Scream!
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Scream! |
| Original title | Scream |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1996 |
| length | 111 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Wes Craven |
| script | Kevin Williamson |
| production |
Cathy Konrad Cary Woods |
| music | Marco Beltrami |
| camera | Mark Irwin |
| cut | Patrick Lussier |
| occupation | |
| |
| chronology | |
|
Successor → |
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Scream! is an American horror film from director Wes Craven in 1996. The movie is a co-production by Dimension Films and Woods Entertainment . In Switzerland it was published under the title Scream! - scream of death .
Scream started the Scream film series with Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011), three commercially successful sequels.
action
The schoolgirl Casey Becker is preparing everything for a video evening with her boyfriend when the phone rings and an unknown man answers. The initially friendly conversation quickly turns into deadly seriousness. The caller wants to play a horror movie-themed question-and-answer game and threatens to kill Casey's friend, who is bound on the terrace, if she loses the game. After this happens, the killer, disguised in a white ghost mask, hunts down Casey, who first escapes the house, but is finally caught and stabbed by the killer. When Casey's parents come home, they discover their gutted body on a large tree in front of the front door.
The residents of Casey's hometown Woodsboro are shocked because a similarly cruel murder occurred a year ago. It was then that Sidney Prescott's mother, Maureen Prescott, was found raped and murdered. The gossip column reporter Gale Weathers, who wrote a successful book about this murder, believes the death suspect Cotton Weary is innocent and now hopes to solve both murders.
Sidney's father is away for a meeting this weekend , so Sidney is staying with her best friend Tatum's family. However, shortly before she is picked up by Tatum at home, the stranger calls her. At first she thinks the call is a friend's joke until the killer threatens her and shortly afterwards attacks her in her house. Sidney can escape to her room and call the police when suddenly her friend Billy appears at her window. Since he shows up immediately after the murderer has disappeared and a cell phone falls out of his pocket, an object that was still quite unusual at the time, Sidney suspects in a panic that he is the killer. Billy is then taken into custody, but released after a short time because, according to the telephone operator's call list, he did not call - but this applies to Sidney's father, who never came to his conference and has been missing since then.
To Sidney's chagrin, the killer calls Tatum again that evening. In addition, there is the intrusive behavior of Gale Weathers, who tries by all means to get an interview with Sidney. At school, too, she is sometimes attacked and portrayed as a liar, while some classmates make fun of walking around school in the costume of a killer. After Sidney even meets the killer in the girls' toilet at the school, the school principal is killed with several knife wounds in his office shortly afterwards. Randy, a good friend of Sidney's and "horror film expert", expresses his suspicion to Tatum's friend Stu in a video store that Billy must be the murderer, while Stu suspects Sidney's father.
Because of the apparently growing threat posed by the killer, a curfew is imposed and the school is out until further notice. The teenagers don't stick to it though and throw a party at Stu's. Tatum's brother Dewey, who works as a police officer in town, is supposed to keep an eye on the party. Gale Weathers is also present with her cameraman Kenny so that they can report immediately in the event of another attack by the killer. She manages to secretly place a hidden live camera in Stu's living room in order to observe what is going on in the house. However, the young people only drink alcohol and watch some horror films on video together , whereby Randy shares a lot of his knowledge about the rules and backgrounds in horror films.
When Tatum is sent off by Stu to fetch beer, the killer is waiting for her in the garage. At first Tatum thinks unsuspectingly that one of the teenagers dressed up for fun, until the killer attacks her with a knife and injures her arm. Tatum shows himself defenseless and tries to escape through the cat flap in the garage door. However, it gets stuck and the killer drives up the gate, so that Tatum is trapped and dies. Nobody has noticed anything at the party in the house. Some people are already leaving when Billy shows up and wants to speak to Sidney. They go to Stu's parents' bedroom, where Billy shows understanding for Sidney, while Sidney wants to open up to Billy. They give in to their passion and sleep together for the first time. When the news of the murdered school principal arrives in the living room, almost everyone makes their way to the crime scene, leaving only Randy behind.
Meanwhile, Dewey makes a tour in the vicinity of the house, accompanied by Gale, in the course of which the two get closer. In a ditch they come across Sidney's father Neil Prescott's abandoned car, which Dewey has to report to the local sheriff immediately. Sidney and Billy are just getting ready to go back downstairs to the others when the killer storms into the room and stabs Billy. He collapses on the bed covered in blood and Sidney is chased through the house by the killer. She escapes into an attic, where she climbs out the window and lands on a covered motorboat in front of the garage. Here she discovers Tatum's body in the garage door. She runs to Gale's OB van , where Kenny, bored, watches what's going on in the house. The fact that the transmission is delayed is Kenny's undoing, because the killer has long been lurking by the car and cuts the cameraman's throat. Sidney escapes from the car into the area.
Dewey asks Gale to call the sheriff while he scouts Stu's house, which is now almost empty. At the same time, Gale finds Kenny's body in the bloodied OB van and drives away from the house in a panic when Sidney appears on the street yelling for help. Gale tears off the steering wheel and ends up in the ditch, where the car crashes into a tree. Sidney returns to the house where she sees Dewey in the door, collapsing with a knife in his back. The killer appears behind him, whereupon Sidney can save himself in Dewey's police car and wants to flee. However, the killer has the keys and breaks into the car. Sidney barely escapes again and escapes into the house with Dewey's pistol. She excludes Randy and Stu, who come running at the same time and accuse each other of being the killer.
Suddenly the injured Billy comes downstairs and asks Sidney to give him the gun. He lets in Randy and shortly thereafter shoots him in the chest. Sidney is shocked and tries to escape through the kitchen, where she is stopped by Stu. Now Billy and Stu reveal to her that they planned all the murders together and took turns carrying them out. They also tell the disturbed Sidney with relish that they also murdered their mother a year earlier and attached the act to her lover Cotton Weary. As a motive, Billy claims to be a psychopath and to have suffered badly from being abandoned by his own mother, who separated from his father when he began a secret relationship with Sidney's mother. Now the two want to attach all the acts of Sidney's father, whom they kidnapped and imprisoned beforehand in order to become famous as the only survivor of the series of murders. In order to be convincing, they inflict stab wounds in front of Sidney's eyes.
When the two - now bleeding and seriously injured themselves - want to complete their plan with the murder of Sidney and her father, Gale, who was able to save herself from the wreckage and get the gun, enters the kitchen. However, she is overwhelmed by Billy after she could not unlock the weapon. Shortly before Billy can shoot her, Stu discovers that Sidney has fled with her father. Billy freaks out and looks angrily for her. In a careless moment, Sidney manages to stab Billy in the chest with an umbrella and take the gun away from him. In the next moment, Stu pounces on her. In a desperate fight, Sidney manages to throw the television at Stu, whereupon the latter dies from the electric shock. When Sidney kneels exhausted next to Billy, Billy comes to and tries again to kill Sidney. He can be switched off by a shot from Gale, who has since come to. Randy can also straighten up after the shot. In one last breath, Billy opens his eyes with a scream, whereupon Sidney gives him a headshot. The film ends with a TV report from Gale about the Bloody Night.
production
script
Scream was written under the provisional working title Scary Movie by the then unknown Kevin Williamson . Inspired by a television report about the Gainesville Ripper , he wrote the script in just three days.
Williamson was in dire straits at the time and was hoping to sell the book quickly. In fact, there were several bidders who drove the price up enormously. In the end, Bob Weinstein , who had been made aware of the book by the producers Cathy Konrad & Cary Woods, and Dan Halsted & Oliver Stone remained as bidders on the one hand. Kevin Williamson decided to accept a bid for US $ 400,000 from Weinstein, assuming that Weinstein would actually film the book in a timely manner.
Staff and cast
After Bob Weinstein had acquired the script, preparations for the film were immediately started.
Those in charge at Dimension Films wanted Wes Craven to be the director , but initially he was not interested. Then there was talk George A. Romero and Sam Raimi on, but also were not available.
In the meantime, the casting of the actors began and Drew Barrymore could be engaged for the lead role. Miramax's Bob Weinstein tried again to convince Wes Craven of the project by reporting Barrymore's commitment. Craven was impressed, but still wasn't ready to direct. Craven has been too focused on directing horror films in the past and wanted to tackle other projects. Then he met a 12-year-old fan who asked him when he was going to make a real movie again. It was then that Craven realized he wanted to make a real horror film again, and he asked Weinstein if the job was still available, whereupon he was signed.
About five to six weeks before filming began, Drew Barrymore gave up the lead role unexpectedly. Instead, she offered to play the role of Casey Becker. Wes Craven then considered leaving the project. In a conversation, however, Barrymore convinced Craven of their idea. Since the audience would expect Barrymore to play the leading role, the early film death of the character she portrayed would be a dramaturgically completely unexpected twist occurring after just a few minutes.
The film team accepted Barrymore's request and cast her for the role of Casey Becker. This also meant that the main role of Sidney Prescott had to be re-cast. Several actresses did screen tests, including Alicia Witt and Brittany Murphy . Reese Witherspoon didn't screen test but was considered by producers. The role was ultimately cast with Neve Campbell , who had just become famous from the TV series Party of Five , after she had completed several screen tests for the film.
When Sidney's boyfriend Billy Loomis was Skeet Ulrich contracted, partly because he was very producers of the young Johnny Depp from the movie Nightmare - Elm Street recalled. The name Loomis comes from Michael Myers' psychiatrist from the movie Halloween - The Night of Horror .
Sidney's best friend, Tatum Riley , has been cast as Rose McGowan . Eligible for the role were u. a. Rebecca Gayheart and Melinda Clarke .
The role of Stuart Macher was cast by a happy coincidence with Matthew Lillard . He accompanied his girlfriend, also an actress, to a casting in the same building and was approached by Lisa Beach, who was in charge of the casting of Scream . She asked him to audition for the role of Stuart. He was later signed up.
Many actors also applied for the role of Randy Meeks , and in the end the producers had to choose between Breckin Meyer and Jamie Kennedy . Apparently it was only nuances that made the difference for Jamie Kennedy.
In addition to the young characters, there were also several adult characters to be cast.
The producers had offered David Arquette to play one of the youngsters. But Arquette asked Wes Craven to play the "Dewey" Riley . Wes Craven gave him this chance.
The role of Gale Weathers was played by Courteney Cox, known from the TV series Friends . The role had previously been offered to Janeane Garofalo , who she declined. Then we thought about Brooke Shields after, but when one of Cox's interest heard she got the role.
Gale's cameraman Kenny was cast as W. Earl Brown .
The voice of Ghostface was voiced by Roger L. Jackson , who was originally supposed to be dubbed by another actor in the final film. But they were so excited about Jackson's work that they left their voice in the finished film.
The film contains a number of cameos. Henry Winkler can be seen as the school principal. Although it has a relatively large amount of dialogue, it is not mentioned in the credits. Director Wes Craven can be seen as caretaker Fred, recognizable by his clothes and name as a reference to Freddy Krueger . Linda Blair plays a reporter.
Locations
In the spring of 1996 they looked for a suitable location. Miramax wanted the filming to take place in Vancouver so as not to exceed a budget of 15 million US dollars. Wes Craven wanted to shoot in California to make the film look American, but that would have been a million dollars more than shooting in Vancouver. Craven took a clear stand with the producers and made it clear to them that he would definitely be shooting in California. As a result, some of the people involved in Miramax felt that they should hire another director. The Weinstein brothers relented, however, believing the pull of the Wes Craven name was worth more than the $ 1 million extra cost. So Wes Craven visited potential locations in California and found it in the city of Santa Rosa .
