Legacy versus Imitation on Popular Movies
Horror fiction is a genre which is intended to disturb and frighten the viewers, but with the rising amount of adolescents trying to scare themselves by watching these films, many aspects have become altered to fit a much broader audience. Likewise in the popular film scream in which the disturbing gore and murder become alleviated by the drama of exaggeration and use of comedy it has become popular with people of all ages and is even considered to be one of the «classics». This movie was great because, while being one of the most known “Slasher films”, it is also a perfect parody of other seemingly great horror films, since it fully jeopardizes the “traditional” scripts in which actors have to act out ridiculously over exaggerated scenes.
The original film made in 1996 gives the viewer an experience like no other. Everything from the script to the actors in the aspects of reality seen in the show really bring chills to someone’s spine. Really, the gore isn’t a huge liability, since it is humorously delivered in a way which mocks other films. This movie is much more than common horror. The exaggeration in certain facial expressions paired with the obliviousness of the characters to the events happening, poking fun at “serious” thrillers, brings about the perfect satirical drama which is exactly what this film is all about.
Since this film was such a hit it was only a matter of time before a remake was released. Most people watching the original movie, didn’t quite catch that the film wasn’t only a scary one, but a satirical interpretation and different take on other films under the same genre. Although being genuinely enjoyable, witty and fun it is easy to tell that the originality of this masterpiece was lost. Sarcastic moments of exaggeration became dull, seemingly “serious” moments of a horror film like any other, which really erased the idea of «Scream» in the first place. This downgraded the film from an entrepreneurial masterpiece to a common thriller.
On the whole I encourage horror film devotees to watch both movies and see for themselves what the dilemma regarding legacy versus imitation is all about. even though both films are really good adaptations, I believe it is fairly easy to distinguish which one is upstanding and which one is merely an okay film which fell into the trap of modern film-making instead of sticking to the original style of the first movie.
Horror fiction is a genre which is intended to disturb and frighten the viewers, but with the rising amount of adolescents trying to scare themselves by watching these films, many aspects have become altered to fit a much broader audience. Likewise in the popular film scream in which the disturbing gore and murder become alleviated by the drama of exaggeration and use of comedy it has become popular with people of all ages and is even considered to be one of the «classics». This movie was great because, while being one of the most known “Slasher films”, it is also a perfect parody of other seemingly great horror films, since it fully jeopardizes the “traditional” scripts in which actors have to act out ridiculously over exaggerated scenes.
The original film made in 1996 gives the viewer an experience like no other. Everything from the script to the actors in the aspects of reality seen in the show really bring chills to someone’s spine. Really, the gore isn’t a huge liability, since it is humorously delivered in a way which mocks other films. This movie is much more than common horror. The exaggeration in certain facial expressions paired with the obliviousness of the characters to the events happening, poking fun at “serious” thrillers, brings about the perfect satirical drama which is exactly what this film is all about.
Since this film was such a hit it was only a matter of time before a remake was released. Most people watching the original movie, didn’t quite catch that the film wasn’t only a scary one, but a satirical interpretation and different take on other films under the same genre. Although being genuinely enjoyable, witty and fun it is easy to tell that the originality of this masterpiece was lost. Sarcastic moments of exaggeration became dull, seemingly “serious” moments of a horror film like any other, which really erased the idea of «Scream» in the first place. This downgraded the film from an entrepreneurial masterpiece to a common thriller.
On the whole I encourage horror film devotees to watch both movies and see for themselves what the dilemma regarding legacy versus imitation is all about. even though both films are really good adaptations, I believe it is fairly easy to distinguish which one is upstanding and which one is merely an okay film which fell into the trap of modern film-making instead of sticking to the original style of the first movie.
Argyro Marinou, B3
