Scream is a 1996 American
slasher film written by
Kevin Williamson and directed by
Wes Craven. The film stars
Neve Campbell,
Courteney Cox,
Drew Barrymore, and
David Arquette. Released on December 20, 1996,
Scream follows the character of
Sidney Prescott (Campbell), a high school student in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, who becomes the target of a mysterious killer known as
Ghostface. Other main characters include Sidney's best friend Tatum Riley (
Rose McGowan), Sidney's boyfriend
Billy Loomis (
Skeet Ulrich), Billy's best friend
Stu Macher (
Matthew Lillard), film geek Randy Meeks (
Jamie Kennedy), deputy sheriff Dewey Riley (Arquette), and news reporter Gale Weathers (Cox). The film combined comedy and "
whodunit" mystery with the violence of the slasher genre to satirize the
cliché of the horror genre popularized in films such as
Halloween and
Friday the 13th. The film was considered unique at the time of its release for featuring characters who were aware of real world horror films and openly discussed the cliché that
Scream attempted to subvert.