Let there be knives!

The Movie: Scream, directed by Wes Craven
Recommendation: Me!
Reason: It's the beginning of the best neo-horror trilogy set to screen.

Scream changed my life. I count it, along with Schindler's List, Unbreakable, The Truman Show and Princess Mononoke as the most important movies I've ever seen. That isn't because of historical impact, entertainment purposes or emotional resonance-there are other movies that influenced me more in those respects. But these five films each changed the way I looked at film as an art form and a medium of expression. From M. Night's camerawork to Spielberg's fine use of color, I learned how beautiful movies could be. From Jim Carrey, the power a lead actor has to carry a movie. From Billy Crudup, Minnie Driver and Claire Danes, the importance of voice and script in animation. Wes Craven's Scream ushered me into the revelation that one of the most ill-regarded genres of film was capable of holding its own, asking complex questions and challenging the viewer to look deep into the screen. Scream awakened me to the potential of the horror genre and all of the twisty, fascinating gems within.

Well. Now that I've gone and gotten all sentimental on you, I suppose I should actually talk about the movie. Scream's a masterpiece, working both as a horror film and as an examination of the genre. I talked about the new wave of post-90's horror films when I critiqued Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Scream was the gun that sounded go for those movies. Jason Voorhees and Leatherface were no longer the way to go with a slasher. Intelligent leads and smart killers using tools that Voorhees and company never dared dream of were the new direction. Movies became more self referential after Scream, most without the finesse of Kevin Williamson's deft writing. Guns and cell phones came into vogue after the killer terrorized Woodsboro with a ringing phone and was put down by a Final Girl's bullet. Scream even had measurable effect on the real world: Caller ID use tripled after its premiere, and two of the primary leads, Courtney Cox and David Arquette, got married.

The casting of this movie was likely the key to its success. Drew Barrymore was brought on board at the beginning of her mid-90's comeback. Neve Campbell was having plenty of success on Party of Five. Courtney Cox was pulling in viewers from the Friends crowd. The movie also launched Jamie Kennedy and Matthew Lillard back into the spotlight...which can be construed as possibly a good thing. At the very least, they were good in this one. At any rate, the cast meshed well. The performances were solid, even nuanced (particularily David Arquette's Dewey and Neve Campbell's Sydney). The cameos were appropriately subtle. They wrapped this movie into the glorious package deal that it is today.

-172/365 down, 193/365 to go