STORYLINE: A year after her mother’s death, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends started experiencing some strange phone calls. They later learned the calls were coming from a crazed serial killer, in a white faced mask and a large black robe, looking for revenge. His phone calls usually consist of many questions, the main one being: What’s your favorite scary movie? Along with much scary movie trivia, ending with bloody pieces of innocent lives scattered around the small town of Woodsboro.  (IMDb)

  In 1996, I was a cute, ten year old version of myself.  My fandom for horror features was still about a decade away.  My first viewing of Scream, was a few years behind that. The franchise wasn’t really on my radar until the fourth entry arrived, in theaters in 2011, and I decided it was time to see what the fuss was all about.

As Halloween 2026 approaches, a screening to honor the 30th anniversary of the slasher film arrived in theaters, and it was time to once again revisit the motion picture.

  As the movie played I wasn’t really thinking why I enjoyed Scream, or why it took so long for me to get to watch it.  Yes I enjoy it, and once I got into horror  I prioritized other movies, in case you were wondering.  Mainly I fell in love, immediately with cheesy, B movies horror features.

Anyways, I was thinking about why I loved franchise horror, such as the Scream movies. I find them reliably entertaining.  I can sit back, and enjoy the formula, the scares, and be mindlessly entertained for an average of 100 minutes.  I like that, and feel that’s ok.

  Exactly like the Halloween and Friday the 13th motion pictures the Scream series falls into that category.  Truth be told, I find Scream to be a bit more horror tribute then a horror feature.  I still enjoy myself watching it, as I did watching the 30th anniversary screening.

Enjoy your Halloween, anf until next time I will see you at the movies!

Films featured in the 2026 holiday retrospective:

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), The Shining (1980), Gremlins (1984), The Innocents (1961), and Scream (1996).