Scream: Slashing Through Pop Culture

When thinking about films that truly reek of pop culture, many wouldn’t seem to find themselves face to face with Wes Craven’s 1996 horror flick Scream that revitalized the slasher sub-genre. The film centers around the small town of Woodsboro, where a mysterious killer is on the loose and a group of teenagers try to survive. Craven masterfully works his way into making this film an embodiment of pop culture – dropping references to other films throughout its entirety, making the characters memorable, and the film itself being a part of pop culture. These tenets will be the focus of my analysis and showcase the way it earns its place in pop culture. 

A majority of horror films are known for being pretty meta, showing their self-awareness of the genre and mocking or flipping common tropes on their head. Although Scream can be seen as humorous at times due to its self-awareness – it manages to keep you on your toes and keep your intrigued as you, and the characters find out who the killer is. Craven begins the film with Drew Barrymore receiving an anonymous phone call while home alone, making popcorn before a movie date with her boyfriend. The anonymous caller asks Barrymore’s character what her favorite scary movie is; “Halloween, you know the one with the white mask who walks around and stalks babysitters.” (Craven) where she in return guesses if his favorite is A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). This is our first look at references within the film at only 1 minute 40 seconds in. The conversation quickly turns sinister as the caller begins harassing Barrymore, leading us to find out the caller is the killer, and he’s somewhere nearby. He starts off by telling Barrymore, “You should never say ‘Who’s there?’ don’t you watch scary movies? It’s a death wish.” (Craven) The killer caller then threatens to kill Barrymore’s boyfriend, unless she agrees to play a game – a fun round of scary movie trivia questions. The killer references films like Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980).  These real film references within the first 10 minutes grab the audience’s attention allowing them to make a connection between what they’ve seen and what they’re watching.  

Another example of pop culture references within the film, that aren’t just the character explicitly mentioning a film, are the scenes themselves. Sprinkled into almost each scene is an easter egg referencing another horror movie. The opening scene with Drew Barrymore calls back to Black Christmas (1974), when main character Sidney’s boyfriend Billy sneaks into her bedroom it is reminiscent of Depp’s character A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and Billy’s last name being Loomis in homage to Dr. Loomis in Halloween (1978).

Not only does Scream make all these pop culture references, the film itself became a pop culture icon. The killer, who is known by the name of Ghostface, coins the phrase, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” and soon becomes the face of the killer in 2000’s comedy Scary Movie. The film follows the same plotline about a group of teens being stalked by a masked killer and attempting to solve who it is, all while making a parody of it and all the classic horror films society knows and loves. 

A majority of society can call Scream a classic in their spooky movie marathons, quoting Ghostface in real life, and following Randy’s scary movie survival rules – the film criticizes its own genre and treats the audience like a friend, swapping pop culture references like secrets. Its own self-awareness creates a relationship with the audience, making it a crowd favorite forever.

Works Cited

A Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven. New Line Cinema, 1984. Film.

Black Christmas. Bob Clark. Warner Bros, 1974. Film. 

Friday the 13th. Sean S. Cunnigham. Paramount Pictures, 1980. Film.

Halloween. John Carpenter. Compass International Pictures, 1978. Film. 

Raymond, Adam K. “Every Movie 'Spoofed' in the Scary Movie Franchise.” Vulture, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2013, www.vulture.com/2013/04/scary-movie-franchise-every-film-spoofed-referenced.html. 19 November 2020.

Ryan, Taylor. “Film Analysis: Scream (1996).” Borrowing Tape, Borrowing Tape, 1 Aug. 2019, borrowingtape.com/the-cine-files/feature/film-analysis-scream-1996. 19 November 2020.

Scary Movie. Keenan Ivory Wayans. Dimension Films, 2000. Film.

Scream. Wes Craven. Dimension Films, 1996. Film. 

“Scream: Connections.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 2020, www.imdb.com/title/tt0117571/movieconnections. 19 November 2020.