Scream – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

In the 15 years since its arrival on the horror world, Scream seemed to become the punching bag for everything that horror fans hated about the 1990s. After a gory, sticky, and insane 1980s for the genre with the birth of the slasher, Scream was the modernistic take the genre was headed for, after a slew of box office failures from the genre in the late 1980s. It was a clever take, but not unlike we haven’t seen before in such films like April Fool’s Day. But don’t let the fallout of Scream‘s success hurt your views on this 1996 film.

In fact, it might be one of the better out-right horror films in the ’90s and it’s also the last great Wes Craven film (thoughts on Scream 4 pending). Strictly following the slasher film genre’s conventions, screenwriter Kevin Williamson finds these little moments that make the film a borderline classic. You never run upstairs. You never go investigate a strange noise. You never go back to see if the killer’s dead. But they do, and Williamson allows the characters to be in on the genre’s trappings, which alludes to its self-mocking attitude, so widely copied from here on out.

But then Scary Movie (this film’s original title) came out and spoof the Scream craze and then the backlash against the franchise was born. To bad horror fans feel this way, because after 14 some odd years, Scream is a crazy cool slasher, with a great looking killer in Ghost Face, and some genuinely thrilling moments.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Lionsgate bought the rights to this franchise from Miramax, while other Miramax titles were bought by Echo Bridge Entertainment. Luckily for us, this is a good HD disc. The good looking transfer is aided by its sound, which isn’t full 5.1, but that was not LGF’s fault, but a product of the film’s intentions. While it won’t wow like most newer films, it nevertheless is a pleasing HD effort.

All of the extras are ported over from the DVD version. Nothing new, sadly.

Commentary: Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson chat it up, from all aspects on the film: the story, the killer, the references. Good stuff.

A Production featurette is rather EPK in nature; Behind-the-Scenes featurette is a bit more substantial; the Q&A is light-hearted and fun; and the disc finishes off with some Trailers.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: