30 Years Later, Scream Has a Problem Its Sequels Can't Fix

Horror movies often channel the fears and anxieties society holds at the time of their release. The '90s were no exception, and many of the films from that decade say a lot about how filmmakers were interpreting and predicting the world's then-current direction. In 1996, writer Kevin Williamson tapped into the vapid culture of tabloid television prevalent in that era, and the potential impact of the media landscape on teens. The result was Scream, which redefined the slasher genre for the '90s. The movie's killers were Billy Loomis and Stu Macher, a pair of Woodsboro High School students who were just as scary when they took off the Ghostface costume.