One of the main reasons for the location in Santa Rosa was the high school, where many of the recordings were to be made. Although the principal and other officials initially signaled approval, it was the school administration that banned filming at the last minute. It was initially assumed that the film was a parody and was now shocked to find out that it was a horror film. In the neighboring village, however, an alternative was found in rooms that were once a high school but now used as a community center. All scenes that take place at or in Woodsboro High School were filmed there.
Filming
Filming began on April 15, 1996. For the first five days, the prologue of the film in which Drew Barrymore is killed by the killer was recorded.
The entire third act of the film, about 40 minutes, takes place in and around Stuart Macher's house. These scenes were filmed in 21 nights. Mark Irwin, who is responsible for the camera, was replaced by Peter Deming during the last week of shooting due to “artistic differences”.
Shortly before the release, Bob Weinstein pushed through the change of the title from Scary Movie to Scream . The rest of the team initially disagreed with the change, but in retrospect thinks it is the right step.
synchronization
| actor | Role name | German voice actors |
|---|---|---|
| Neve Campbell | Sidney Prescott | Veronika Neugebauer |
| Courteney Cox | Gale Weathers | Madeleine proud |
| David Arquette | Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley | Frank Röth |
| Skeet Ulrich | Billy Loomis | Florian Halm |
| Matthew Lillard | Stuart doers | Philipp Brammer |
| Rose McGowan | Tatum Riley | Solveig Duda |
| Jamie Kennedy | Randy Meeks | Alexander Brem |
| W. Earl Brown | Kenneth Jones | Jan Odle |
| Liev Schreiber | Cotton Weary | Marco Kroeger |
| Drew Barrymore | Casey Becker | Claudia Lössl |
| Lawrence Pike | Neil Prescott | Walter von Hauff |
| Henry Winkler | Principal Himbry | Ulrich Frank |
| Joseph Whipp | Sheriff Burle | Michael Gahr |
| Linda Blair | reporter | Inge Solbrig |
| Roger Jackson | Voice of Ghostface | Kai Taschner |
premiere
The film premiered on December 18, 1996 in Los Angeles, and two days later it opened in theaters in the United States. Most of the people involved in the production were skeptical about getting the film in theaters shortly before Christmas. They assumed that only family films would be seen at the time. However, Bob Weinstein insisted on the appointment precisely because horror fans could not see any other films in the cinema at the time.
The film was shown in German cinemas on October 30, 1997.
Aftermath
Financial success
The film was a huge financial success, it had an estimated budget of $ 15 to 16 million and grossed over $ 103 million in the US alone. Worldwide he made over 161 million US dollars, of which around 17.6 million D-Marks were in Germany.
Contemporary criticism
Scream received mostly good reviews when it was released. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and wrote that he "liked the film."
"Wes Craven doesn't care about psychology, he wants to shock and surprise."
“Classic B-movie that exploits the set pieces of the psychological thriller and slasher movies rather than reflects them, let alone parodies them. By joyfully celebrating the perfidious game of killing people for fun, the film, which is only carried by external tension, leaves an ambivalent impression. "
Later evaluation
Scream had three commercially successful sequels by 2011 and revived the long-believed horror genre in the 1990s. His unexpected success sparked a wave of “teen slashers ” including I Know What You Did Last Summer and Dark Legends .
In retrospect, the film received good reviews almost without exception. B. named in 2010 on the website acslater.com as the best horror film of the 90s. In April 2012, Meredith Woerner called the Scream film series the "reigning champion of self-referential horror films."
With Scary Movie , there was also a commercially very successful horror parody of the Scream film series from 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006. The central basis of this was always the Scream film content.
Another film that is very reminiscent of the film series is the 2017 and very successful horror film Happy Deathday .
Sequels
The sequels Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011) were all directed by Wes Craven. Furthermore, the main actors of the first part are all present in the following productions. The script was again written by Kevin Williamson.
