Freaky Friday: Scream (1996) + I know what you did last summer (1997)

In June: two mysterious masked killers, one summer slasher double bill! We’re combining the ultra-iconic SCREAM, which sparked the 90s slasher revival, with the underrated I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. Two films written by Kevin Williamson, who also wrote countless SCREAM sequels and THE FACULTY. Sun’s out, knives (and hooks) out!

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A year after her mother’s murder, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends are plagued by sinister phone calls. They soon realize the calls are coming from a deranged serial killer (aka Ghostface). The group of teenagers must find out who is behind the mask before they are killed off one by one. SCREAM is a brilliant deconstruction of the horror genre, in which the conventions of the slasher film are taken apart with great respect and affection, only to celebrate those very clichés. The characters are very aware of the usual plot of these types of films. It’s those conventions that they try to use as a way to survive the film. A brilliant film that both scrutinises the genre and proves to be a fantastic slasher in its own right!

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According to some, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is merely a pale imitation of the more successful SCREAM, but Kevin Williamson had actually written the screenplay for this film first, even before that of SCREAM. Initially, however, he couldn’t sell it to the studios. It was only after the huge success of SCREAM that the script was bought by Columbia Pictures. Admittedly, the plot bears a suspicious resemblance to that of a standard slasher film. A group of teenagers are involved in an accident and run a man over. Without really thinking it through, they decide to dump their victim in the sea. Not their best decision, because exactly one year later, the dead man seems to have returned to take revenge on the youngsters… What elevates this film above the usual slasher, is the iconic cast featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, the 90s nostalgia and some brilliant kills. The perfect film to escape the summer heat for a while!