Deftly parodying the genre as a whole whilst slotting into it simultaneously, the first Scream movie, released in 1996, is a bonified horror classic. Like the young characters the movie depicted on screen, Scream was itself a hot, new thing totally naive to how much of a legacy it would really have 25 years on. This month sees the release of Scream’s fifth incarnation (perhaps feeling its age, this one is thankfully not titled Scr5am, but - confusingly - merely Scream again). Here, we take a look back at the franchise’s bloody beginnings.
The Chilliest of Cold-Opens
Scream’s very first scene opens on a young Casey Becker (played by Drew Barrymore), alone in the house at night. The phone rings, and with it a sense of unease. A call on the landline. A wrong number. It happens. In a nondescript beige sweater, the blonde girl cooks popcorn on the stove while she prepares to put on a scary movie…
We’ve seen this before, but the scene continues subversively, as if the film acknowledges how typical its own beginning is. “Do you like scary movies?” the voice asks. The calls keep coming, angrier and more aggressive, threatening the girl directly now. The popcorn packet expands in the next room, overheating as the woman makes her way around the house, locking all the doors. Horror audiences can be sadistic voyeurists, enjoying the kill as much as a movie villain, and we can’t help but watch gleefully as the young woman secures the home, solving the riddles of this unknown voice on the line, forced to play his horror movie-trivia game. We fear that next chime of the phone, but also can’t wait to see it answered; this is how a horror movie works, combining dread and anticipation.
Shot as a “bottle episode,” the female character perfectly maps out the space of her widescreen home for us (16:9 widescreen TVs would be everywhere in the early 00s, complimenting the DVD boom), hinting at every single corner where any manner of creep could jump out of. The camera lingers on knives and shadows, windows and patios, hinting at the gruesome unknown.
Dimension Films
What could have been nothing more than another mere slasher sequence is dissected and transformed, nay, perfected in this cold-open. With each new mundane ring of that telephone, the viewer cannot help but want this pretty, innocent young woman to totally ignore it - and pick it up at the same time; again, this is the paradox of horror, intertwining desire and dread. By the time that this person has been killed, your emotions have been dashed and rattled. You’re heartbroken, shocked, terrified, but also wildly excited for whatever is to follow. Remember, it’s only been 13 minutes.
Toying With the Genre
The dialogue - so strong throughout Kevin Williamson’s screenplay - has the two intro characters verbally sparring and lashing out like two cracking whips. Referencing Casey Becker’s own film knowledge of horror, the voice mocks her cliched attempts at protecting herself; when she checks to see who is at the door, the caller responds, “You should never say ‘who’s there.’ Don’t you watch scary movies? […] You might as well come out here to investigate a strange noise, or something!”
The unknown agitator mocks the girl as if she is some Scooby-Doo character or, more aptly, any dumb teenager from any of the then-dwindling horror franchises which preceeded Scream. It’s tongue-in-cheek, very sharp and meta, and even more so coming from ex-Nightmare on Elm Street director Wes Craven at the helm. The viewer can relate to both the villain and the heroine in this intro; wanting her to survive, but also mocking her for opting to go down into the proverbial spooky basement of horror cliches. Then the unexpected happens– the biggest name in the film is killed off.
On the casting of Barrymore, screenwriter Kevin Williamson said, in a must-read oral history with The Hollywood Report,
During a tight five-day shoot, Barrymore agreed that her character should die in the opening sequence. Speaking in 2020 on popular Youtube channel Hot Ones, she said,
Turn Around!
This opening is in itself a horror film within a horror movie, and is also the ideal misdirect. Actor Drew Barrymore was sold as a main star in this film’s marketing, but once she is offed by Ghostface so callously, she is only mentioned later in the film by its actual stars as no more than some spooky campfire legend to be mocked. The ensuing film is just as clever and viciously refreshing as its cold open.
Scream dares you to make sure your doors and windows are locked before you go to bed, and it makes it look so simple. It knows its audience, because the people portrayed on screen are, from the outset, the exact same sort of teens who would be watching this picture. They go to school, they get drunk, and they like movies (especially scary ones). They even work in Blockbuster Video, itself another winkingly sly indication that these characters believe they know all the horror cliches. The resulting film is as enthusiastic about horror cinema itself as its characters are.
At the time, the studio (Miramax, which then owned Dimension Films) wasn’t as enthused. Lacking confidence in the project, questioning the legitimacy of the relatively unknown cast, and the scariness of the Ghostface mask itself, Wes Craven’s job was on the line less than a week into shooting.
Speaking to Yahoo, Skeet Ulrich (Scream’s Billy) says they were wrong to think so. He said:
The Killer’s Still Out There!
Paramount Pictures
Scream’s cold-open would be imitated by its following sequels, as each new installment would have a heavy emphasis on their own intros (Scream 2 has an equally tense one, and with a broader scope). The opening sequence and subsequent film would find imitators outside of the franchise as well– a direct TV show based off the films, multiple copycat pictures like ’97s I Know What You Did Last Summer, wildly unfunny parodies via the Scary Movie franchise, and the Saw series, with it’s “I Want To Play a Game” and “Let’s Play a Game” taglines so reminscent of Ghostface’s own catchphrase.
If Scream hadn’t been such an excellent movie in its own right, then this cold open to the story would be the greatest short film ever made. In just under thirteen minutes, the audience is hooked by Scream’s knowing charms and are feverishly uncertain of what exactly the film is going to put them through next. Do you like scary movies? Scream reminded us all just how much we did indeed.
Scream is out everywhere on Friday 14th of January.