In late June 2015, the television series Scream began broadcasting in the United States .
Copycat offender
On the evening of September 22nd, 2006, Cassie Jo Stoddart was murdered by two classmates from Pocatello High School in Idaho, USA . The perpetrators Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik first visited Cassie when she was with her boyfriend Matt at her aunt's house. They later pretended they wanted to go to the movies, but then went into hiding in the house. After Matt left, they turned off the power and followed their victim around the house. In the end, they killed the young woman with 29 knife wounds. They were later sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. In addition to the Columbine High School gunmen, they named the film Scream as a model for their crime. Her story was told in the documentary series Copycat Killers , among others .
Trivia
- Almost 210 liters of film blood were poured into Scream .
- There are many references to other horror films in the plot, including Halloween , Prom Night , Psycho , Nightmare , Dance of the Devils , Hellraiser - The Gate to Hell and Carrie - Satan's Youngest Daughter .
- The killer is called "Ghostface" after Tatum ( Rose McGowan ) calls him in the film by this name (in the German dubbing "Scary Face").
- The ghost face mask is based on the painting The Scream by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch and was purchased in a souvenir shop in Hollywood.
- Courteney Cox and David Arquette fell in love while filming and were married in 1999.
- The knife used by the killer in the film is the Buck brand 120 General .
- In the scene in which the girl Tatum Riley, played by actress Rose McGowan , fetches several bottles of beer from the refrigerator and meets the masked knife killer in the garage, she mocks him unsuspectingly with the words: “ Is that you, Randy? What movie is that, 'I spit in your garage?' Put the costume away, if Sidney sees this she'll have a fit. “Tatum obviously alludes to the 1978 film I spit on your grave .
Cut versions
The theatrical version was approved by the FSK from the age of 18 when it appeared and was later indexed by the Federal Testing Office for media harmful to minors. This is why there are many versions that have been shortened to varying degrees and that were also allowed to be broadcast on free TV . The playing time of the abridged version is 103 minutes on DVD. In 2011, however, the original version was removed from the index and released after being re-examined from the age of 16. The DVD with a playing time of 107 minutes and the Blu-ray Disc with a playing time of 111 minutes nevertheless received an FSK-18 approval due to various trailers and bonus material.
The Director's Cut is six seconds longer, but not only contains new scenes. Many scenes had to be cut for the theatrical version in order to avoid the NC-17 rating in America .
Awards
- The film won the Saturn Award for best horror film of 1996 and the MTV Movie Award for best film in 1997.
literature
- Sascha Westphal and Christian Lukas : The Scream Trilogy and the Story of the Teen Horror Film . Heyne, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-453-18124-7 .
Web links
- Scream in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Scream in the online film database
- Scream at rotten tomatoes (English)
- Comparison of the R-Rated and Unrated Director's Cut by Scream at Schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Scream - Schrei! Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , May 2011 (PDF; test number: 77 771-a V).
- ^ Synchronized files : "Scream - Schrei" , May 8, 2011
- ↑ a b start dates . In: imdb.de . Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ a b c Documentation Scream: The Inside Story . On: Scream Five-Film Set , Miramax, 2011.
- ↑ Budget and box office results . In: imdb.de . Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ^ Roger Ebert : Scream. In: rogerebert.suntimes.com. December 20, 1996, accessed on January 14, 2013 (English): "As a film critic, I liked it."
- ^ Cinema - Scream
- ↑ Scream! in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed December 4, 2008.
- ↑ Top 20 Horror Movies From The 90s . On acslater.com (English). Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ Meredith Woerner: The Best Meta Horror Movies Of All Time. In: io9.com. April 12, 2012, accessed on January 14, 2013 (English): "The reigning champion of meta horror movies!"
- ↑ IMDB, Copycat Killers
- ↑ Munch's "Scream" goes under the hammer ( Memento from February 12, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ www.schnittberichte.com