Scream (Craven, 1996)
Surprisingly, I had never seen Craven and Williamson's pomo horror flick. And for the most part I'll say it's a decent script if not a great film. Williamson has always been too clever by half, but he manages to reign it in here somewhat. Craven however always was and will be a hack. It seems that his entire directorial vision for the film was to cant the camera. It adds nothing to the tension and in fact just becomes annoying quickly.
While the film is a comedy first and foremost, the lack of anything resembling actual scares is what kills the film. Maybe if a more talented director was handling the picture it could have lived up to its solid script.
Then again, who knows what problems arose simply from having such a braindead cast. They are all at the top of their games here, and that is just sad. Only Arquette and Jamie Kennedy manage to register, and then mostly just as comic relief.
Put in the hands of someone a little more clever (David Fincher, perhaps?) this could have been a great film, instead of just a pop culture moment.
Surprisingly, I had never seen Craven and Williamson's pomo horror flick. And for the most part I'll say it's a decent script if not a great film. Williamson has always been too clever by half, but he manages to reign it in here somewhat. Craven however always was and will be a hack. It seems that his entire directorial vision for the film was to cant the camera. It adds nothing to the tension and in fact just becomes annoying quickly.
While the film is a comedy first and foremost, the lack of anything resembling actual scares is what kills the film. Maybe if a more talented director was handling the picture it could have lived up to its solid script.
Then again, who knows what problems arose simply from having such a braindead cast. They are all at the top of their games here, and that is just sad. Only Arquette and Jamie Kennedy manage to register, and then mostly just as comic relief.
Put in the hands of someone a little more clever (David Fincher, perhaps?) this could have been a great film, instead of just a pop culture moment.
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