Scream is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. The film stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore. Released on December 20, 1996, it follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), a high school student in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, who becomes the target of a mysterious killer in a Halloween costume known as Ghostface. The film combines black comedy and "whodunit" mystery with the violence of the slasher genre to satirize the clichés of the horror movie genre popularized in films such as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980) and Craven's own A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Scream was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters who were aware of real-world horror films and openly discussed the clichés that the film attempted to subvert.
Wesley Earl Craven was an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. He was known for his pioneering work in the genre of horror films, particularly slasher films, where he mixed horror cliches with humor and satire. His impact on the genre was considered prolific and influential. Due to the success and cultural impact of his works in the horror film genre, Craven has been called a "Master of Horror".
Freddy Krueger is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He first appeared in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as the spirit of a serial killer who uses a gloved hand with razors to kill his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well. In the dream world, he is a powerful force and almost completely invulnerable. However, whenever Freddy is pulled into the real world, he has normal human vulnerabilities and can be destroyed.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare is a 1994 American meta slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven, the original creator of A Nightmare on Elm Street and the final installment in original series. Although it is the seventh installment in the franchise, it is not part of the series continuity, instead portraying Freddy Krueger as a fictional movie villain who invades the real world, and haunts the cast and crew responsible for his films. In the film, Freddy is depicted as closer to what Craven originally intended, being much more menacing and much less comical, with an updated attire and appearance.
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice actor, singer, and director, best known for playing the infamous serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master in 1988, and won a Fantafestival Award for The Mangler in 1995. Englund is a classically trained actor.
Heather Elizabeth Anderson is an American actress, producer, and prosthetic makeup coordinator. She began her career as an extra in the Francis Ford Coppola films The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983) before becoming known for her role as Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Chuck Russell's A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), followed by roles in two of Craven's cult films: a victim in Shocker (1989) and a fictionalized version of herself in Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994).
David Alexander Hess was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and director. He came to prominence for his portrayals of murderous villains and gruff characters in several films in the 1970s and 1980s.
Emma Rose Roberts is an American actress and singer. After making her film debut as Kristina Jung in the crime film Blow (2001), Roberts gained recognition for her lead role as Addie Singer on the Nickelodeon television series Unfabulous (2004–2007). She released her debut studio album Unfabulous and More in 2005. Roberts then appeared in numerous films, including Aquamarine (2006), Nancy Drew (2007), Wild Child (2008), Hotel for Dogs (2009), Valentine's Day (2010), It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), and The Art of Getting By (2011).
The Hills Have Eyes is a 1977 American horror film written, directed, and edited by Wes Craven and starring Susan Lanier, Michael Berryman and Dee Wallace. The film follows the Carters, a suburban family targeted by a family of cannibal savages after becoming stranded in the Nevada desert.
The People Under the Stairs is a 1991 American horror comedy film written and directed by Wes Craven and starring Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A. J. Langer, Ving Rhames, and Sean Whalen. The plot follows a young boy and two adult robbers who become trapped in a house belonging to a strange couple after breaking in to steal their collection of rare coins.
Sean Sexton Cunningham is an American filmmaker, director, producer, and writer. He is best known for directing and producing several horror films, beginning in the early 1970s.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven, and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series and stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, and Johnny Depp in his film debut. The plot concerns four teenagers living on one street in the fictitious town of Springwood, Ohio, who are invaded and killed in their dreams, and thus killed in reality, by a burnt killer with a bladed leather glove.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is a 1988 American fantasy slasher film and the fourth installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and stars Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, and Danny Hassel. Following the death of Nancy Thompson, Freddy Krueger reappears in the dreams of Kristen Parker, Joey Crusel, and Roland Kincaid. After completing his revenge against the families who killed him, Krueger uses Kristen's best friend, Alice Johnson, to gain access to new victims in order to sate his murderous needs. The film is a sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and was followed by A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989). The Dream Master is often popularly referred to as "the MTV Nightmare" of the franchise.
The New York City Horror Film Festival is an international film festival based in New York City that screens films from the horror genre. It was founded by Michael J. Hein in 2001. It takes place each year in New York City for a week in November.
Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, is a French film director best known for his work in the horror genre. Aja rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension. He has also directed the films The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Mirrors (2008), Piranha 3D (2010), Horns (2013) and Crawl (2019).
Laurence T. Fessenden is an American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer. He is the founder of the New York based independent production outfit Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits include No Telling, Habit (1997), Wendigo (2001), and The Last Winter, which is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum Of Modern Art. He has also directed the television feature Beneath (2013), an episode of the NBC TV series Fear Itself (2008) entitled "Skin and Bones", and a segment of the anthology horror-comedy film The ABCs of Death 2 (2014). He is the writer, with Graham Reznick, of the BAFTA Award-winning Sony PlayStation video game Until Dawn. He has acted in numerous films including Like Me (2017), In a Valley of Violence (2016), We Are Still Here (2015), Jug Face (2012), and Broken Flowers (2005).
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival in the United States that was founded by Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in 2001. The festival runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, California. In 2015 Screamfest celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and has been credited as being the largest and most long running horror film festival in the United States. The 2016 Screamfest was from October 18 through the 27.
Scream is an American meta horror media franchise that comprises four slasher films, a television series, merchandise, and a video game for the fourth film. The film series was created by Kevin Williamson. The first four films was directed by Wes Craven, with the upcoming fifth film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet. The series also stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, and grossed over $608 million in worldwide box-office receipts. The first film, Scream, was released on December 20, 1996, and is currently the second highest-grossing slasher film in the world, behind Halloween (2018). The second entry, Scream 2, was released on December 12, 1997, which was less than a year after its predecessor. The third installment, Scream 3, was released on February 4, 2000, and was originally the concluding chapter of the series. Eleven years later, the franchise was revived with a fourth installment, Scream 4, which was released on April 15, 2011. The films follow Sidney Prescott and her war against a succession of murderers who adopt the guise of Ghostface to stalk and torment their victims. Sidney receives support in the films from town deputy Dewey Riley, reporter Gale Weathers, and film-geek Randy Meeks. The anthology television series Scream has been airing on MTV and VH1 since 2015; it follows new characters in new settings who are also tormented by the Lakewood Slasher and Ghostface.
Scream 4 is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Dimension Films, it is the fourth installment in the Scream film series. The film stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, and Hayden Panettiere. The film takes place on the fifteenth anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders and involves Sidney Prescott returning to the town after ten years, as part of her book tour. As soon as she arrives, Ghostface once again begins killing students from Woodsboro High, relying on the rules of remakes. Like its predecessors, Scream 4 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of dark comedy and "whodunit" mystery to satirize the clichés of film remakes. The film also provides a commentary on the extensive usage of social media and the obsession of internet fame.
