Franchise Review- Scream

   Twenty years ago, horror honcho Wes Craven brought the slasher movie back from the dead- a largely dormant subgenre that had been sequeled into oblivion by the likes of Jason, Michael Myers and yes, Craven's own Freddy Krueger. "Scream" separated itself because it was 'cool' and self-aware enough for savvy '90s teens. Craven's young protagonists were armed with a pop culture knowledge that the previous generation didn't possess. But Neve Campbell and company hung around the party for too long, until "Scream" and "Stab" became indistinguishable from one another. It's Halloween, so join me as I recap all the highs and lows of this sensational slasher saga. It'll be a scream.

"We need you to make another movie with Adam Sandler".

"Scream"(1996)
We may have Drew Barrymore to thank for getting this whole thing started. The 20 year old former wild child was the biggest name on the poster, and the sight of her getting slaughtered in the pulse-pounding first twelve minutes definitely got people talking. After that clever "Psycho" inspired opening, a fresh-faced Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox of "Friends" fame are introduced as the real main characters. David Arquette's Dewey gets to stick around to protect our Final Girls from Ghostface. The Fonz is knifed to death in a pretty clear indicator that no one was safe. I'll never forget that time with Rose McGowan and the garage door. Skeet Ulrich's evil Johnny Depp impersonation and the manic Mathew Lillard caused a lot of carnage, and I doubt any of my readers need a spoiler alert.

   "Scream" ruined George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer's "One Fine Day", en route to collecting $103 million at the domestic box office. Freddy and Jason never saw numbers like that on their best day. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson's black comedy/whodunit hybrid succeeded at a level few could have imagined, reigniting the gore cycle just as 1978's oft-referenced "Halloween" had done nearly twenty years before. It's hard to believe there was ever a time when viscous killing sprees weren't in vogue. We were definitely in for more Woodsboro Murders.

Courtney Cox was never hotter.

"Scream 2"(1997)
An ecstatic Miramax swiftly signed off on a sequel that arrived in theaters exactly one year later. Fun fact- "Scream" was so popular in '97, that "Titanic" and James Bond didn't want to drop on the same weekend. Memorable kills are a series trademark, and here the victims include Jada Pinkett-Smith, Omar Epps and Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was similarly slain in "Scream" clone "I Know What You Did Last Summer", released just two months earlier. Jamie Kennedy and Jerry O'Connell are also killed. I had no complaints about that. Roseanne's sister and the creepy Timothy Olyphant were behind this second round of slicing and dicing. Despite it's hasty production, "Scream 2" is honestly on par with the original, even if the novelty is gone. How do you stop an enterprise that has every high schooler in the world hooked? The answer is, you don't. A "Scream" trilogy? Yes, please.

"Scream 3"(2000)
Wes Craven and his regulars return for one last run-in with Ghostface, but series author Kevin Williamson does not(an increased workload kept his involvement down to a minimum). Further complications arose from Columbine, and concerns that killing young people might not be much fun anymore. Liev Schreiber and the blonde chick from "Melrose Place" did their best to put you back in the mood for more mayhem. So, you thought Noel from "Felicity" was a nice guy? Jenny McCarthy and Patrick "Puddy" Warburton would beg to differ. Carrie Fisher wrote her humorous cameo as the in-jokes continue(she slept with George Lucas). Randy videotaped some new rules for us. Neve Campbell's battle-hardened survivor is easy to root for, but this is where "Scream" starts to become what it set out to satirize.

   Audiences had enough goodwill to give "3" almost as much money as the first two, and this should have been the concluding chapter in the saga of Sidney Prescott. It has be noted that "The Sixth Sense" and "The Blair Witch Project" both raised the bar in the summer of '99. Gale Weathers' hair was distracting, and "Scream" was yesterday's news. We weren't craving any more of Craven. This is Hollywood we're talking about, though, and more importantly the horror genre. If we give it a break and let nostalgia kick in, they'll come back for more, right? Not necessarily.

"OMG, the theater's empty!"

"Scream 4"(2011)
The "Scream" team reassembled(including Williamson) following an eleven-year absence for a vain attempt to appeal to a fresh crop of teens that couldn't even walk or talk in 1996. Their parents were much more likely to be pumped for this belated sequel that prevents me from naming "Scream" the one horror series to exercise some restraint. Craven gets too cute with his movie-within-a movie-within-a movie opening that calls out all the torture porn peddlers, specifically the "Saw" franchise. Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere get plenty of screen-time, because nobody under age 20 knows who Neve Campbell is(sorry, Neve). I'd be remiss if I didn't give Roger L. Jackson's spooky voice a nod of approval after four films. Wes Craven's final film(he died in 2015) is a plate of stale leftovers found in the back of the fridge. The majority of moviegoers only took a peek under the aluminum foil before heading for the trash.

   "Scream 4" bombed in the U.S., but foreign grosses and home video helped turn a tiny profit. Nevertheless, I'm choosing to end this on a positive note. "Scream" brought a sophistication to scary movies(as well as inspiring "Scary Movie") that is still absent from much of today's horror offerings, and it's main players should be proud of that. I've only just become aware of the MTV TV series of the same name. We'll stop our channel-surfing when we come across a "Scream" marathon even though basic cable cuts out the excessive bloodshed and we already know who the killers are. We'll wonder out loud what David Arquette has been up to and ask why "Wild Things" didn't make Neve Campbell a megastar. I won't be a bit surprised if Ghostface comes back to stab some more kids that haven't even been born yet. Most of them will have it coming. Now, what's your favorite scary movie?