Scream

A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.

Craven's self-aware slasher earns its reputation as a genre revitalizer, but critics were genuinely split on whether its meta-commentary strengthens or undermines the horror — some found the balancing act brilliant, others found it exhausting. The opening sequence drew near-universal praise, Neve Campbell's lead performance was widely admired for sidestepping the helpless-victim cliché, and the film's satirical instincts were broadly appreciated; the arguments were over whether the jokes eventually crowd out the scares, and whether the finale earns its twists or collapses under the weight of its own cleverness.