Scream - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Scream



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
As a horror fanatic you have to be sort of self aware with many of the tropes and regurgitations that permeate the genre. It’s sort of an inside joke in the horror world that you’re enjoying mostly garbage. ESPECIALLY in the slasher industry. Back in the 1980s the slashers peaked at an all time high, but by the 90s they had sort of petered off, or were bottom barrel sequels of much more highly regarded predecessors from the late 70s or 80s. Scream was famed horror director’s “love letter” to the industry, much the same way Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods was, showing huge criticisms for much of the cookie cutter tropes that got it there today, while still showing a HUGE amount of respect from where it came from. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Scream a parody, or a comedy, but it has a biting wit and an incredibly cheeky sense of self awareness that the sequels drove into the ground (ironic, being that this movie was making FUN of sequels, only for it to fall into the same trap itself after becoming too big of a hit).

The movie itself is 25 years old this year (wow, I’m getting old, I remember going to see this in theaters as a 14 year old kid) , but still I hesitate to spoil it TOO much as the twist is part of the fun of the movie. The story revolves around one Sidney (Neve Campbell) who has suffered the loss of her mother a year ago. It seems a new killer is back in their sleepy little town, putting on a ghost face Halloween costume and gutting teenagers around the city. When Sidney’s friend Casey (Drew Barrymore, who is killed off in the opening scene of the movie) is the first victim it strikes up a full on investigation by the police force, who don’t want another media circus like what happened with Sidney’s mother. At first they suspect Sidney’s boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ulrich), but as he has an alibi the investigation has to continue, all the while the Ghost Face killer is knifing more and more of Sidney’s friends.

I could spend an entire 10 page essay writing about how much Scream is a work of self aware horror art, but I’ll boil it down. The film seems to be a full blown horror movie at first, but bit by bit Wes Craven weaves in all the typical slasher tropes, while the entire time gently mocking them. Each of Sidney’s friends (played by Skeet Ulrich, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy) each embody some of the most obvious tropes in the genre. The smart alec virgin (Kennedy), the “slut” (McGowan), the insensitive jock (Lillard) etc etc etc. However, if you listen to their dialog you can literally see Craven mocking all of their stereotypes. As the film progresses it gets more and more humorous, with Craven LITERALLY pointing and laughing at the typical horror machinations until the final scene is almost a parody in and of itself with Sidney and the rest of the surviving cast almost breaking the 4th wall to let you know that they’re in a movie. It’s funny, witty, nastily gorey, and an all around great horror film that rides the line between self aware comedy and outright slasher horror film.

While the second film is NEARLY as good as the first, and the 4th film wasn’t bad (lets not talk of the abysmal third film), Scream will always be the pinnacle of the series, with Craven gleefully mocking AND writing a love letter to the genre that has entertained us all for so long. The movie itself is a who’s who of the 1990s, actually giving us Courtney Cox-Arquette as a result of David and Courtney hooking up after the film. Drew, Rose, David, Skeet, Courtney, you name it, every main level actor of the 1990s was here and loving it. I almost wondered WHY we were getting this on 4K until I stumbled across a trailer for the 2022 reboot/sequel of the same name that has most of the original cast returning. Then it made total sense why we were getting this 4K UHD remaster. Personally I really would have loved to have seen a 4K boxset of all 4 original movies, but it’s always a bit confusing with Paramount for what they re-release in Blu-ray form, and what they dole out in 4K. But with the new reboot/sequel/whateveritis coming out next year, I figure it’s just a taste test to get us re-excited at a series resurgence.




Rated R for strong graphic horror violence and gore, and for language




4K Video: Video:

According to the new press release this was a new 4K remaster done by Paramount, giving it a native 4K master for the UHD. The original Blu-ray was pretty decent, but had some issues with shimmering and softness along with digital noise back in nthe day. This 4K disc is going to be an upgrade, but not a MASSIVE one, just to temper expectations. The shimmering can still be seen, and out of focus optical shots (just how the film was shot) are still very noticeable. That being said, there are distinct textural and color upgrades that make this well worth it. The “corn syrup” blood ala Carrie is rich and vibratn, while the pastels and almost sandy brown color grading accentuate each other with the contrast. Green grass is sharp and well defined, and outside of some mild noise spikes in the dark, shows great shadow detail. As I said, the film isn’t a movie that is going to shock and awe you due to how it was filmed, but the 4K UHD upgrade is solid enough that it definitely a pleasing watch.







