Scream (1996)

A small California town is stunned by the murder and mutilation of a popular high school student (Drew Barrymore doing a Janet Leigh) and her boyfriend (Kevin Patrick Walls). But it seems the killer known as Ghost Face is only just beginning. Wes Craven's sly satire on horror films was a massive hit and spawned three sequels. His film only partially works as a horror film as he doesn't take it seriously, so why should we? It works best if you're familiar with the films he's satirizing (a character refers to a "Wes Carpenter movie"). Some of the acting is pretty bad. Notably Skeet Ulrich and especially Matthew Lillard, who thankfully didn't return to the superior sequel SCREAM 2, the best film in the franchise (probably because Craven took it more seriously).  Neve Campbell as the film's heroine grounds the film in a semblance of reality while everyone else goes along with the joke. With Courteney Cox as a bitchy TV reporter (her character is softened for the sequels), David Arquette, Liev Schreiber, Henry Winkler, Rose McGowan and Jamie Kennedy.