That’s So Craven: The good and the bad of the Scream Trilogy
Article by Bindi Lavelle

Scream is not a bad film, it’s actually great; admittedly I love the mix of suspense, tension, laughs and straight up bloody violence but, the film had a negative influence on the genre; after its huge commercial success, suddenly all horror films needed to full of post-modernism and parody.

While being a witty in-joke on the genre Craven had a large hand in crafting, these 3 films created an environment where all horror films HAD to have more self-depreciating humour than a dozen masochistic rodeo clowns. This has been rectified in recent years, with special mention to Japan’s influence on western horror.

The first scream had everything a good slasher flick needed: blood rad mood setting music, good looking guys and girls and of course great villains.

However, the film’s most notable quality was how sharply Craven made fun of himself, this didn’t fault the film because humor has been a part of the genre, think Evil Dead and Ghoulies. The trend that Scream set was an unfortunate side effect of making a good film: every one hops on the band wagon hoping for the same success.

The 2 sequels rounded out the fancies nicely, giving a running commentary on the films themselves as the plot progressed. Building to a solid end point.

This trilogy is always a fun way for a horror loving kiddie to kick back and relax. Three well made 90s slasher flicks, its just a shame that the quality of their ideas has been watered down by clones.