Cliff Notes – 90s horror ‘masterpiece’ shoots up Netflix chart 30 years after release
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Enduring Popularity: Nearly three decades after its release, Scream (1996) remains a Halloween favourite, recently climbing the Netflix top 10 film chart.
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Franchise Expansion: The Scream franchise has successfully branched into games, merchandise, and TV series, with a seventh film set for release in 2026.
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Cultural Impact: Hailed as a ‘masterpiece’, the film is credited with revitalising the slasher genre, combining horror with self-referential humour, and has maintained an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
90s horror ‘masterpiece’ shoots up Netflix chart 30 years after release
This horror film has certainly stood the test of time (Picture: Dimension/Everett/Shutterstock)
It’s been almost three decades since the first Scream movie was released, but it’s still proving popular during Spooky Season.
The horror classic dropped its first instalment in 1996, boasting a starry cast comprising Neve Campbell in the lead role alongside Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, and more.
Since, the franchise has maintained a devout fanbase, allowing Scream to branch out into games, merchandise, and TV series, with a seventh film coming in 2026.
But nothing will beat the original, it seems, which has soared up the Netflix top 10 film chart for Halloween.
Directed by Wes Craven, Scream is set in a fictional Californian town and follows high school student Sidney Prescott (Campbell), who becomes the target of a vindictive masked killer.
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On the anniversary of her mother’s murder, the teen receives an ominous phone call from an unknown number, with the caller threatening her life, plus those of her friends.
The perpetrator turns out to be someone wearing a Ghostface costume, whose eerie voice has been provided by Roger L. Jackson since the film series began, regardless of the character underneath the terrifying mask.
What ensues is a killing spree and a game of cat and mouse as Ghostface hunts Sidney down, leaving a bloody trail in his wake.
The villain’s identity is uncovered at the end of the film… but Ghostface won’t go down without a fight.
Scream (1996) had a $14-15million (£10.1-11.4m) budget, but its popularity allowed it to gross $173m (£132m) at the box office.
It received generally positive reviews at the time, with critics praising its self-referential humour, despite the ‘excessive violence’ dividing some.
Irrespective of initial feedback, though, Scream has undoubtedly kept its audience, boasting an impressive 80% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Scream (1996) has been hailed as a ‘masterpiece’ by fans (Picture: THA/Shutterstock)
Cast members included Courteney Cox, Jamie Kennedy, and Neve Campbell (Picture: Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock)
It’s the film credited with instilling everyone with fear when it comes to answering calls from unknown numbers (Picture: Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Among the 250,000+ comments, users hail the original Scream as a ‘masterpiece’, with Edward W writing: ‘Reinvented the slasher genre. Loved how self aware this film was. One of my favourite scary movies.’
‘Scream when it was released reinvigorated the teen Lasher horror film genre not only was the film horrifying and scary, but it was genuinely frightening. still almost 30 years later the film is still a scary watch’, writes ChrisCSH H.
‘The calls of Ghosts Faces are the best part of this movie. It’s strangely terrifying’, adds Pedro E.
‘Scream is a really peak movie that I’ve always enjoyed’, says David V after his ’10th time watching it’.
‘Not only a solid horror, a solid comedy but also a really solid mystery story where everyone is a suspect but everyone also has an alibi. The final reveal, if you’re lucky enough to see it for the first time, is thrilling and narratively satisfying’, remarks Clayton F.
Following the success of Scream, a second film was released in 1997, a third in 2000, and a fourth in 2011.
Campbell is back to face Ghostface as she reprises her role in Scream 7 (Picture: Paramount Pictures)
This time, the masked killer is targeting her and her daughter (Picture: Paramount Pictures)
Also titled Scream but serving as a sequel to Scream 4, the next movie came in 2022 and was made in tribute to Craven, being the first Scream film not directed by him after he died in 2015.
What followed was the release of Scream VI in 2023, while Scream 7 drops next February, with iconic actress Campbell reprising her role and Cox returning once more as journalist Gale Weathers. The Friends star actually holds the record of being the only actress to appear in six consecutive films of a horror franchise.
Plenty of other world-famous stars have appeared in the franchise over the years, including David Arquette, Jack Quaid, Jenna Ortega, and Hayden Panettiere.
Alas, the long-running franchise has not been without its controversies, the most recent being die-hard fans vowing to boycott Scream 7 after Melissa Barrera was fired for sharing pro-Palestine posts on social media, which bosses deemed to be antisemitic.
In the aftermath of her axing, Barrera defended her posts.
Watch Scream (1996) on Netflix.
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