Welcome back to FearStyle Friday. I've been off the last couple of weeks for this segment, but I'm back at it again. This week's topic of discussion is my recent thoughts on the Wes Craven classic, Scream. It was while watching it last night that I realized I have so many things to say about this movie. Let me start by saying that Scream is one of my top favorite movies. If I had a list, it would make top 3. Plus, I used to act this movie put as a little (and I mean little) kid. Huge fan. With that said, I have properly shredded this movie apart. In the nicest way possible, of course. So, let's talk about it.
Let's start in the beginning sequence of the film, with Drew Barrymore. There is no don't in my mind that this is the scariest opening scene to a horror movie of all time. Yeah, I think I can confidently say that. However, there are some things that I just can't ignore. For starters, why doesn't Drew's character Casey just hang up the phone and call the police? He tells her that she is in the middle of nowhere and that the police would never make it in time to save her...and she listens to that and decides that that's true. You would think that in the same situation you would try to call for help, regardless of how far the police might seem. You might die, but they may find the killer. Of course in this scenario, there would be no movie, but I digress. But this carries on into my next point...anything the killer say, Casey follows. Not just on regards to calling to police, ghost face warns her not to go out side, switch on and off the patio lights, and to play a game that ultimately lowers all her defenses. Again, if she hadn't there would be no movie, but as a horror fan I can't help but holler at my TV as I watch her fall right into the killers trap. My final point in the intro of the film is her running away from her house to try and grab her parents attention. She comes so close to escaping, if she just hadn't stopped right in front of the same window ghost face was standing. The tension is great and the fact that she comes so close to not dying makes the begining of the film the best.
My next big migraine goes to Deputy Dewey. Now, keep in mind, I mean all of this with love as Dewey is one of my favorite characters, but he is seriously useless. My first big complaint comes in the scene where Sydney gets a call from the killer at Tatum's house. As the terrifying voice of the killer threatens Sydney over the phone, Tatum's mother tries to get Dewey to come out of his room and handle the situation. However, he doesn't come out until the phone call is over. Then he tries to talk on the phone even though the line is dead! Now, isn't this part of his job, keeping Sydney safe? No, wait that's his whole job! He is literally assigned the job of keeping an eye on Sydney, so what was he doing? Pretending to be a cop in the mirror? This all leads me to the next thing; the party scene. Like I said earlier, Dewey has been assigned the task of watching Sydney and make sure she is safe, so it makes sense that he would shaparone the party at Stu's house. Instead of watching the party, however, Dewey chats it up with gale, not realizing that he is giving her a first hand account of the crimes as they unfold. He basically gives her all the material she needs to write her book for the second movie. In my opinion, he shouldn't be so butt hurt when she talks about him in the book for this very reason, but wait...I'm not finished yet. When Dewey gets stabbed in this movie, I'm not even mad. I feel sad for him in fact, I don't want him to die, but something bothers me. With the wounds inflicted on him in the first and second film, shouldn't he be in a wheelchair by the third movie, at least? The man is stabbed in the spine several times. You really feel for him by the end of the second, but it is a miracle he survived the first one at all. My final thing about Dewey is that if he is on duty, as he states in this later half of the film, why doesn't the sheriff check in on him at all? They know he's watching over Sydney and there has been a surplus of murders going on, shouldn't there be a check in every once and a while? Also, why didn't they assign another, less inept police officer to accompany Dewey with this task, if his reputation in the town is that he's not all that good as a cop? He even says that the nick name Dewey is just a way for this town not to take him seriously. He's a fan favorite, but I don't think you'd sleep soundly if he was sheriff of your town.
Now, horror movie rules dictate that A) the final scenes of the movie is always the climax, being the primary source of the films blood and gore and B) cops in horror movies suck. They are never there when you need them and Scream is no exception, however this is something that has always bothered me...Sydney calls for the police on the car radio. She even gives them the address and Eve though she doesn't complete her thought before being attacked, wouldn't you think that the police would lable this a distress call? Plus, she is the main victim...who has frantically attempted to reach the police...then is suddenly pulled away from the radio. Wouldn't this raise a red flag to theyanyone at the police station? Why do they take so long to get there? I realize that they too are probably out in the middle of nowhere, but with the murders shouldn't they be out there relatively quicker than usual? I mean, I would think so, but I'm just making notes.
I have another question pertaining to the end of the film and that is why are all these kids having a party anyway? All those kids parents were cool with their children being unattended while there is a psycho killer running around slaughtering kids? Not that Dewey's presence is all that reassuring, either. He is just a big kid with a badge. Plus, the whole town has made big efforts to close down all the shops and the school to ensure their children's safety. So, where are the adults? It's absolutely insane. Also, and this is more specific but wasn't Tatum just telling Sydney that they need to be safe and not leave each other's side? Then why go in the first place. And when she goes missing, Sydney doesn't make that much of an effort to find her friend. It's all just one bad idea after the next and I love it.
The more I write out what it is that gets me about Scream the more I realize that without the poor judgement of our savy characters there would be no movie. I'm not hating on any of this either. I love Scream and I feel that it is one of the best horror movies of all time. In fact, Scream rewrote the rules for the horror genre. Things that would once get you killed in a horror film, won't necessarily kill you now, referencing other horror films is pretty much a norm and the unsuspected is suspected. It redefined the genre, reminding viewers that all bets are off and anything can happen. We owe a lot to Scream and we shouldn't forget that, but it is always fun to pick apart even the most well thought out of films.
Unfortunately for us, the sequels are not as good, they are fun but not as scary as the original and will be topics for another day. I suppose the point of all of this is my sheer curiosity of if anyone else thinks the same things while watching this movie. Surely I'm not the only one who talks to the TV when characters do something stupid and Scream raises plenty of questions for me. With that said, if you agree or disagree with any points that I've made then please let me know. Maybe you have other points that I've missed. Share them with me. It is always fun to see the view from other peoples eyes. Comment below or on any of my social medias (@cameronmothershed Instagram And @cameronmarie96 Twitter). Can you handle that, Blondie? Until next time, stay spooky.
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