Back in 1996, Scream sent the horror movie into its postmodern era. Slashers were still alive and well, but the new rage was self-aware horror, which tried to deconstruct or subvert the tropes that made the genre famous. Scream famously accomplished this with an opening where Ghostface quizzes his victim on scary movies, while also featuring a cast of characters who knew their way around the genre’s archetypes.
That was novel, but by the 2010s, the self-referential horror movie was old hat. Still, in 2011, Scream 4 managed to find a fresh take on the story. Featuring a refreshing performance by Hayden Panettiere, who recently passed away at 36, it was a groundbreaking movie that deserves a rewatch.
