The 1996 film, helmed by Nightmare on Elm Street director Wes Craven, (“the first name in suspense,” as the trailer points out), told the story of teenagers who are terrorized by “Ghostface,” a figure in black garb who sports an eerie ghost mask. Scream wasn’t a run-of-the mill horror flick; Craven and writer Kevin Williamson did things differently from other films in the genre. For starters, the film used popular actors already known to audiences. Besides Barrymore’s brief role, Neve Campbell—famous due to her role on FOX’s family drama Party of Five—played “final girl” Sidney Prescott, whileCourteney Cox’s show Friends was one of the top sitcoms in the country at the time. In another departure from usual horror fare, the characters are well aware of scary-movie tropes; one character (Randy, played by Jamie Kennedy) even lays out the so-called rules for not dying in one. For horror film fans, Scream was a fun ride because it played on horror clichés and referenced past movies to deliver something fresh and exciting. There were Easter eggs throughout the film for fans to find; for instance, a major star is killed off early on, as in AlfredHitchcock’s Psycho, and one character’s name is Billy Loomis (played by Skeet Ulrich) in a nod to Dr. Loomis from the Halloween films. The original Scream made a whopping $173 million dollars worldwide and spawned a franchise that—as of Jan. 14, 2022—now includes four sequels; the newest Scream film is called Scream, just like the original. “I’ve been through this. A lot,” Campbell’s character in the trailer; she, Cox and Arquette return to the Scream Universe to help a new slate of teens who are terrorized by a new killer. In yet another Easter egg for Scream fans, the trailer features a few of the same lines from the original; so before checking out the new movie, check out these 50 quotes from Scream.
Scream quotes
- “You should never say ‘who’s there?’ Don’t you watch scary movies? It’s a death wish. You might as well come out here to investigate a strange noise or something.” - Ghostface
- “You’re making popcorn?”- Ghostface
- “Do you like scary movies?”- Ghostface
- “You never told me your name…[why do you need to know my name?] Because I want to know who I’m looking at.” - Ghostface
- “[What do you want?] To see what your insides look like.” - Ghostface
- “You sick f**ks. You’ve seen one too many movies!” - Sidney
- “What’s the point? They’re all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can’t act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door.” - Sidney
- “That is so sexist. The killer could easily be female. Basic Instinct.” - Tatum
- “Now Sid, don’t you blame the movies. Movies don’t create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!” - Billy
- “There are certain rules someone must abide by to survive a scary movie.” - Randy
- “The police are always off track with this s**t! If they’d watch Prom Night, they’d save time! There’s a formula to it. A very simple formula!” - Randy
- “Don’t go there, Sid. You’re starting to sound like some Wes Carpenter flick or something. Don’t freak yourself out, okay? We’ve got a long night ahead of us.” - Tatum
- “Everybody’s a suspect!” - Randy
- “Janitors are your superior.” - Tatum
- “She looked dead, man. Still does.” - Stuart
- “I never thought I’d be so happy to be a virgin.” - Randy
- “My name isn’t Jesus.” - Kenny
- “You’re not scared, are ya?” - Dewey
- “I wouldn’t dream of breaking your underwear rule.” - Billy
- “Why can’t I be in a Meg Ryan movie? Or even a good porno.” - Sidney
- “Who am I, the beer wench?” - Tatum
- “What did mama tell you? When I wear this badge, you treat me like a man of the law!” - Dewey
- “We all go a little mad sometimes.” - Billy
- “If you were the only suspect in a senseless bloodbath - would you be standing in the horror section?” - Randy
- “What’s the matter Sidney? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” - Billy
- “As if. That’s all I’m saying… as if.” - Stuart
- “If I’m right about this, I could save a man’s life. Do you know what that would do for my book sales?” - Gale
- “I’m sorry Deputy Dewey-boy, but we’re ready to go. Now! Okay?” - Tatum
- “People treat me like I’m the anti-Christ of television journalism.” - Gale
- “I’ll send you a copy. BAM! Bch went down. I’ll send you a copy. BAM! Sid! Superbch!” - Tatum
- “Look, Kenny, I know you’re about fifty pounds overweight, but when I say hurry, please interpret that as, move your fat tub of lard a** now!” - Gale
- “Jamie Lee was always a virgin in horror movies. She didn’t show her t**s ’til she went legits.” - Randy
- “Looks like you fingered the wrong guy, again.” - Stuart
- “Stupidity leak!” - Tatum
- “Guess I remembered the safety that time, b**tard.” - Gale
- “It’s called subtlety, Stu. You should look it up.” - Billy
- “Was that before or after he sliced and diced?!” - Randy
- “No, please don’t [off] me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!” - Tatum
- “If you hang up on me you’ll die just like your mother! Do you wanna die Sidney? Your mother sure didn’t.” - Ghostface
- “See, you push the laws and you end up [gone]. Okay, I’ll see you in the kitchen with a knife.” - Randy
- “It’s the millennium. Motives are incidental.” - Randy
- “Corn syrup. Same stuff they used for pig’s blood in Carrie.” - Billy
- “We’ve already played that game. Remember? You lost.” - Billy
- “Oh, this is the greatest fun. You’re going to love this. We got a surprise for you, Sidney. Yeah, you’re going to love this one. It’s a scream, baby. Hold a second, be right back.” - Stuart
- “What’s leatherface doing here?” - Randy
- “Did we ever find out why Hannibal Lecter like to eat people? DON’T THINK SO! See, it’s a lot more scarier when there’s no motive, Sid.” - Billy
- “Not so fast, we’re going to play a little game. It’s called: Guess who just called the police and reported your sorry motherfking a!” - Sidney
- “My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me!” - Stuart
- “Careful. This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life, for one last scare.” - Randy
- “Not in my movie.” - Sidney Next, We Ranked the 151 Best Horror Movies Ever— From Frankenstein to Malignant