Audio:

Paramount has once more recycled the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track from the Blu-ray instead of an Atmos remix, prompting me to once more wonder what triggers Paramount to give a catalog title the upgrade treatment, and what keeps it with the Blu-ray lossless track. Either way, the track was a STUNNER back in the day and still is a fantastic audio mix in 2021. The track is bolt and powerful, slamming you in the chest with deep bass lines early on in the opening scene, and doesn’t let go throughout the film. The screams shriek with authority, the score keeps things pulsating and energetic, while the mix seamlessly blends with very talk heavy dialog centric portions without a problem. My only “issue” is that there is a low level background noise in the opening scene that has always irritated me. It’s possible that’s how it was recorded, but it’s always been a minor irk for this reviewer ever since the DVD days.





Extras:

• NEW "A Bloody Legacy: Scream 25 Years Later' - a look back at the film and director Wes Craven, featuring archival behind-the-scenes footage and new interviews with stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, as well as screenwriter Kevin Williamson and the directors and other cast members from the new installment in the franchise scheduled to premiere in theaters in 2022 from Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group.
• Legacy bonus content detailed below:
-- Audio commentary by director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson
-- Production featurette
• Behind the Scenes
-- On the Scream Set
-- Drew Barrymore
• Q&A with Cast and Crew
-- What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?
-- Why are People so Fascinated by Horror Films?

Final Score:
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Scream was, and still is, a great horror film that dances along the line of humor and actual horror. Wes Craven really did a fantastic job with this film, forever putting it into pop culture horror history. I mean, the movie spawned countless ACTUAL parodies with the Scary Movie films (that also ran themselves into the ground as most parody films do over time) and the Ghost Face killer has become as iconic as Michael Meryes or Freddy over the years. The new 4K UHD disc is a solid upgrade over the Blu-ray, but like many paramount movies lately, is missing the Blu-ray to make it a combo pack. HOWEVER, I’m not sure if this is the case with everyone or if Paramount just did this by accident, but the 4K case is actually a 2 disc case in mine, meaning you can just toss your existing Blu-ray into the set to make it a combo pack if you’re so inclined. The new extras are minimal, making it only a mild upgrade over the Blu-ray in that scenario, and the audio is still unchanged. Meaning that the moderately upgraded video will be the real pull here. Great watch though.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Neve Campbell, Drew Barrymore, Skeet Ulrich, Liev Schrieber, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Courtney Cox, David Arquette
Directed by: Wes Craven
Written by: Kevin Williamson
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, German DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 111 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 19th, 2021

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

What a killer film (see what I did there?). I have a copy of this in 4K... was planning to watch it on Halloween, but we ended up watching Ready or Not (which my wife hadn't seen). Scream is going to happen tonight or tomorrow. Such a well scripted horror flick!

Bummer that the sound department didn't get a boost. But, sounds like the picture got a decent uptick!

 

[Michael Scott]

What a killer film (see what I did there?). I have a copy of this in 4K... was planning to watch it on Halloween, but we ended up watching Ready or Not (which my wife hadn't seen). Scream is going to happen tonight or tomorrow. Such a well scripted horror flick!

Bummer that the sound department didn't get a boost. But, sounds like the picture got a decent uptick!

ready or not a is a really fun reverse slasher too though, so you at least watched something fun

 

[Todd Anderson]

ready or not a is a really fun reverse slasher too though, so you at least watched something fun

I'd watched it at launch, but my wife hadn't. She actually enjoyed it.

Full disclosure, we picked it because based on length. :-). Great choice, tho!

 

[Michael Scott]

I really wish that Paramount had made this a combo pack as they used the same new 4K master for a new remastered Blu-ray as well, and I would have killed (ha ha) to have seen what the remastered disc compares to the old Blu-ray (the 4/5 score in my review was based upon the aging Blu-ray from a decade ago)