Overview
A masked killer stalks a small town, turning every phone call into a deadly game.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- witty
- darkly humorous
- tense
- horror movie night
- halloween viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's self-aware reinvention of slasher conventions, effective suspense, and dark humor, while some found its meta references uneven or excessive.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Characters discuss horror rules and movie conventions while those conventions shape the killer's attacks.
The masked killer repeatedly contacts Sidney and others with riddles, trivia, and threats before attacks.
The killings disrupt Woodsboro's high school community, making friends, neighbors, and classmates potential suspects.
Horror-film references and dark humor coexist with stalking, suspense, and bloody killings.
Films like Scream, and why
The Cabin in the Woods
self-aware slasher horror, dark humor, teen ensemble, and genre-conscious suspense
I Know What You Did Last Summer
small-town serial killer mystery, suspenseful phone threats, and adolescent horror conventions
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
meta horror satire, masked killer, escalating slasher violence, and pop-culture commentary
Movie Details
- Director
- Wes Craven
- Release Date
- 1996-12-20
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (8267)
Cast
- Neve Campbell
- Skeet Ulrich
- Rose McGowan
- Matthew Lillard
- David Arquette
- Courteney Cox
- Jamie Kennedy
- Drew Barrymore
- W. Earl Brown
- Joseph Whipp
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Scream about?
- A sharp-witted masked-killer mystery turns the rules of the teen slasher against the horror fans who know them best.
- What is Scream like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Scream as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Scream violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Scream as graphic.
- What did critics think of Scream?
- Critics broadly praised the film's self-aware reinvention of slasher conventions, effective suspense, and dark humor, while some found its meta references uneven or excessive.
- Which films are like Scream?
- Films with a similar feel include The Cabin in the Woods, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.
- How long is Scream?
- Scream runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch Scream?
- In United States, Scream streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel.
