6 Storytelling Ingredients That Make Wes Craven's "Scream" So Iconic

Years later, Scream (1996) is still considered an important film for how it revitalized the horror genre.

Here are 6 things that made Scream a horror masterpiece.

It took something old and made it new.

Screenwriter Kevin Williamson took all the tired horror clichés of previous horror movies and subverted them in a way audiences had never seen. In Scream, its uniqueness is that the characters are actually aware of other horror movies and the tropes in them.

It didn't take itself too seriously.

Even though it's a slasher movie, Scream knows how to use humor. The movie uses comedy to interrogate the genre throughout its entirety. The way it used satire truly set the standard for what a horror with comedy could be.

It played with expectations.

Within the first 15 minutes, Drew Berrymore's character is brutally killed off. Audiences expected the actress to be the star of the film and when she wasn't, it threw them off and let them know anything could happen from that point on.

It gave us someone to root for.

Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott is a heroine who displays strength and vulnerability. There's a humanness to her that makes the viewer want to see her survive.

It had internal and external conflict.

Not only is there an unknown killer on the loose, Sidney is coping with the anniversary of her mother's tragic murder, while navigating the pressures of a romantic relationship, while in high school.

It said something about society.

Scream is also a commentary on things like sexuality, virginity, and violence. It examines how violence and trauma are often exploited and the relationship between violence in movies and real life.