1990s-2000s: Slashers' Resurrection.
1970s-1990s: Slashers' classics.
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The slasher film's surprising resurrection came in the form of Scream (1996), a box office smash and redefined the genre's rules. Directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, Scream juggled postmodern humor with visceral horror. The film played on nostalgia for the Golden Age, but appealed to a younger audience with contemporary young actors and popular music.
Williamson wrote the characters as well-versed in horror film lore and knowing all the clichés that the audience were aware of.
Williamson's follow-up, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), was heavily inspired by Prom Night (1980) and The House on Sorority Row (1983). Released less than a year after Scream to "critic proof" success. Scream 2 marked a high-point for interest in the 1990s slasher film. Urban Legend (1998) was a modest hit, though slasher sales were already starting to drop.
Films like Final Destination (2000) and Jeepers Creepers (2001) kept slasher film values in mainstream movies, but they deviated from the standard formula set forth by movies such as Halloween (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
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The slasher film's surprising resurrection came in the form of Scream (1996), a box office smash and redefined the genre's rules. Directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, Scream juggled postmodern humor with visceral horror. The film played on nostalgia for the Golden Age, but appealed to a younger audience with contemporary young actors and popular music.
Williamson wrote the characters as well-versed in horror film lore and knowing all the clichés that the audience were aware of.
Williamson's follow-up, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), was heavily inspired by Prom Night (1980) and The House on Sorority Row (1983). Released less than a year after Scream to "critic proof" success. Scream 2 marked a high-point for interest in the 1990s slasher film. Urban Legend (1998) was a modest hit, though slasher sales were already starting to drop.
Films like Final Destination (2000) and Jeepers Creepers (2001) kept slasher film values in mainstream movies, but they deviated from the standard formula set forth by movies such as Halloween (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
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