Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
65
(25 sources)
65
(25 sources)
-
100
TNT RoughCut
Wes Craven continues to explore (and blur) the lines between reelity and reality with his latest, and perhaps best, cinematic slice of horror. Read Full Review » -
91
Entertainment Weekly
A deft, funny, shrewdly unsettling tribute to such slasher-exploitation thrillers as "Terror Train," "New Year's Evil," and Craven's own "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Read Full Review » -
90
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Finely crafted, tense, scary thriller from start to finish. Read Full Review » -
90
LA Weekly
A meta-horror film that hilariously parodies the genre's clichés with smarts to spare. It's also the scariest fucking movie Craven has made since the first "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Read Full Review » -
90
Los Angeles Times
It's sensational in both senses of the word: a bravura, provocative sendup of horror pictures that's also scary and gruesome yet too swift-moving to lapse into morbidity. Read Full Review » -
90
Dallas Observer
Craven's other accomplishment here, besides resuscitating the genre, is the way he keeps things scary even when they're at their funniest. The grand finale, while thoroughly bloody and tense, has some genuinely hilarious shtick. Read Full Review » -
80
Washington Post
Deftly mixes irony, self-reference and wry social commentary with chills and blood spills. Read Full Review » -
80
Film.com
Craven creates his savviest and most frightening movie since the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" by spoofing the horror cliches and simultaneously reinventing them to scare you all over again. Read Full Review » -
78
Austin Chronicle
Craven is obviously having a ball here, and it's impossible not to sit back and go grinning into this dark, gory ride. Read Full Review » -
75
ReelViews
Scream is a rarity: a horror movie spoof that succeeds almost as well at provoking scares as laughs. Read Full Review » -
75
Chicago Sun-Times
What did I think about this movie? As a film critic, I liked it. I liked the in-jokes and the self-aware characters. At the same time, I was aware of the incredible level of gore in this film. It is really violent. Read Full Review » -
75
New York Daily News
Builds to a splattering finale that should leave genre fans highly satisfied. Read Full Review » -
70
TV Guide
Compared with most of what passes for scary movies these days, this is golden: It's not stupid, it's not wussy and it pulls off a couple of pretty nasty jolts. Read Full Review » -
63
USA Today
While Scream has its frights, it feels more like one of those solve-the-mystery jigsaw puzzles than a real movie. Read Full Review » -
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
May not be the most scary or the grossest horror film you've ever seen, but it has one distinct feature: it actually talks up to the audience. By the conclusion, you won't be shaking in your seat, but you may enjoy the status of someone who has earned a Master's in Slashology. Read Full Review » -
63
-
50
Variety
Though the material is more intelligent than the norm and has an unusual third-act twist, it also employs some very clunky stereotypes. Read Full Review » -
50
-
50
Film.com
Doesn't know when to stop with the jokes about other horror movies and settle down to tell a coherent story. Read Full Review » -
50
-
50
-
50
The New York Times
Wes Craven (of the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' films) is in the mood for parody. Read Full Review » -
40
-
25
Baltimore Sun
Indeed, Scream is better than the average slasher film, as its advertisers insist. And, indeed, it is probably Wes Craven's best film, as they also insist. But that is a little like saying the pimple on the left side of your nose is "better" than the pimple on the right side. Read Full Review » -
25
San Francisco Examiner
An artificial and hypocritical effort to escape the artistic limitations of teenage slasher flicks. Read Full Review »
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