The Complete Scream Collection - Blu-ray Review

Oct 30, 2011
Ryan Young

The Blu-ray set w/mask of Scream 1-4 - Packaging by Alliance Films

The entire Scream series is collected in a special high-definition box set for Halloween purposes, and delivers highs and lows for fans of the franchise.

Scream - A Horror Movie That Is Also A Satire

During the mid-1990's, the horror genre had relatively gone stale. But in 1996, Wes Craven (director of the original A Nightmare On Elm Street) delivered Scream, a horror film like all the rest on one hand, and a self-aware humorous satire on the other. Written by Kevin Williamson (TV's Dawson's Creek, The Vampire Diaries), the film revitalized the horror genre by acknowledging the typical formulas that an audience knows well, but at the same time poking fun at them. The film was a rousing success from critics and audiences, generating over $100 million in box-office gross and spawning three sequels (to date) all directed by Craven. On October 4th, 2011, Dimension Films and Alliance Distributing released the four films in a high-definition complete set package (simultaneously with Scream 4's individual release) just in time for Halloween. But how worthwhile is the offering?

Scream - What's Your Favourite Scary Movie?

Utilizing the knowledge and existence of horror films like Halloween, Friday The 13th, etc., Scream features a masked serial killer named Ghostface who terrorizes a high-school girl named Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends in the town of Woodsboro. As the bodies pile up, Sidney begins to realize that the rash of murders have connections to her own mother's murder the year before, and that the killer (or killers) could be potentially someone she knows. What made Scream a riot fifteen years ago and even today is that it's written as inventive fun for an audience. As a viewer, not only can we laugh at the jokes, identify the movie references and drop our jaws at the bloodbath that occurs, but it also challenges us to figure out the identity of Ghostface himself. Rating - 5/5

Scream 2 - Building A Sequel That Does Not Suck

Released in 1997, Scream 2 kept the fun rolling by toying with the idea that sequels in horror films are generally disastrous and inferior. So when "Stab" (a fictitious adaptation of the Woodsboro murders) is released as a film, the craze follows Sidney at college after someone begins to murder students with similar names to the original victims. Pretty soon, the copycat goes for Sidney and those closest to her again, hinting at a motive that goes well beyond film idolization. In the spirit of the original, Scream 2 is a pretty solid sequel. Rating - 4/5

Scream 3 - A Trilogy That Weakens

Scream 3's ultimate premise is that of a set trilogy, in which every event before was mapped out to reach this particular conclusion. Discovering a hidden past about her mother's youth, Sidney lands in Hollywood and on the set of "Stab 3" during a time when the cast members are being killed off for real behind-the-scenes by Ghostface. The killings are a ploy to lure Sidney out of hiding, and deliver a major revelation to her that she was unaware of in the previous films. Scream 3's story idea was created by Kevin Williamson, but sceenwriter Ehren Kruger took over the writing duties of the project. As a result, 2000's Scream 3 doesn't quite possess the same zest as the first two and begins to weaken in its ability to surprise its audience. Rating - 3/5

Scream 4 (aka Scre4m) - A New Sequel About Reboots & Remakes

2011's Scream 4 finds Sidney Prescott returning home to Woodsboro during a book tour that happens to coincide with the anniversary of the first film's murders. Acting upon the idea of remaking or rebooting the stalled franchise after now seven installments of "Stab", Ghostface targets a new crop of kids including Sidney's cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and ups his style in today's modern technology age by filming the murders as he commits them. Thankfully Williamson returns as scriptwriter this time around, and ideally this should have been the film the series ended on as a trilogy. Although better than Scream 3, ultimately Scream 4 ends up being an inferior sequel through a lack of energy in the movie (even with its neat opening and twisty conclusion). Perhaps its time to put Ghostface to bed for good. Rating - 3.5/5

The Complete Blu-ray Set Package

If this is Scream's final kick at the can, then at least it rolls together a pretty impressive package for fans to take home. The set comes with your very own Ghostface mask, and the four films plus an exclusive bonus disc are housed in a trim, black Blu-ray case. Although it's not advertised on the packaging, the first three films contain their original bonus features (making-of segments, deleted scenes, etc.) that was available in the 2003 DVD Scream box set.

The exclusive bonus disc contains two very thorough documentaries mostly surrounding the original film. "Scream: The Inside Story" delves into the full story behind the creation of the first film and every element fans would want to know, such as Drew Barrymore's infamous change in roles, Williamson's inspiration for the story, the battles with school/ratings boards the film had to endure, and the resulting effect on the horror genre and pop culture that the film had. "Still Screaming" repeats a lot of the same information, but this one uncovers additional info about the sequels and what went in to making them.

For the technical experts looking for video and audio appeal, I will say that the first three films have been brightened up considerably and are far better than what they were before on standard DVD. But it's not a stellar transfer, as there are still grain and black level issues to deal with throughout. Scream 4 however has a dynamite, pristine image with a more enhanced DTS-HD Master Audio track than the others (although they still play strongly enough as well). That disc contains a worthwhile commentary with Wes Craven and some of the actors, a brief making-of segment, Deleted/Extended Scenes (with optional commentary from Craven), and a funny Gag Reel.

Still A Scream

Although the latter films suffered from the tired and lazy sequel pandemic that Scream 2 originally made fun of, the first film still remains as a game-changing 1990's satirical classic and still ranks as one of the best of all-time. The entire set may not be a flawless offering for collectors and fans, but it is still good enough to give you your money's worth and set you up for a Ghostface Halloween horror movie marathon.