Scream, 1996
Welcome back to another brand-spanking new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are heading back to high school and chatting about a genre classic (though it seems like it was out only yesterday), reliving senior year as they dissect the Wes Craven horror film Scream, from 1996!
The boys talk about the era in which this movie was released, discussing the popular idea that Scream revitalized a dying horror genre. They chat about other films of the 1990s that are similar in tone or that are as ‘meta;’ even bringing up the little known underground movie There’s Nothing Out There from 1991, which has some interesting similarities. So sit back and make sure you have your caller ID on, as Dion and Blake swing back to 1996, in this all new, exciting and hilarious edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Extras!
Take a look at this extensive Biography Channel documentary on Scream, entitled Scream: The Inside Story.
Check out the bloopers and outtakes from Scream!
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The boys get right into it by setting up the backstory of the film, and how it was originally pitched as a Disney television movie, then languished in developmental hell for ten years until it was brought in front of Bette Midler. They debate the theory of how some seasonal-themed films become cult classics, holiday staples because of repeated viewings on television and cable. They analyze the elements within the film that showcase another example of Disney tip-toeing into somewhat dark, erotic material- cleverly disguised inside a light-hearted fairytale. Dion and Blake unpack the historical context of this story, briefly summarizing about how Wiccan and Pagan religious ideologies were deemed to be akin to being in league with the devil, and the horrible witch-hunts that swept through Salem, Massachusetts, at the end of the 15th Century. They also compare the tone of Hocus Pocus to other properties at the time, like Eerie, Indiana and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. So, what is the fan speculation behind this story: going to the How and the Why of the Sanderson Sisters becoming witches? Was Leonardo DiCarprio once considered to star in this movie? Playing their own What if Game, could this film have been envisioned as a Tim Burton/Danny Elfman vehicle at the time? And are the fans finally going to see a sequel to this film, and why would Disney actually not be interested in making a sequel/reboot to this beloved property? Well, you better make sure no virgins are trespassing and lighting any candles, hide your children, and actually listen to that black cat trying to talk to you… because the boys are back with the Halloween-specific episode of SNMS‘ October Halloween Horror Movie Extravaganza!
