Director Wes Craven
Written by Kevin Williamson

** MAJOR SPOILERS **

David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore, W Earl Brown, Liev Schreiber, Henry Winkler (uncredited).

The movie that reignited the slasher genre of the 90s and beyond, with famed horror master Wes Craven at the helm for this meta take on serial killings.

A year after her mother’s brutal murder, high school senior Sidney Prescott (Campbell) is targeted by another(?) killer who dresses in a ghost-face mask during the kill.

The opening sequence, featuring then biggest name and draw-card to the movie, Barrymore, being killed off in the first twenty minutes created an ‘anyone’ can die threat to the rest of the characters.

Party of Five star Campbell in the lead role, would go on to be one of the best, if not the best scream queens of modern horror movies. Her portrayal of the tough as nails girl next door was a refreshing take on the typical damsel in distress.

Friends star Cox playing against type as the cutthroat reporter, Gail Weathers, was at the time big surprise for her ability to both take and then pull off the role of somewhat antagonist to the lead. This was chalk and cheese to the role she was most famous for at the time, but now we are aware she is able to do this role brilliantly.

The slow build throughout the film to the brutal final where you don’t know who the killer is, reinvented the archetype of killer reveal. This would go on to be one of the aspects of the series moving forward when the audience tries to work out who the killer(s) are.

A surprisingly small body count adds to the realism of the movie, while at the same time, it has a dark comedy take where it knows to poke fun at itself.

The best movie in the franchise to date.

4.5/5