The “goal” of the Halloween Horrors series is to be a celebration of our love for the Halloween season and all the numerous horror films that many of us tend to watch during this time of year. The series, at its best, introduces us to films we may not have previously experienced, while also pays tribute to certified classics that most of us have been watching for years. It also allows the writer to gush over one of their favorite films and explain why it’s so important to them.

Our next Halloween Horrors 2023 is a perfect example of this. It comes to us from Trisha Pantazis, who previously joined us for 2019’s series with a look at Friday the 13th Part 3. This year, Trisha joins the series to share a few thoughts on another well-known slasher film, Wes Craven’s Scream (1996). It’s probably a safe assumption that the film is on the October “watch list” of some of you reading this article.

This entry reminds us to love what we love, and to enjoy the things that make us happy… even if those things do involve people in masks slicing up teenagers.

 

 

This story starts out with a little 9-year old girl. She went to the video store and rented a VHS tape of a movie called Scream. She gets to her Grandma’s and pops the VHS into the VCR. It was love at first sight! She was intrigued. She was hooked. She was in awe… and she is me. This movie means so much to me, and I love everything about it. It’s just a great story! It has good characters that are relatable, a great mystery, and an engaging plot with a fair share of twists that makes it very rewatchable.

The fact is that just 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the movie, Scream became dangerously meta. The “What’s your favorite scary movie?” line? Instant chills! Casey had no clue what was to come from that one question, especially if she answered it right or wrong, for that matter. The slow-motion shot before she meets her end was one of my favorite scenes because the anticipation of Ghostface catching up to her was brutal. It’s even more brutal that she sees her mother, but her mother doesn’t see her taking her last breaths while saying “Mom”. Wes Craven intended for Drew Barrymore, who portrayed “Casey Becker”, to play “Sidney”, but then cast Neve Campbell due to some scheduling conflicts on Drew’s part. She still wanted a part in the film, so she took on “Casey” and finished filming her role in 5 days. Sidney, I believe, was cast perfectly. Neve really does a phenomenal job taking on this role and bringing so much emotion to her.

The teen girl is torn up because her mother was murdered, but little does she know that it was her (now) boyfriend who killed her mother. Maureen, who was Sidney’s mom, was cheating with Billy’s dad, and Billy went ballistic. The one question I have is did he ever love or care about Sidney? I mean, in a way, from their conversation in the hallway at the school, it seemed so. I don’t think he really wanted to kill Sidney and her father. I think he just wanted some revenge on them for ruining his life.

Billy was very smart to con Stu into helping. After all, I don’t think anyone anticipated there being two killers. Stu’s humor and “tag lines” are some of Scream‘s most iconic moments. “LIVER ALONE!”, or the scene where he is suffering from Billy’s getting “knife-happy” and takes the phone from Billy to talk to Sidney after her speech about calling the cops on them.

Stu: “Did you really call the cops?“
Sidney: “You bet your sorry ass I did!“
Stu: “My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me!“

I don’t think that Stu knew the full story before agreeing to this spree that they go on, or that he may end up on the other end of Billy’s knife if he disobeys him.

The last thing I want to talk about is what Sydney’s character did for the horror genre. It gave us a new, relatable “final girl” who not only overcomes facing her would-be killers, but also facing the media and the judgment from her peers. Throughout most of the film, we see a scared and vulnerable Sidney, but by the end she finds the strength to take on the killers even though one is her first love. I think that might be easy to do once you find out that he murdered your mother and tries to frame your dad for it… which helps make teenage break-ups a whole lot easier.

I honestly can’t believe how this film has flourished and earned its place as a “teen slasher” classic of the horror genre. Though there are many sequels and a TV series, I feel that none have captured the intensity of the first film. I can only hope that Neve Campbell makes her return as our beloved “Sidney Prescott” and gives her the sendoff that fans hope for.

I want to take a second and thank Dustin for this opportunity to write about a film that means a lot to me. Halloween Horrors is always a fun tradition to be a part of. Thank you to everyone for reading… and stay Spooky!