Scream:Unofficial Guide Trilogy - Softcover

Brosnan, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0752271628 ISBN 13: 9780752271620

Publisher: Boxtree Ltd, 2000

Synopsis

This companion contains all you need to know about the films, their creators and stars. It lists all the references and jokes you may have missed in the films, cameo appearances and other key issues which cause frantic debate on the many scream sites on the internet.

About this title

Review

What's your favourite scary movie? For many people it was a small budget genre outing that turned the principles of slasher movies upside down and gave horror fans their first real slice of big screen terror in years. The movie was Scream and this unofficial guide goes behind the scenes of all three movies (the final part of the trilogy is due out in late 2000) and attempts to offer some insight into what made them so popular that their post-modern ironic nod to horror kick-started a new wave of on-screen bloodletting. John Brosnan, to his credit, writes very well and the chapters are packed with quotes, anecdotes and facts on the making of the trilogy as well as liberal bios of its main players, such as writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven. There is a lot for fans to get their teeth into but most of it seems to have been culled from various press cuttings and past interviews. Where the book does fall down is in its centre colour spread that features a host of photos that don't even resemble the actors in their Scream roles (Laurie Metcalf, who played a pivotal role in the sequel, is represented by a publicity shot from her days on the TV show Roseanne). The book is also one-sided when it comes down to dissecting the arguments over Scream's influence on several real life "copycat" cases, simply hammering home the message summed up in the first Scream: "movies don't create psychos, they just make them more creative." The book also contains plenty of spoilers for those who haven't seen the movies but genuine Scream fans will know most of the information in this book already. Scream is interesting but over-priced for an unofficial publication and only completists will want to add this to their collection. --Jonathan Weir

Edition details

• Publisher: Boxtree Ltd
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0752271628
• ISBN 13: 9780752271620
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144