“You’re starting to sound like a Wes Carpenter flick.” For horror movie fans, this was probably one of the funniest lines in the a996 film Scream directed by this month’s horror auteur Wes Craven. That and “It’s the millennium. Motives are incidental!” Very few horror movies are that self-effacing, much less that self-aware. This film is loaded with not just pop culture references, but it’s loaded with analysis and commentary on the whole horror film genre. That’s why I think now’s a good time to talk about Metafiction or in this case Metacinema.
Metafiction is basically fiction about fiction, or about the process of writing fiction or some institution associated with writing, like publishing, critics, inspiration, etc. Think of like fiction that knows it’s a story being told and comments on itself in the telling. It can be accomplished through subtle characterization, dialogue, or it can be blatant, as in Scream in the scene where the two guys are in the video store talking about horror movies:
Randy: The police are always off track with this shit! If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time! There's a formula to it. A very simple formula!
[yelling in video store]
Randy: EVERYBODY'S A SUSPECT!
Randy: The police are always off track with this shit! If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time! There's a formula to it. A very simple formula!
[yelling in video store]
Randy: EVERYBODY'S A SUSPECT!
Here’s just a few more lines that show the film’s self-awareness:
TATUM: “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface…I want to be in the sequel.”
BILLY: “Now, Sid, don’t you blame the movies. Movies don’t create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!”
When BILLY licks the blood from his finger: “Umm…corn syrup. The same stuff they used for blood in Carrie.”
Phone Voice: Do you like scary movies?
Sidney Prescott: What's the point? They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It's insulting.
TATUM: “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface…I want to be in the sequel.”
BILLY: “Now, Sid, don’t you blame the movies. Movies don’t create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!”
When BILLY licks the blood from his finger: “Umm…corn syrup. The same stuff they used for blood in Carrie.”
Phone Voice: Do you like scary movies?
Sidney Prescott: What's the point? They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It's insulting.
Billy: You hear that Stu? I think she wants a motive. Well I don't really belive in motives Sid, I mean did Norman Bates have a motive?
Stu: No.
Billy: Did we ever find out why Hannibal Lector liked to eat people? DON'T THINK SO. See it's a lot scarier when there's no motive.
Stu: No.
Billy: Did we ever find out why Hannibal Lector liked to eat people? DON'T THINK SO. See it's a lot scarier when there's no motive.
And of course the scene where they lay down the rules for surviving a horror film:
Randy: There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex.
[crowd boos]
Randy: BIG NO NO! BIG NO NO! Sex equals death, okay? Number two: you can never drink or do drugs.
[crowd cheers and raises their bottles]
Randy: The sin factor! It's a sin. It's an extension of number one. And number three: never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, "I'll be right back." Because you won't be back.
Stu: I'm gettin' another beer, you want one?
Randy: Yeah, sure.
Stu: I'll be right back.
[crowd cheers]
Randy: See, you push the laws and you end up dead. Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen with a knife.
Randy: There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex.
[crowd boos]
Randy: BIG NO NO! BIG NO NO! Sex equals death, okay? Number two: you can never drink or do drugs.
[crowd cheers and raises their bottles]
Randy: The sin factor! It's a sin. It's an extension of number one. And number three: never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, "I'll be right back." Because you won't be back.
Stu: I'm gettin' another beer, you want one?
Randy: Yeah, sure.
Stu: I'll be right back.
[crowd cheers]
Randy: See, you push the laws and you end up dead. Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen with a knife.
In another scene the killer says: “Never say ‘Who's there?’ Don't you watch scary movies? It's a death wish. You might as well come out to investigate a strange noise or something.”
Randy: [Gale, Sid and Randy are looking at Billy's body] Careful. This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life, for one last scare.
[Billy starts to rise]
Sidney Prescott: [shoots Billy] Not in my movie.
Randy: [Gale, Sid and Randy are looking at Billy's body] Careful. This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life, for one last scare.
[Billy starts to rise]
Sidney Prescott: [shoots Billy] Not in my movie.
Billy even quotes Norman Bates from Psycho when he says, “We all go a little mad sometimes.” Frankenstein is playing at the video store…it’s just never ending barrage of horror movie reference. The film even starts out with the killer asking, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” So for a film to be so aware of its roots, its history and its expectations and to include those as well as flaunt them openly is a work of genius. Scream will forever be a confection served up from Wes Craven to all fans of the genre and we ate it up!
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