Scream
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Synopsis
A year after her mother's brutal murder, a California high school student and her friends are terrorized by a masked killer obsessed with scary movies, who quizzes victims on horror trivia before striking.
Plot
In the quiet suburban town of Woodsboro, California, high schooler Casey Becker receives a menacing telephone call from an anonymous stranger who forces her to play a high-stakes horror trivia game to save her boyfriend’s life. When she answers incorrectly, her boyfriend is butchered, and a masked assailant dressed as “Ghostface” chases down and hangs Casey from a tree in her yard. The tragedy puts the town on high alert, deeply unsettling student Sidney Prescott, whose mother Maureen was raped and murdered exactly one year prior.
Sidney is soon attacked in her home by the same cloaked killer but manages to lock herself in an upstairs room. Her suspicious boyfriend, Billy Loomis, drops a cellular phone upon climbing through the window, leading to his arrest, though the killer strikes again while Billy is held in custody. For more classic horror retrospectives, film guides, and stream links, explore MovieToWatch. With a town curfew in effect and school suspended, eccentric classmate Stu Macher hosts a party at his isolated country home. There, video store clerk Randy Meeks lays out the strict survival rules of horror films, oblivious to the fact that Ghostface is already picking off attendees one by one.
Ending Explained
As partygoers scatter, Ghostface slashes through the house, dispatching guests and local news cameraman Kenny. Reporter Gale Weathers and clumsy deputy Dewey Riley arrive to investigate, only for Dewey to be stabbed in the back. Sidney flees back inside the house, where Billy appears wounded. Once the doors are barred, Billy turns on Sidney, revealing that he is completely unharmed. Stu enters with a voice changer, unveiling the shocking truth: there was never just one killer, but two working in tandem.
Billy reveals his motive: Sidney’s mother had an affair with his father, tearing his family apart and prompting his mother to abandon him. Assisted by Stu, who participated purely out of peer pressure and thrill-seeking, Billy murdered Maureen a year earlier, framing innocent local Cotton Weary. The duo stab each other repeatedly to pose as the sole surviving victims before attempting to kill Sidney. However, Gale intervenes with a dropped handgun, creating a distraction. Sidney drops a heavy television set onto Stu’s face, electrocuting him. When Billy lunges for one final surprise scare, Gale shoots him, and Sidney delivers a final fatal bullet between his eyes. As dawn breaks over the bloodied house, a wounded Dewey is loaded into an ambulance, and Gale delivers a live morning broadcast reporting the massacre to the world.
What We Think About This Movie
What We Liked
One of the most iconic, nerve-shredding opening sequences in horror history starring Drew Barrymore.
Kevin Williamson's razor-sharp, pop-culture-infused screenplay that playfully examines slasher rules while playing by them.
Neve Campbell establishing Sidney Prescott as one of the most resilient, proactive final girls in cinematic history.
The iconic Ghostface voice and mask design, paired with Marco Beltrami's dynamic musical score.
What We Didn't Like
Occasional clumsy teen melodrama moments typical of mid-90s youth cinema.
Inept police work across Woodsboro that stretches narrative credibility even within a meta-parody framework.
Some dated pop-culture references that may slide past modern teenage audiences.
Who Should Watch
Horror lovers looking for clever deconstructions of the slasher subgenre.
Fans of high-tension murder mysteries that constantly keep audiences guessing the culprit's identity.
Anyone seeking the quintessential mid-1990s teen horror classic.
Who Should Skip
Viewers easily spooked by home invasion tension, prank calls, and stalking scenarios.
Anyone looking for a classic supernatural monster flick without self-aware comedic dialogue.
Movie Details
Where to Watch Scream in the USA
Frequently Asked Questions About Scream
Who voiced Ghostface in Scream?
Voice actor Roger L. Jackson provided the iconic telephone voice of Ghostface, speaking to the actors live via phone on set to keep their reactions genuine without ever meeting them in person.
Was Scream originally going to have a different title?
Yes, Kevin Williamson's original screenplay was titled Scary Movie. Harvey and Bob Weinstein changed the title to Scream after listening to Michael Jackson's hit song of the same name.
Is Wes Craven in the movie?
Yes, director Wes Craven makes a cameo appearance as the high school janitor Fred, wearing Freddy Krueger's iconic green-and-red striped sweater and brown fedora from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
How did the mask get selected?
Producer Marianne Maddalena discovered the mass-produced ghost mask hanging in an abandoned house during location scouting, after which Dimension Films secured the rights from novelty company Fun World.
