Just the Ticket #3: Slash-Back

FROM October 8, 2011: It has been over ten years since I've seen the original Scream Trilogy, and before embarking upon my recent serial (ha-ha) re-watching of the series, I expected to once more complain about the degenerating quality of each successive sequel (as I remember doing at age 16, following Scream 3), after which I would tend toward the excuse that I have seen too many movies. However, I have matured a bit, and come to realize that watching copious amounts of slasher fare has made me appreciate the quirky (albeit blood-drenched) charm of the Scream series.
For those who are behind on their Scream trivia, it is a mystery-comedy-slasher film series created by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, the minds behind the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
The villain is a serial killer of unknown identity and extreme charisma, dubbed Ghostface or "The Voice" (Roger L. Jackson), who is always someone connected to the dark family history of the series' heroine, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell).
The only other characters to survive the trilogy are Dwight "Dewey" Riley (David Arquette, Dancing with the Stars) and his love-interest, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox, Cougar Town), who mirror the ups and downs of their real-life romance and give Scream a beacon of warmth and light through the usual excess of gore and darkness.
The series does experience a bad case of "sequel syndrome" as it progresses from film to film, but the black sense of humor exhibited by Wes Craven (not to mention his iconic status in the horror industry or his many Hollywood connections) mixes numerous geek-out moments and laughter among the Screams. For example, a janitor, seen briefly in the first film, is dressed like Freddy Kreuger, and Jay and Silent Bob make cameo appearances in 2000's Scream 3 (Wes Craven returns the favor in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back the following year), as does the infamous Nightmare on Elm Street house.
So I leave you, my readers, and my slash-back to decades past, by commending Craven and company for creating a standard (no, a classic) in the genre that, while formulaic, laughs at formula and dares to be infallible in its novelty.
B+