Synopsis

In the small town of Woodsboro, a masked killer begins stalking teenagers while taunting them with questions about horror movies. Sidney Prescott, still coping with her mother's murder, becomes the central target as suspicion spreads through her friends, classmates, and the local community. Blending slasher violence, dark humor, and self-aware genre commentary, the film turns familiar horror rules into part of the mystery.

Factoids & Trivia

• Kevin Williamson originally wrote the screenplay under the title "Scary Movie." The name was later changed to "Scream," while "Scary Movie" was subsequently used for the comedy franchise that parodied films like this one.

• The climactic house-party sequence was filmed over 21 consecutive nights and lasts roughly 42 minutes in the finished film. The cast and crew referred to it as "the longest night in horror history."

• The high school scenes were originally planned for Santa Rosa High School. After the local school board rejected permission because of the script's violence, production moved to Healdsburg, California.

• The cast members speaking to the killer on the telephone were actually responding to Roger Jackson's voice during filming. The production kept Jackson separate from the cast to preserve their reactions to the threatening voice.

• The film was released in the United States on December 20, 1996, during the Christmas season, a period not normally associated with slasher movies. Strong word of mouth helped turn its modest opening into a major commercial success.

• Its combination of horror, comedy, whodunit structure, and self-aware references helped revive mainstream interest in the slasher genre and established Ghostface as one of modern horror's most recognizable figures.