As the school year kicks off and the leaves turn, spooky season is officially upon us. Many enjoy some apple cider and pumpkin patch walking, while others find comfort in some sinister Halloween classics. If you are looking for a great watch to spook up your Halloween, look no further than the Wes Craven’s hit Scream saga.

This star-studded cast alone makes this classic a must-watch for any October afternoon! Featuring actors such as Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Skeet Ulrich, the cast solidifies this film as a thrilling piece. Director Wes Craven brought a new life to the horror movie genre, creating a story that was both funny and scary to viewers. Originally seen as a stab at the horror genre, Scream twisted the cliche tropes of classic horror to its advantage to create a fresh style that blew away critics.

Set in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, the movie kicks off with high schooler Casey Becker (Barrymore) getting a phone call from a mysterious voice asking what her favorite scary movie is. When she answers incorrectly, Casey and her boyfriend are brutally stabbed by a masked killer, later referred to as “Ghostface” throughout the saga. As more teens are being killed off by this mass murderer, one teen escapes the massacre of Ghostface: Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). Sidney, an emotionally fragile teen still recovering from the death of her mother, is continually attacked throughout the movie by the Ghostface killer, escaping her own death each time. Following the murder of Becker, the movie’s core friend group digs deep into the mystery and adrenaline of a killer in their small California town. Sidney is frequently aided by her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), best friend Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), and Tatum’s boyfriend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). As the story progresses, Sidney is also accompanied by Tatum’s cop brother Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and obsessed TV reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), who all help lead Prescott to the killer…or killers. 

The purpose of this cult classic was not to “follow the rules” of traditional horror, but to break them. Craven crafted the films to subvert what was expected of horror films. For example, in one of the scenes, Randy Meeks (Played by Jamie Kennedy) explains to a couch of teens the rules of horror movies after a couple of students were brutally murdered and a curfew in Woodsboro had been enforced: “No sex. No drinking. No drugs. And never say ‘i”ll be right back’.” The irony in this scene is that all of the teens are smoking marijuana, and the main couple in the film sneaks up the stairs, with another character running down to the basement fridge for alcohol, saying “I’ll be right back, ” who is then murdered by getting chopped in half by a garage door.

The Scream saga continues on for another 5 movies, each becoming more complicated, with new plot lines and use of technological advances in cinematography. Despite the continuation of the series, it all spurs from the murder of Casey Becker in 1996.

So pop some popcorn and lock all the doors, this scary cult classic will make you… SCREAM!