Scream 1996 Essay

How does Scream (1996) subvert and conform to the conventions of horror films?

The 1996 horror movie conforms to the conventions of horror films in a variety of different ways. This could be demonstrated though the films narrative, characters, Iconography and the key themes found throughout. Through my research I have also found this film to subvert certain aspects of horror movies due to the postmodernism present within it which I will be analysing further in this essay.

It could be argued that the narrative of the horror movie follows closely to typical codes and conventions as it lines up with Todorov’s narrative theory.  Scream starts with an equilibrium followed by a disturbance and then a new equilibrium is reinstated. All of this occurs when Casey is murdered in her home. The peace in the community is disrupted and in turn, leads to a series of events where numerous characters become victims and peace is only reinstated when a confrontation takes place between Sydney and the unmasked killers, as the local authorities appear to be powerless against the situation.

The same could be said for the characters found in Scream as the majority of the conventional characters found in horror movies can be identified. The main iconographic character present is the ‘final girl’ Sydney. According to Carol J Clover’s final girl theory, the final girl is usually one of the only characters that survives the entirety of the film and lives to tell the tale of the horrific events as the other characters (especially male) tend to die  early on in the movie, making her the ‘slasher film hero’.  The final girl is usually very smart, intelligent and watchful of her surroundings, enabling her to spot the first signs of abnormality and warn the others of her findings. They also seem to have an essence of masculinity which is usually represented through her name for example, Ripley in the Ridley Scott 1979 classic Alien. The main character Sydney fulfils this role as people continue to die around her and she is the only one left standing, leaving her to reinstate a new equilibrium by facing her fears. Typically, the film is shot through the final girls’ perspective, forcing the audience to experience the fears and terrors that she goes through and in most cases viewers tend to take her side.

Typical iconography and Mis-en-scene found in horror movies appear to be present in this film as classic icons of horror such as masks, knifes, blood and screams are featured from the very open sequence of the film and continue to appear throughout. The killer in Scream is typically masked in an attempt to disorientate the viewers and keep the villains identity hidden until the very end. The killer also uses a sharp knife to attack his victims in an attempt to murder brutally increasing the fear of both the victims and the audience. The isolated setting in the very start of the movie also conforms to the codes and conventions of horror as well as the Mis-en-scene in doors which include the dim lighting and lamp lit rooms allowing shadows and darkened areas inside the house to form.

Despite the examples listed above, it is impossible to say that the 1996 horror Scream completely abides and conforms to the codes and conventions of a typical horror. This is because of the amount of postmodernism that can be identified throughout the film. Postmodernism is when a film attempts to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative, structure and destroys the expectations of the audience. This is done because the typical ‘horror’ audience are usually very familiar with the genre and have certain expectations and beliefs as to what things may mean and symbolise. For example, viewers who watch horror regularly tend to believe that any character that is not considered ‘virginal’ or  ‘pure’ is automatically sentenced to death and will be killed very early on in a the movie. They may also believe that colours such as white represent purity and black represent death and destruction. These expectations are all due to past horror films which have stuck closely to codes and conventions enabling viewers to guess accurately as to what will happen next. Scream acknowledges very early on in the film that viewers would have seen horror films in the past and therefore know that they have this type of mind set. Because of this, the movie attempts to play on the audience’s predictions and expectations putting a whole new twist on the horror genre.

Some examples of postmodernism found is Scream include when Casey and the mysterious character on the phone begin to discuss their favourite horror films and the different plots that go with each one. Names of films are even directly mentioned in the movie, a few being Nightmare On Elmstreet, Halloween and Friday the 13^th.

A second example of postmodernism found in Scream is when the Head teacher hears noises outside his office and begins to complain. When he opens the door to see who’s there (an elderly janitor) he replies ‘sorry janitor Fred’. This was done deliberately as the janitor was purposely designed to look like Freddy Krueger – the serial killer from Nightmare On Elmstreet.

Lastly, the Scream movie even goes as far as to have one of the characters recite to his friends the ‘rules’ or surviving a horror film! These rules include: ‘Never have sex, never drink or do drugs and never say ‘I’ll be right back’.

All of this is done to check the audience’s knowledge on horror movies and keep viewers entertained even though they usually already know what will happen next. Postmodernism also shows that the director is aware of the expectations and assumptions that people already have and use it to their advantage.

The examples of postmodernism listed above support both Steve Neal and Todorov’s quotes which state that ‘Genres are instances of repetition and difference’ and ‘A new genre is always the transformation of one or several old genres’. This is because it is clear to see that films such as Scream and many others sub-genres (for example Scary Movie) have literally borrowed and incorporated previous ideas and emerged them (and even some of their characters) into future films such as these.