Drew Barrymore played innocent teenage victim Casey Becker in Wes Craven’s horror juggernaut of the ’90s Scream. But that wasn’t always part of the plan. Barrymore originally was set to play the character of Sidney Prescott, the film’s final girl, but things simply changed. Her presence now was a calling card to make crowds go wild. Our minds were blown when Kevin Williamson’s script killed off the “most important character” in the first 10 minutes, and all preconceptions we had put together were shattered by a film that would surely be different.The cold open for Craven’s film is almost a mini-movie starring what was then the only familiar face in the film. It’s a good example of the craft Craven dominated so well and, let’s be frank, a great show by Barrymore whose career at the moment was overshadowed by poor choices. It brought her back, but it also took her away from us too soon.
It’s why today we’ve decided to salute one of the most important cameos in the horror film industry. A sudden kill that would confirm there were no rules in a franchise being born out of a passion for horror. In almost 13 minutes, Barrymore was essential to inject a dramatic force that set the tone for a film that appeared to be playful but could slash its way into the psyche of a society that had forgotten about psychopaths wielding machetes and chainsaws.
These are the best moments of Barrymore’s presence in Scream.
5 Casey Has a Good Taste For Horror Movies
The film’s opening consists of Becker receiving a call from a stranger. Luckily, he seems nice. She responds with a flirty attitude and continues the conversation with the man with a sexy voice. She confirms she was about to watch a scary movie. At this moment, the script goes for full tribute without vulgarly self-referencing the director: Casey says her favorite film is Halloween and not one of Craven’s. Yes, seconds after she mentions A Nightmare on Elm Street, but in a few seconds we get the sense Scream will go all the way in order to make the experience more meta. Casey caresses a knife while speaking about horror movies, but we don’t get the hint she may be on the verge of needing it to defend herself.
4 The Transition From Playful to Frightened
As the conversation goes on, Casey feels like she trusts this guy. The wireless landline phone allows her to walk around the house. Her tone is still flirty (her voice is full Drew Barrymore-y at this point). But then the stranger says something very sinister and the film’s first twist is presented with a line we will never forget: Casey asks the dude why he wants to know her name, and he confidently says it’s because he wants to know who he’s looking at. She turns around in full panic mode as she gets the feeling this call may not be safe at all.
3 A Reaction to a Line That Confirmed All Bets Were Off
At this point, Barrymore is nailing the scene. Casey Becker is now in the grasp of an idea that the audience doesn’t recognize. Never a psychopathic killer had been so vocal and chatty. The conversation is still going on and amidst the confusion, Becker takes a leap and asks the guy what he wants.
The answer is something we will never forget and what first gave us a hint of what Craven’s film would be like: he just wants to see what her insides look like. It’s a chilling and simple response that makes Casey go deeper into a game of cat and mouse that she would surely survive, right? We had no idea.
2 Casey Loses the Game
Yes, we were chomping on our nails or popcorn. We were so nervous for Casey, and her boyfriend who was now confirmed to be in the hands of whoever was on the other side of the line. But the sinister voice still has time for games. And what better game than horror movie trivia? He asks Casey who the killer in Halloween was, and she replies with the right answer. Come on Casey, you can make this!
But then the guy asks the rightquestion. One with a tricky answer. And one you could only answer right if you knew what kind of film Scream was. Casey, the killer on Friday the 13th isn’t Jason. It’s his mother. Wrong answer. Poor Steve. We can still hear his guts dropping on the floor.
1 The Death of Casey Becker
There was one dead body already. The cold open had its victim. But Craven made Casey run, and he made us imagine for a few seconds the possibility of her escaping what was now a full-blown killer in a scary suit with a great mask. The physics were… good. She outran him a few times and even punched him. But in a very important shot, Craven establishes optimism, to only get rid of it one second after. Casey starts running with her back to the killer who is now reaching her. With one hand he covers her mouth and with the other, he plunges a knife deep into her chest. A sound we will never forget.
We witnessed Casey’s last breaths and Craven’s trick. He made us think Drew Barrymore was the leading star. But he had pulled a Marion Crane and changed whatever rules we had thought of. These 13 minutes of absolute terror helped Barrymore relaunch her career spectacularly.
Scream is available to rent/buy on Prime Video and is available to stream on Paramount+.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
