Scream

TNT RoughCut Spencer H. Abbott

Wes Craven continues to explore (and blur) the lines between reelity and reality with his latest, and perhaps best, cinematic slice of horror.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A deft, funny, shrewdly unsettling tribute to such slasher-exploitation thrillers as "Terror Train," "New Year's Evil," and Craven's own "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Finely crafted, tense, scary thriller from start to finish.

LA Weekly Paul Malcolm

A meta-horror film that hilariously parodies the genre's clichés with smarts to spare. It's also the scariest fucking movie Craven has made since the first "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

It's sensational in both senses of the word: a bravura, provocative sendup of horror pictures that's also scary and gruesome yet too swift-moving to lapse into morbidity.

Dallas Observer Andy Klein

Craven's other accomplishment here, besides resuscitating the genre, is the way he keeps things scary even when they're at their funniest. The grand finale, while thoroughly bloody and tense, has some genuinely hilarious shtick.

Washington Post Richard Harrington

Deftly mixes irony, self-reference and wry social commentary with chills and blood spills.

Film.com Sean Means

Craven creates his savviest and most frightening movie since the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" by spoofing the horror cliches and simultaneously reinventing them to scare you all over again.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Craven is obviously having a ball here, and it's impossible not to sit back and go grinning into this dark, gory ride.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Scream is a rarity: a horror movie spoof that succeeds almost as well at provoking scares as laughs.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

What did I think about this movie? As a film critic, I liked it. I liked the in-jokes and the self-aware characters. At the same time, I was aware of the incredible level of gore in this film. It is really violent.

New York Daily News Dave Kehr

Builds to a splattering finale that should leave genre fans highly satisfied.

TV Guide Frank Lovece

Compared with most of what passes for scary movies these days, this is golden: It's not stupid, it's not wussy and it pulls off a couple of pretty nasty jolts.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

While Scream has its frights, it feels more like one of those solve-the-mystery jigsaw puzzles than a real movie.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

May not be the most scary or the grossest horror film you've ever seen, but it has one distinct feature: it actually talks up to the audience. By the conclusion, you won't be shaking in your seat, but you may enjoy the status of someone who has earned a Master's in Slashology.

Chicago Tribune John Petrakis

Pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. [20 December 1996, Friday, p.J]

Variety Leonard Klady

Though the material is more intelligent than the norm and has an unusual third-act twist, it also employs some very clunky stereotypes.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Tiresome, blood-filled comedy.

Film.com John Hartl

Doesn't know when to stop with the jokes about other horror movies and settle down to tell a coherent story.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

Just another basketcase with a blade.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

Wicked fun with flickers of intelligence.

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

Wes Craven (of the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' films) is in the mood for parody.

Time Richard Corliss

An idiot-savant movie, knowing but not smart.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Indeed, Scream is better than the average slasher film, as its advertisers insist. And, indeed, it is probably Wes Craven's best film, as they also insist. But that is a little like saying the pimple on the left side of your nose is "better" than the pimple on the right side.

San Francisco Examiner Bob Stephens

An artificial and hypocritical effort to escape the artistic limitations of teenage slasher flicks.