Scream trilogy
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| Scream trilogy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Wes Craven |
| Written by | Kevin Williamson Ehren Kruger |
| Starring | Neve Campbell David Arquette Courteney Cox Jamie Kennedy Liev Schreiber |
| Music by | Marco Beltrami |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films |
| Release date(s) | 1996 – 2000 |
| Running time | 348 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $507,244,240 |
The Scream trilogy is a trilogy of horror films directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson which begin in 1996, continued in 1997 and ended in 2000. The plot involves a psychopathic serial killer wearing a Halloween costume attempting to kill Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and various other characters involved in her life. Each film begins with the gory murder of a couple and takes off from there leading to the revelation of the killer's identity and the final battle between Sidney and the killer. They revitalized the slasher film genre in the mid 1990s, in a similar way to Halloween (1978) in the 1970s, by using a standard concept with a tongue-in-cheek approach that successfully combined straightforward scares with dialogue that satirized slasher film conventions. The first film became a major commercial success upon its release, and was one of the highest grossing films of 1996. It was also highly acclaimed by many critics worldwide, who appreciated the film's tongue-in-cheek approach. It received an 86% rating at rottentomatoes.com. As a result it spawned two sequels, Scream 2 and Scream 3.
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[edit] Premise
Throughout the trilogy (specifically the first and third film), parts of a back story have been revealed that occurred before the first film. As it turns out, Maureen Roberts (Lynn McRee) went to L.A to become an actress. She played in three horror flicks using the name Rina Reynolds. At one particular Hollywood party, she was gang raped by movie insiders and became pregnant with Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). After giving birth to Roman, Maureen left Hollywood as well as Roman and went back home to Woodsboro, where she met and married Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hencht). They then had a daughter named Sidney. Meanwhile, Roman grew up wondering what had happened to his mother.
Finally, when Sidney was around 16, Roman found Maureen (Rina) and went to her, hoping to spend some time with her only to find out Maureen had so-to-speak, killed Rina and that she no longer existed, which in short means that the mother he came looking for was not here. This enraged Roman, to the point of following her where he learned that not everything had changed; Maureen's dirty past had come back to haunt her, revealing that she wasn't the faithful wife that Sidney thought she was. As it was discovered she had affairs with many men, including Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), and more surprisingly, Hank Loomis (C.W. Morgan), Billy Loomis' father, who is the boyfriend of Sidney. Roman told Billy (Skeet Ulrich) about this, and using his creativity as a director, persuaded Billy to kill Maureen and frame Cotton, leading not only to the death of Maureen, but the imprisonment of Cotton as well. In the first film, Billy persuades his friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) to help him. They kill people who wronged them such as Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) who dumped Stu. They also kill Sidney's friends and intends to kill her but she kills them. In the second film Billy's mother (Laurie Metcalf) is the killer, she wants revenge on Sidney, and she makes one of Sidney's friend Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant) to help her. However in the end, Sidney kills both of them too. In the third and final film Roman returns and plans to kill Sidney for the life that he should have had. She mortally wounds him and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) shoots him in the head.
[edit] Scream (1996)
[edit] The Rules
A signature device, started in the first film and continued in the second and third film, was the typical "rules" for that type of horror movie being stated by the characters. In the first film, those rules (as described by Randy) are:
- You may not survive the movie if you have sex.
- You may not survive the movie if you drink or do drugs.
- You may not survive the movie if you say "I'll be right back."
Additional rules (according to the killer):
- You may not survive the movie if you ask "Who's there?"
- You shouldn't go out to investigate a strange noise if you wish to survive.
- Never believe the killer is dead, as he'll return for one last scare...
[edit] Deaths
| # | Character | Death | Portrayed by: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maureen Prescott | Stabbed (unseen, but happened before the film begins) | Lynn McRee |
| 2 | Steven Orth | Gutted | Kevin Patrick Walls |
| 3 | Casey Becker | Stabbed, gutted, and hung from a tree | Drew Barrymore |
| 4 | Principal Himbry | Stabbed | Henry Winkler |
| 5 | Tatum Riley | Neck crushed by dog-door on garage door | Rose McGowan |
| 6 | Kenny the Cameraman | Throat slit | W. Earl Brown |
| 7 | Stu Macher | Stabbed, electrocuted by television | Matthew Lillard |
| 8 | Billy Loomis | Stabbed in arm, impaled through his heart with umbrella tip, and shot | Skeet Ulrich |
[edit] Scream 2 (1997)
[edit] The Rules
The rules (as described by Randy) are:
- The body count is always bigger.
- The death scenes are always much more elaborate, with more blood and gore.
Randy starts to describe the third rule: "If you want your films to become a successful franchise, never, ever...' before being interrupted by Dewey. (The joke is that the filmmakers are admitting there is no surefire way to ensure a film franchise is successful.) However, the film's original teaser trailer featured an extended version of the rules scene which reveals that originally the third rule was supposed to be "Never, ever, under any circumstances assume the killer is dead." This referenced Randy's last line in the original Scream which stated that a killer always comes back to life for one last scare.
