Analysis Of Scream (1996)

Title: Scream (1996)

Theme: Horror, Thriller, Mystery and Crime

Director: Wes Craven

Writer: Kevin Williamson

Stars: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette

The thriller I have chosen to analyse is Scream (1996). The themes explored through this movie are thriller, crime, horror and mystery. The thriller genre is explored through the way the audience is thrilled by the editing and shocking scenes presented which links to the horror theme where the audience experience fear. The themes, crime and mystery are displayed through the murders that take place by a mysterious unknown serious killer who fills the audiences with many questions throughout the whole movie which are answered when the mystery is revealed at the end. This keeps the viewer interested during the whole movie as you are trying to find answers for the questions that have risen in their mind.

Starting with the shocking way in which the title “SCREAM” appears at first. The way the title is presented refers to the sequence which the story follows. We see the word come from outside the screen to the middle of the screen and this can be linked to the way the killer comes from outside the house to inside the victim’s house. This draws our attention because the title is blurred at first so we as audience have to try and read what it says. As soon as the title is clearly shown there is a “bang” sound which gets our attention immediately and this can link to the way danger has approached. The word “SCREAM” is then highlighted in red three times as we hear the phone ringing. The three times in which the word was highlighted could be the warning the murderer has given to the victim and as we hear the phone ringing at the same time, we can consider that the warnings may have been given over the phone. As well as this the colour Red has connotations of blood and murder which reminds the audience of the movies genre. As we get nearer to the last flash of red (last warning), we begin hearing a screaming sound which can mean that we are too late, danger is here or it can be a call for help. While the screaming sound it heard the word “SCREAM” is stretched larger across the screen then back to the middle which could be the symbolism of someone’s mouth opening and closing.

The phone being the first object shown in the movie can mean that the object of the movie is based over a phone or phone calls. The shot used here follows the women’s hand as she picks up the phone and holds it to her ear. We are then placed in a typical homely looking environment and the phone ringing looks like it has interrupted the cosy atmosphere of the house. This could be suggesting that something may happen to interrupt the homely environment later in the movie but we aren’t sure yet. We then realise the person calling on was a wrong number call and this could be normal for a normal house but for a movie this doesn’t sound as normal because a director wouldn’t add a wrong number call for no reason so the audience is then indirectly forced to think who the person calling actually is and this can confuse the audience and make them feel a bit awkward.

The second time the phone rings, the camera slightly zooms into the women’s face so that we can see her expression which shows that she is now also shows a bit less comfortable when going to answer the phone and the audience may wonder why an unknown caller may call again. The person calling has called to apologise for calling the first time and this is very unusual for anyone. This could mean that later in the movie the person will keep calling to apologise for the previous call until they can’t possible get to the woman again. This could also mean the man is apologising for something that may take place in future but at the moment we are unsure of any of these things but as audience we are made to think of many things. The woman sounds confused why the man called to again to apologise but she continues being friendly and saying “your forgiven, by now” but the unknown caller continues the conversation saying “I wanna talk to you for a second” which sounds quiet creepy for an unknown person to call your house and still wanting to talk to you. The women begins to loose her patience slowly and replies “they’ve got 900 numbers for that, see ya” trying to be as kind as she can and cuts the phone while walking away huffing slightly. Us as audience may be very confused why the women said “see ya” before cutting the phone and we are made to think that maybe the person on the phone and the woman may meet during the movie or maybe she was just trying to be polite.

We are then shown more of the setting in which we are placed which looks like a forest being quite dangerous and dark. As we are shown the more of the setting the only sound we hear is an eerie noise which could mean that the place it very quite just like the house was before the phone calls and once again the phone calls may interrupt the homely environment. As the camera is moved around we are shown more of the environment where there is a white house between all the darkness of the forest. The colour of the house being white represents calmness, peace and alive which compared to the rest of the environment looks dead. This could mean that later in the story either the house will be more dead so that is goes with the environment of the forest which could link to maybe the people in the house dying or the forest may become more alive which goes more with the houses atmosphere.

The stove is turned on just after the house being shown and this can mean that the house may be wrecked later in the movie or the homely environment can be ruined. to cook popcorn which links back to the setting of a typical house and a peaceful environment. The popcorn cooking is the symbolism of the woman and her mood because as the popcorn heats up, her mood becomes tenser and it links to the tension in the audiences mind and the unknown caller’s mood. I will refer back to this in the following.

The calm atmosphere is disturbed a third time by the unknown caller. This time the woman has become a bit frustrated and starts with “who is this?”. This makes the audience feel like they’re being asked to guess or it’s like our mind is being read as we are wondering who is one the phone and this makes us feel uneasy as it feels as if someone is in your personal space.

