Scream (MA 15+) PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM

Scream (MA 15+, 1996) 30th Anniversary Presented in 35mm Film by The Revival House Perth

In the quiet suburb of Woodsboro, teenager Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) becomes the target of a masked killer known as Ghostface, who begins terrorising the town's high school students with a series of brutal, methodical murders. As the body count rises and Sidney's own tragic past resurfaces—her mother's murder the previous year looms over the escalating terror—she must navigate a killer who seems disturbingly aware of horror movie conventions, using genre tropes as a twisted rulebook for his campaign of violence. Surrounded by friends who may not survive the night and a killer whose identity remains tantalisingly hidden, Sidney and the residents of Woodsboro must confront a nightmare that knowingly plays by, and against, the very rules of the slasher films they grew up watching.

Director Wes Craven reinvigorates the slasher genre with a meta-textual masterstroke, crafting a film that simultaneously honours and dismantles horror convention through characters explicitly aware of the genre's own rules. Neve Campbell anchors the film with genuine vulnerability and resilience as Sidney, while the film's self-aware, endlessly quotable screenplay by Kevin Williamson injects sharp, knowing humour without undermining the film's genuine scares and tension. Craven's confident direction balances the film's postmodern wit with legitimately effective horror craftsmanship, staging set pieces—particularly the now-iconic opening sequence—with masterful command of suspense. Scream's blend of self-referential cleverness and genuine terror revitalised the slasher genre for a new generation, launching a franchise and reshaping horror filmmaking for decades to follow.

Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.

When: Saturday, October 31st at 7:00PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: MA 15+ (Medium level violence, Horror theme)

Craven's genre-reinventing slasher classic caps off our Halloween lineup—experience the film that reinvented horror on 35mm film.