Scream

Scream is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich and Drew Barrymore. Set in the small American town of Woodsboro, Screams plot follows high school student Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and her friends, who, on the anniversary of her mother's murder, become the targets of a costumed serial killer known as Ghostface. Williamson, a struggling writer at the time, was inspired by reports of a series of murders by the Gainesville Ripper as he wrote a screenplay that satirized the clichés of the slasher genre popularized in films such as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Developed under the title Scary Movie, Williamson's script became the subject of an intense bidding war from multiple studios before Miramax Films purchased the rights. Despite turning down the opportunity multiple times, Craven agreed to direct the film after reading the script and being disappointed by the failure of Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). The involvement of Barrymore and Cox helped secure support from the studio. Principal photography took place from April to June 1996 in California on a budget of $15 million. Craven trimmed down the violence in the film after being involved in a tense conflict with the Motion Picture Association of America over the desired R-rating. Scream was not expected to perform well on December 20, 1996, due to concerns over releasing a slasher film in a time normally reserved for holiday entertainment, but it went on to gross approximately $173 million worldwide through the strength of word of mouth, becoming a surprise success and one of the highest-grossing films of the year. Reviews praised the performances of its cast and its unique meta humor but criticized its excessive violence and lack of suspense in favor of that humor. Scream helped elevate Williamson's career as a writer and raised the profiles of the rest of the cast. Scream is now regarded as one of the greatest horror and slasher films ever made. It has been credited with rekindling interest in the horror genre during the 1990s following a decline in the genre's popularity. It has remained influential, as Barrymore's involvement helped make participating in horror films more acceptable to prominent actors and increased horror films' appeal with younger audiences.