Scream (1996)

Every teenager in Woodsboro has memorized the rules of horror movies, and they break every single one of them anyway. That’s the joke, and Wes Craven tells it with a straight face and a mean streak. The opening phone call is still one of the scariest scenes of the 90s. Neve Campbell’s Sidney feels like a real person, not a scream with legs. Courteney Cox plays the pushy reporter Gale like she’s allergic to being liked, and David Arquette’s Dewey is the sweetest useless deputy in the history of law enforcement. The weak spots: the dialogue is so 1996 it practically wears flannel, the cops are no help on purpose, and the big reveal comes with a long explaining speech. It made $173 million worldwide on a reported budget of $14 million to $15 million and turned a tired genre into a franchise. An 8.2 because it’s funny, nasty and still scary. $399 says the next time someone asks your favorite scary movie, you take way too long to answer.

What works: The opening scene, Neve Campbell’s grounded Sidney, and a script that roasts horror movies while still being a scary one.

What doesn’t: The 90s dialogue has aged into parody, the police are written as no help at all, and the final reveal leans on a long speech to explain itself.

Who it’s for: Horror fans who yell advice at the screen, and anyone who thinks they’d survive a slasher because they’ve seen all of them.