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[iShouldGoPro]

It just brought so many things to the table that other horror movies weren't doing at the time.

-scary moments/murders in broad daylight. This was a biggie. Who knew a movie could be scary when so many deaths occurred during the day?
-the music wasn't always creepy/suspenseful. Most of the songs didnt't fit the sound profile that the genre had established up until then
-Two killers! Back in the day, no body had a clue there could possibly be two people behind the murders. It just didn't fit THE RULES of horror movies.
-discussing modern horror movie tropes in the film made it very self-aware. If the characters knew so much about horror movies, how could anybody die? This forced the film to break the rules!
SIDE NOTE: there is a great scene where officer Dewey is going through the house clearing rooms with 'Halloween' playing in the living room, and the music is synced with his actions. Timeless.
- technically the only virgin to make it to the end was Dewey, so virginity wasn't a factor in the characters' survival
EDIT: how could I forget Randy?

I really didn't realize how special the film was for the genre back when I was younger. It just did so many things differently.

Craven was a mastermind.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Check out the first draft, Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

 

[PositiveGamer]

Not sure about all time...

But it DEF revived the slasher/horror genre at the time. Opening the gates for many clones following it..

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Scream gave me Scary Movie 1

It's all right in my book

 

[daviyoung]

its Psycho, OP

 

[zeemumu]

Scream and New Nightmare were the ultimate endgame of slasher films.

 

[jon bones]

Scre4m is also extremely underrated.

Check out the first draft, Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

yeah, NN is the prototype he perfected it in Scream

 

[MattKeil]

its Psycho, OP

It is. But I would argue Scream belongs on the shortlist with it.

 

[echoshifting]

Deconstruction is by its nature not exactly innovative, but it's a great movie and one of the best commentaries on the genre for sure.

 

[Ridley327]

All of those things existed in other horror films long before Scream.

 

[lightskintwin]

Not sure about all time...

But it DEF revived the slasher/horror genre at the time. Opening the gates for many clones following it..

Yep, did a pretty good job deconstructing the genre too.

 

[CREMSteve]

A lot of younger posters on GAF, you should spoiler some of those thoughts in case some have never seen it and this makes them want to watch it.

 

[Count Dookkake]

All of those things existed in other horror films long before Scream.

Yeah, for example, Student Bodies.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Scream is, while being fun as hell and definitely one of the major landmarks in the weird history of horror, is not really "innovative."

Part of the reason it works so well isn't the "innovation" at all. It's the self-awareness of all the best parts of the slasher subgenre, and the execution of those parts being done very, very well.

But I can't think of a single element of Scream that wasn't preceded by a hugely successful horror film doing it first. That's the point of Scream. You seem to even somewhat acknowledge that within your list, in what you choose to recognize as "innovation" being not much more than basic subversion of actual innovation. It's a summation, not an opening sentence.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Yeah, Scream is an all time great film. Filmed in my town/county too!

 

[Fancy Clown]

It just brought so many things to the table that other horror movies weren't doing at the time.

-scary moments/murders in broad daylight. This was a biggie. Who knew a movie could be scary when so many deaths occurred during the day?
-the music wasn't always creepy/suspenseful. Most of the songs didnt't fit the sound profile that the genre had established up until then
-Two killers! Back in the day, no body had a clue there could possibly be two people behind the murders. It just didn't fit THE RULES of horror movies.
-discussing modern horror movie tropes in the film made it very self-aware. If the characters knew so much about horror movies, how could anybody die? This forced the film to break the rules!
SIDE NOTE: there is a great scene where officer Dewey is going through the house clearing rooms with 'Halloween' playing in the living room, and the music is synced with his actions. Timeless.
- technically the only virgin to make it to the end was Dewey, so virginity wasn't a factor in the characters' survival

I really didn't realize how special the film was for the genre back when I was younger. It just did so many things differently.

Craven was a mastermind.

It's a good movie but I think you're giving it too much credit. Broad daylight murders were done before in stuff like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House on the Left, and Blood and Black Lace did the two murderer switch up like 30 years prior. Same goes for not overly spooky music or virgins not being the only survivors. The biggest innovation of Scream is the super overt metatextual stuff.

Edit: beaten many times over

 

[PositiveGamer]

Scre4m is also extremely underrated.



yeah, NN is the prototype he perfected it in Scream

I agree.. Scream 4 at least washed the sins of Scream 3 away..

 

[capitalCORN]

Scream was a parody tho...

 

[ronaldthump]

its just very tongue in cheek and referential but it did really kill the horror genre with the tropes outlined.

I love SCREAM. It did have some fun inventive kill.

 

[kvothe]

A lot of younger posters on GAF, you should spoiler some of those thoughts in case some have never seen it and this makes them want to watch it.

Nah.

 

[SparkleMotion]

Scream 3 was the most "meta" movie I've ever seen.

 

[Stinkles]

I guess Psycho, the Birds, Don't Look Now, Suspiria, Tenebrae, Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nosferatu and The Exorcist never happened. Or that Scream isn't an homage, satire and inversion of other classic horror.

 

[daviyoung]

A lot of younger posters on GAF, you should spoiler some of those thoughts in case some have never seen it and this makes them want to watch it.

Scream revels in the meta so deeply the actual series of events in the story is secondary to Craven's winking at the audience

 

[Snaku]

Scre4m is also extremely underrated.

It really is. Easily the second best in the series behind the original.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Scream was a parody tho...

Not a parody so much as a tribute/deconstruction.