Later in the conversation the woman tells the unknown caller she is “getting ready to watch a video” and this is a very unusual thing to do for the audience because you wouldn’t usually speak to a stranger for this long and mainly you wouldn’t tell them anything about your self, let alone having conversation. The director has tried linking the audiences life with the woman’s because we are watching a scary movie and she is about to watch a scary movie and this puts us in their shoes and can make us feel uncomfortable and maybe in danger when the woman’s in danger. The phone call continues as they talk about their favourite scary movies and the woman guesses the unknown callers favourite movie to be “nightmare on elm street” This makes the reader wonder why there is a conversation held on scary movies and maybe a nightmare is about to take place jus like the nightmare on elm street. The scheduling is well set out as when the girl is looking at knifes then the conversation leads to the movie having a man with “knives for fingers”. This shows that in this movie everything that happens happens for a reason and leads on to something that will take place later on.

The scheduling is perfect because when the creepy guy on the phone says “I wanna know who I’m looking at” the woman is standing outside a glass door which means these calls look like they’ve been planned perfectly and this reminds us that maybe the caller isn’t just there to speak to the woman but to see the woman as mentioned when she said “see ya” before cutting the phone for the second time. When the girl hears the creepy man say this on the other side of the phone she becomes tense and looks outside while the eerie noise begins once again reminding us that the area she lives in looks dangerous and the woman locks the door and hangs up because she begins to feel unsafe. Just after the man says this there is a dog barking in the distance which makes the audience and the woman realise that she isn’t alone.

We see a shot of the popcorn ready to be taken off the stove and starting to burn. This builds up tension and links to the unknown callers mood beginning to get a bit aggressive and tensed, the girl getting scared and very frustrated and lastly us as audience getting tenser with the movies mood. When the phone rings for the fourth time the girl begins to talk rudely and says “dial someone else” and cuts off which may have made the caller in a more aggressive mood. We can hear the eerie noise while she’s walking in her own house and this links to the way the danger outside is now inside her house.

We then see the popcorns foil burst on the stove and this links to the woman being overly scared and very angry, the unknown caller having lost his patience and becoming totally aggressive and lastly the audience being totally engaged for the danger that is to come. The mood is very tense and just how he woman tried taking the popcorn off the stove but was stopped by the call, she also tried to scare the man and show him that she isn’t scared of him by saying “listen arsehole” and the man shouts louder showing he has more power over her by saying “No, you listen you little bitch”. After a few moments he calls her “blondey” which lets that woman know that either she is or was being watched and this makes her so scared that she runs to look all the doors and as she does this we can hear a repeated thumping sound getting louder and faster as the tension is increasing and so is the danger and it sounds like something major is about to take place.

As she looks for him through the front door, he asks her “can you see me?” at good timing. Once again we can see this is planned as it is well scheduled and it feels as if her is already with her. In fear she tries to threaten him be saying “I am two seconds away from calling the police because she knows she is in danger and in the need of help. The unknown man on the phone replies unthreatened by saying “They’d never make it in time, where out here in the middle of nowhere”. It sounds like we are being narrated a story to by the unknown person and this all sounds very well planned out and practised which makes it even more effective. This also tells the audience that this place is as lonesent as it looks and by saying the word “nowhere” the unknown man could be referring to the woman having “nowhere” to run to.

The unknown killer tells the woman on the phone “You should never say who’s there, don you watch scary movies? It’s a death wish”. This relates to the way everything in the movie takes place for a reason. The conversation on scary movies took place to see if she actually watches scary movies and everything looks so planned out because it is planned out just like a scary movie. The camera keeps going to and from the door and the girls crying face. Every time the camera is back on the door it slowly zooms out as a slow increasing sound plays which builds up the tension and suspense.

The woman then tries threatening the unknown man in fear with her boyfriend because he is the only person that can help her at the moment. The music stops when the unknown caller says the boyfriends name “Steve” and this bring the woman in shock as her only support is gone. A midshot is taken when “Steve” is shown tied up in the patio and this subordinates the character. The boyfriend looks helpless because he cannot help the girl or himself. He is holding on to the chair which shows him being in fear and him trying to release himself as he is the victim.

Overall I think this is a very good opening sequence for a thriller because it interests the audience while making them feel uneasy as they feel as if they’re in the characters shoes. As well as this the way object ‘popcorn’ is used to symbolise the three main peoples emotions is an amazing way of expressing the tension spread through the movie. I really like this opening sequence because everything that takes place, takes place for a reason and you may not know the reason at first but as the movie goes on it will be revealed.