll look for it.
    6. Gale Weathers: I'll send you a copy. [Sidney then punches her in the face]
    7. Dewey Riley: Where'd you learn how to punch like that?
    – Submitted by Nick P (2 months ago)
    1. Casey Becker: [smiling] Why do you want to know my name?
    2. Billy Loomis: [as Ghostface] Because I want to know who I'm looking at.
    3. Casey Becker: [scared] What did you say?
    4. Billy Loomis: [as Ghostface] I said... I want to know who I'm talking to.
    – Submitted by zachary v (3 months ago)
    1. Stuart: I always had a thing for you Sid!
    2. Sidney Prescott: [bites Stuart's hand and slams a vase on his head]
    3. Stuart: Bitch.
    – Submitted by Rawballs B (4 months ago)
    1. Sidney Prescott: You sick fuck, you've seen one two many movies
    2. Billy Loomis: [Maniacal look on his face] Nah, Syd. Movies don't create psychos... Movies make psychos MORE CREATIVE! [stabs Stuart]
    – Submitted by Noah G (4 months ago)
    1. Billy Loomis: [as Ghostface, harassing Casey with movie trivia] Name the killer in Halloween.
    2. Casey Becker: I don't know...
    3. Billy Loomis: [as Ghostface] It's your favorite scary movie, remember? He had on the white mask, he stalked the babysitters.
    4. Casey Becker: I don't know!
    5. Billy Loomis: Come on, yes you do. What's his name? Steve's counting on you.
    6. Casey Becker: Michael... Michael Myers.
    7. Billy Loomis: [as Ghostface] Very good! Now for the real question.
    8. Casey Becker: [upset] NO!
    9. Billy Loomis: [as Ghostface] But you're doing so well! We can't stop now!
    10. Casey Becker: Please, stop! Leave us alone!
    – Submitted by Gavin S (5 months ago)

Latest News for Scream

September 25, 2009:
Neve Campbell Returning for Scream 4?
Did someone make a boo-boo, or did Variety just break the news that Neve Campbell will be starring...

July 15, 2009:
Arquettes Confirmed for Scream 4
It's official: David Arquette and Courteney Cox Arquette will return for the fourth installment of...

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Foreign Titles

  • Scream (1996) (DE)
  • Scream (1996) (CA)
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