 

[MattKeil]

A lot of younger posters on GAF, you should spoiler some of those thoughts in case some have never seen it and this makes them want to watch it.

If they haven't watched it by now, nah. Also why click on a thread about how innovative something is if you don't want to know specifics about why something is innovative? Spoiler tags make literally zero sense for a thread like this.

 

[Bladenic]

Yup, one of the best horror movie/series of all time. Scream 1 and 2 are both classics, 3 is fun, and 4 is better than 3 but still not anywhere near 1/2.

 

[-shadow-]

Scre4m is also extremely underrated.

It's a shame that the entire second act was basically the movie that it was trying to make fun of. The first act was absolutely amazing and the entire final act was great with the fake ending. The middle part was just so... Meh...

 

[Hilbert]

All Time?????

hahahahahahahahahahaha

I am sure it blew your mind when you were 14 or so, but come on.

 

[kai3345]

scream is the best movie ever made

 

[pretty done]

Scream 3 was the most "meta" movie I've ever seen.

New Nightmare

I love Scream though. The series has stuck with me and been a favorite of mine ever since I saw the first one in theaters in 5th grade. I even enjoy 2 and 3, and never really understood why they get shit on so much. Really liked what they did in 3 with the fake movie sets and what not, even if the final killer reveal was underwhelming.

 

[Aselith]

The marketing was really innovative too. That Barrymore switcheroo.

Scream was a parody tho...

It is but like with all good parodies, it's also a good example of the genre that it's parodying.

 

[Brodnax]

it's The Last Action Hero of horror movies.

 

[Jocund]

Yay, somewhat standard satire ~

 

[CREMSteve]

If they haven't watched it by now, nah. Also why click on a thread about how innovative something is if you don't want to know specifics about why something is innovative? Spoiler tags make literally zero sense for a thread like this.

At least throw a *spoilers* in the title maybe?

Half the fun of experiencing these kind of movies for the first time is trying to figure everything out. There's really no harm in trying to preserve that for those who haven't had the chance to see them yet.

Time really is irrelevant when you're on an online forum with people of all ages. "If they haven't watched it by now" doesn't apply to someone 15 that hasn't actually had the chance yet.

 

[Ridley327]

I guess Psycho, the Birds, Don't Look Now, Suspiria, Tenebrae, Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nosferatu and The Exorcist never happened. Or that Scream isn't an homage, satire and inversion of other classic horror.

Never underestimate the power of attractive marketing and casts, along with genre snobbery that has, can, and will continue to impact the exposure that some people have to other films simply because the big franchises from before wound up with a losing record.

 

[Sibersk Esto]

I don't see what Scream did that was more innovative than all of the other horror movies that get brought up as genre defining.

 

[Reeks]

It was a excellent bump for pop horror. One of the few modern pop horror movies that horror fans appreciate as well as the general audience, which is no small feat. But best / most innovative horror movie ever? Ohh no. Ohh no.


Edit: I'don't say you have some homework. The best homework, ever.

 

[iShouldGoPro]

It's a good movie but I think you're giving it too much credit. Broad daylight murders were done before in stuff like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House on the Left, and Blood and Black Lace did the two murderer switch up like 30 years prior. Same goes for not overly spooky music or virgins not being the only survivors. The biggest innovation of Scream is the super overt metatextual stuff.

Edit: beaten many times over

I like this post because you listed examples.
Although TCM and other movies did have daylight kills, it followed the horror movie formula practically the rest of the way.
The music was creepy throughout, the virgin survives, It wasn't really a mystery who the killers were, etc.

Scream is special because it does all of those things together. The combination of "Non-horror" things made it that much more special.
Very meta indeed.

 

[LewieP]

I love Scream, but innovative wouldn't be the word I'd choose.

 

[go_straight]

Scream gave me Scary Movie 1

It's all right in my book

It's like saying that a fine dinner gave you diarrhea.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Scream is special because it does all of those things together. The combination of "Non-horror" things made it that much more special.
Very meta indeed.

It can't be "meta" and "innovative" at the same time, otherwise there'd be nothing for it to metatextually comment on/incorporate.

Nobody's saying it's not a good movie. Just that it's not all that innovative, and definitely not the most innovative.

 

[Erv]

Yeah it gave us the classic scary movie so it is indeed a classic

 

[elrechazado]

Op is true if you never saw a horror movie before the 90s....

 

[Magus1234]

Never really a fan of that movie, I liked it when it came out but felt it did not age well for me personally. It was too much of just a who dun it, then the whole meta horror trope on top of it.

Though it did make me think of what an innovative horror movie actually was, never really though about it. If I had to pick one from the 90s it would probably be Candy Man

edit: the more I think about the more I have a hard time picturing what innovation in horror actually is besides the obvious.

 

[Joni]

It eventually lead to the TV series

So it is alright in my book.

 

[autumnleaf]

Scream is great but it's not the most innovative in a world where Psycho exists.

 

[Baron Aloha]

Yeah, I have to admit the 2 killers thing really surprised me when I saw it.

I love the cop car scene in part 2 - that's probably my favorite scene in the series.

 

[wazoo]

Op is true if you never saw a horror movie before the 90s....

which is the case for most of Scream audience.

My daughter love Scream. I did her see through the exorcist.

Never again, she said.

 

[groansey]

Scream was innovative as fuck. But it doesn't click with some people for some reason - maybe because of Williamson's Dawson's Creek dialogue, I dunno. But it's a masterpiece, and Scream 2 is an insanely good sequel. It's maybe harder to appreciate what the film did if you hadn't been brought up on 70/80's slashers.