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Scream (1996)

R  |   |  Horror, Mystery  |  20 December 1996 (USA)
7.2
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Ratings: 7.2/10 from 206,281 users   Metascore: 65/100
Reviews: 851 user | 233 critic | 25 from Metacritic.com

Attempting to cope with her mother's murder, Sydney and her horror movie-obsessed friends are stalked by a murderer who seems to have a hard time letting the past go.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Phone Voice (voice)
Kevin Patrick Walls ...
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Carla Hatley ...
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Lawrence Hecht ...
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Lois Saunders ...
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Joseph Whipp ...
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Storyline

One year after the death of Sidney Prescott's (Campbell) mother, two students turn up gutted. When a serial killer appears, Sidney begins to suspect whether her mother's death and the two new deaths are related. No one is safe, as the killer begins to pick everyone off one by one. Everyone's a suspect in this case. Written by FilmFanUK

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Don't Answer The Phone. Don't Open The Door. Don't Try To Escape. See more »

Genres:

Horror | Mystery

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic horror violence and gore, and for language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

|

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

20 December 1996 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Scary Movie  »

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,354,586 (USA) (20 December 1996)

Gross:

DEM 14,564,502 (Germany) (12 December 1997)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (cut) (PAL DVD)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally titled "Scary Movie" which was later used for a parody of the Scream (1996) and other pop culture horror films like it: Scary Movie (2000) See more »

Goofs

When Stu is talking to Sidney at near the end of the movie, he hands the phone to Billy, who gets mad and throws it back at Stu. The phone is shown that it hits him and falls to the ground but when Stu picks it back up to talk on it, its on the counter and easier for him to pick up. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Casey: Hello?
Phone Voice: Hello.
Casey: Yes?
Phone Voice: Who is this?
Casey: Who are you trying to reach?
Phone Voice: What number is this?
Casey: Well, what number are you trying to reach?
Phone Voice: I don't know.
Casey: I think you have the wrong number.
[...]
See more »

Crazy Credits

No thanks whatsoever to the Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board. See more »

Connections

References Mother's Boys (1994) See more »

Soundtracks

I Don't Care
Performed by Dillon Dixon, Marco Beltrami & Steve Carnelli
Written by Marco Beltrami
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Scary, funny and clever – the best Scream movie by miles
1 April 2002 | by (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews

Almost a year after someone raped and killed Sidney Prescott's mother in the small town of Woodsboro, someone is killing teenagers. When Sidney herself becomes a target, the link is apparent and her missing father is a suspect. However, as with all good scary movies, everyone is a suspect.

The film that sparked the revival of horror movies (Halloween H2O, I know what you did last summer, Urban Legend etc all followed…..thanks a lot!). This stands out from all those (and it's lackluster sequels) by being really good and clever. The story is nothing more than the standard slasher plot – but it avoids the cliches quite well. In fact it uses the cliches as references and makes plenty of jokey references to other movies and the supposed rules of horror movies – we even have a quick flash of a caretaker dressed in Freddy's jumper and hat!

That doesn't mean it's not scary – it is! From the tragically horrible opening 10 minutes through each gory killing the tension is high and the shocks are real. The plot twists nicely and the ending is much better than most slasher movies (including the absurd endings of 2 and 3). This manages to be fresh, clever and scary – getting by any sticking moments with it's tongue in it's cheek.

The cats are good – Campbell is a believable virgin, scarred by what happened to her mother – before she starts turning into Buffy the vampire slayer in parts 2 and 3. Cox is excellent playing against type and David Arquette is funny as the Deputy Sheriff. Kennedy as Randy is also funny as the movie geek – in fact he remains the highlight of the next 2 films. The cast being filled of up and coming faces (including Ulrich) makes it even more thrilling when the `wrong' people get killed, technically all the cast are `unknowns' who usually make up the body count, so really anyone can potentially get offed.

Overall funny black comedy, scary thrills and gory excitement. A rare treat – a really good teen horror movie


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ORIGINAL 1995 SCRIPT cinemalover1994
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Seen this movie 20 God damn times calvarez610
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