Henry Winkler – Tripping Through Gateways

The slasher ruled the late seventies and well into the eighties. But in the early nineties, the slasher was looking to be dead. And then came the future creator of Dawson’s Creek.

An ambitious writer, Kevin Williamson arrive in L.A. in 1990…/and then saw no success for a few years…his first script sold, only to not get made until after Williamson’s script for Scream fell into the hands of Mirimax and Wes Craven.

Scream is the story of a small town beset by gory murders of local teens. Our central antagonist is Sydney Prescott. A year before the murders, her mother was brutally killed by her lover. Sydney has tried to come to terms with the tragic loss through her friendships. Her boyfriend Billy straddles the line of supportive and selfish as he really wants to have sex with Syd, while she is rather hesitant. But after the first murder, it seems the killer is not content with the act of murder alone. No, the killer is playing a cruel game.

Testing his victims with horror movie trivia, teasing them with the notion of survival if they can just answer the questions right. In a way, the killer (nicknamed Ghostface) is your typical gatekeeping Internet troll.

The killer seems focused on Sydney, and after a failed attack on Sydney, the cops focus on protecting her along with the crime. There is a lot of stuff going on in Scream and a big cast. So trying to recount the plot seems pointless.

Just know that Scream really delivers the goods. Williamson has crafted a solid script full both great scares and the humor that his scripts became known for. The kids have defined personalities that separate them from each other. And you tend to like them.

The cast is really quite good. Campbell proved she could carry a movie, Courteny Cox showed range beyond Monica on Friends and David Arquette was a lovable deputy that was supposed to die by fan love saved him.

Skeet Ulrich was one of those guys who looked like someone else (he and Johnny Depp could play brothers in a film) but also had a certain draw. The stand outs are Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy. Sadly, this series is the only place where Kennedy shined. Lillard just turns the insanity up throughout this film and is a real goofy joy to watch chew the scenery.

This is a nice comeback for Craven on the heels of Vampire in Brooklyn. His direction keeps a consistent tone throughout. The satire never comes into conflict with the horror. And when Craven builds the tension, it is effective without being oppressive.

Scream is a fun and exciting thriller. And almost 25 years later? It is just as effective. I mean, I know the twists, yet, I still had a great time watching this year. Craven and Williamson proved a solid team with this film and it is one of my favorite slasher films.

In 1979 this TV movie was released starring Henry Winkler as Benedict Slade. Set a few years into the Great Depression, Benedict Slade is running the savings and loan. He runs a hardship and the town has fallen on hard times. The early stories focusing on Benedict and his employees collecting from people who own debts to the savings and loan.

On Christmas eve, after taking many people’s things, his employee Thatcher tries to convince Slade to invest in reopening the local quarry. Slade repays Thatcher by firing him. Alone in his warehouse, slate starts to read first addition of Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol. He scoffs at the book and tosses it aside.

He startled when the sudden storm brings his long dead partner Latham. This is honestly one of the most uninspired introductions of the Marley role that I’ve seen in any of the versions of a Christmas Carol. The character lacks any urgency and would not inspire the terror he should. He politely explains how to Slade. There are no chains and nothing seems to bind him at all, and he doesn’t even seem troubled by his situation.

And that seems to be the problem with much of this production. The ghosts are all kind of bland and personality free. The ghosts are not unique individuals, but rather take the form of people from home he has repossessed items.

On the other hand, I can say that Slade is a very well realized version of the Scrooge character. He truly embodies a character who believes that the miserly way is the best way. Early in the film, he gives orphans a gift… sheets of paper that tell them all about famous people who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and me money without help from anyone. The irony of coarse, is that he has done no such thing. He was given his opportunities by others. He too was an orphan in need.

While well-meaning as an updated version of the Dickens tale, over all this film falls flat and is fairly forgettable.

Tag: Henry Winkler

I Wanna Hear You (Scream, 1996)

What a Scrooge Part 2 (an American Christmas Carol, 1979)