Scream (5 Stars)

30 films to watch before you die, #18

It's difficult to believe that a film that I've watched so often can still hit me hard. This is the 18th film I've watched in my 30 films month. I've watched all the films before, some more often than others. If you watch a film repeatedly you know roughly what to expect. The first 17 films held no surprises for me. "Scream" was different. It's only two months since I last watched it, but today I sat open-mouthed, like it was the first time I'd seen it. The outdoor scenes in front of the school are so well filmed, both the cinematography and the backing music. The acting talent of the young cast members is staggering. The suspense was so intense, even though I knew after repeated viewing what would happen next. This is an amazing film. Now I need to watch the other two films in the Scream trilogy, but I'll have to be patient and wait until next month. I have another 12 films on my list to watch this month.

Other notable teen slasher films are

• Scream 2 (1997)
• Scream 3 (2000)
• I know what you did last summer (1997)
• I still know what you did last summer (1998)