[edit] Deaths
| # | Character | Death | Portrayed by: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Phil Stevens | Stabbed through his head in the bathroom | Omar Epps |
| 10 | Maureen Evans | Stabbed multiple times in the movie theater | Jada Pinkett Smith |
| 11 | Casey "Cici" Cooper | Stabbed numerous times in the back, thrown over a balcony | Sarah Michelle Gellar |
| 12 | Randy Meeks | Stabbed in news van | Jamie Kennedy |
| 13 | Officer Andrews | Throat slit | Unknown |
| 14 | Officer Richards | Car crash, head impaled with pipe | |
| 15 | Hallie McDaniel | Stabbed multiple times | Elise Neal |
| 16 | Derek Feldman | Shot | Jerry O'Connell |
| 17 | Mrs. Loomis | Laurie Metcalf | |
| 18 | Mickey Altieri | Shot multiple times | Timothy Olyphant |
[edit] Scream 3 (2000)
[edit] The Rules
(As described by Randy in his video left for those still alive)
"If you find yourself dealing with an unexpected backstory, and a preponderance of exposition, then the sequel rules do not apply. Because you are not dealing with a sequel, you are dealing with the concluding chapter of a trilogy." The rules for the third and final concluding chapter of a trilogy are different:
- "You've got a killer who’s gonna be superhuman. Stabbing him won’t work, shooting him won’t work. Basically in the third one, you gotta cryogenically freeze his head, decapitate him, or blow him up."
- "Anyone, including the main character, can die. This means you, Sid."
- "The past will come back to bite you in the ass. Whatever you think you know about the past, forget it. The past is not at rest! Any sins you think were committed in the past are about to break out and destroy you."
- "Basically... In the third movie? All bets are off."
[edit] Deaths
| # | Character | Death | Portrayed by: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Christine Hamilton | Stabbed | Kelly Rutherford |
| 20 | Cotton Weary | Stabbed several times | Liev Schreiber |
| 21 | Sarah Darling | Stabbed in the back | Jenny McCarthy |
| 22 | Steven Stone | Stabbed | Patrick Warburton |
| 23 | Tom Prinze | Killed in the explosion | Matt Keeslar |
| 24 | Angelina Tyler | Stabbed | Emily Mortimer |
| 25 | Tyson Fox | Stabbed, thrown off a balcony | Deon Richmond |
| 26 | Jennifer Jolie | Stabbed in the stomach | Parker Posey |
| 27 | John Milton | Throat slit | Lance Henriksen |
| 28 | Roman Bridger | Shot in the head | Scott Foley |
[edit] Statistics & trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Liev Schreiber, and Wes Craven are the only actors to appear in all three Scream films. Wes Craven's performances were uncredited.
- The Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song "Red Right Hand" and its sequel can be heard in all three films.
- There are five killers total:
- Each film in the series has begun with the murders of a couple. These couples were typically portrayed by famous actors/actresses in small cameos:
- Scream: Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) and her boyfriend, Steven Orth (Kevin Patrick Walls).
- Scream 2: Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett) and Phil Stevens (Omar Epps).
- Scream 3: Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) and his girlfriend, Christine Hamilton (Kelly Rutherford).
- In each of the films, a killer is shot to death after coming back to life for one last scare.
- 27 people die in the series altogether
- Parody : Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth. The first Scary Movie mainly follows the same plot line as the first Scream, however the parody features elements from several other horror fims.
- All 3 Scream movies have Sidney and another character kill the killers together (except Stu who Sidney killed herself):
- In Scream, Sidney and Gale kill Billy (chest and head shot)
- In Scream 2, Sidney and Cotton kill Mrs. Loomis (again, chest and head shot), and Sidney and Gale kill Mickey (multiple gunshots)
- In Scream 3, Dewey and Sidney kill Roman (stabbing and head shot)
- In Scream, the original 1978 Halloween is viewed by the teens. Ironically, 1998s Halloween H20 features two teens watching Scream 2.
[edit] Cast and characters
| Character | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Scream | Scream 2 | Scream 3 | |
| Sidney Prescott | Neve Campbell | ||
| Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley | David Arquette | ||
| Gale Weathers | Courtney Cox Arquette | ||
| Randy Meeks | Jamie Kennedy | ||
| Cotton Weary | Liev Schreiber | ||
| Maureen Roberts-Prescott | Lynn McRee | Lynn McRee | |
| Neil Prescott | Lawrence Hencht | Lawrence Hencht | |
| Hank Loomis | C. W. Morgan | C. W. Morgan | |
| Reporter | Nancy O'Dell | ||
| Stuart "Stu" Macher | Matthew Lillard | ||
| Tatum Riley | Rose McGowan | ||
| Billy Loomis | Skeet Ulrich | ||
| Kenny | W. Earl Brown | ||
| Sheriff Burke | Joseph Whipp | ||
| Casey Becker | Drew Barrymore | ||
| Steven Orth | Kevin Patrick Walls | ||
| Principal Himbry | Henry Winkler | ||
| Casey "Cici" Cooper | Sarah Michelle Gellar | ||
| Mrs. Loomis | Laurie Metcalf | ||
| Hallie McDaniel | Elise Neal | ||
| Derek Feldman | Jerry O'Connell | ||
| Mickey Altieri | Timothy Olyphant | ||
| Maureen Evans | Jada Pinkett Smith | ||
| Chief Lewis Hartley | Lewis Arquette | ||
| Joel | Duane Martin | ||
| Sorority Sister Lois | Rebecca Gayheart | ||
| Sorority Sister Murphy | Portia de Rossi | ||
| Phil Stevens | Omar Epps | ||
| Detective Mark Kincaid | Patrick Dempsey | ||
| Roman Bridger | Scott Foley | ||
| John Milton | Lance Henriksen | ||
| Tom Prinze | Matt Keeslar | ||
| Sarah Darling | Jenny McCarthy | ||
| Angelina Tyler | Emily Mortimer | ||
| Jennifer Jolie | Parker Posey | ||
| Tyson Fox | Deon Richmond | ||
| Christine Hamilton | Kelly Rutherford | ||
| Steven Stone | Patrick Warburton | ||
[edit] References
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