- [Narrator] This is "Scream,"
Wes Craven's blockbuster slasher flick from the '90s,
that introduced the world to this guy.
It's also credited with breathing new life
into the slasher horror genre,
so, in the lead up to Halloween,
we're going to walk you through every movie,
TV show, music, celebrity and artwork reference in "Scream."
before we get started, it's worth mentioning
that the movie was inspired by the story
of the Gainesville Ripper, a serial killer in Florida,
who murdered five college students in 1990.
Dark, we know.
Moving along to the opening scene,
which is probably one of the most iconic opening scenes
from the '90s.
[phone ringing] [screaming]
We have Casey, who says--
- Hello?
- [Narrator] Which launches us into the phone call sequence,
which is a nod to two movies,
"When a Stranger Calls--"
- Hello.
- [Narrator] And "Black Christmas--"
- Hello?
- [Narrator] Where the killer also calls their victims
to toy with them.
We'll throw two on the board here.
Okay, moving on
to this shot
of Casey making popcorn. [phone ringing]
This is a reference to the classic horror film,
"Halloween," where Annie is also preparing
some stove-top popcorn.
- Never mind.
I guess you found a hot date.
- [Narrator] And speaking of "Halloween,"
if this tracking shot looks familiar,
it's because it was modeled after the opening scene
of, you guessed it, "Halloween,"
and trust us when we say this isn't the last you've heard
of "Halloween" in this reference tracker.
- "Halloween."
- [Narrator] See?
Then they go on to talk about the film
"A Nightmare on Elm Street," when Casey says--
- [Casey] Well, the first one was, but the rest sucked.
- [Narrator] This is actually a cheeky nod
to director Wes Craven's body of work.
He directed the first installment
of "Nightmare on Elm Street," but not the sequels.
Fast forward to--
- [Ghostface] You hang up on me again,
I'll gut you like a fish, understand?
- [Narrator] That's a reference to the 1984 movie,
"The Mutilator," where characters are, yep,
gutted like fish.
[suspenseful music]
Here we have someone who phoned in their Halloween costume.
I mean, here we have Ghostface, the movie's antagonist,
whose mask was inspired by the aptly named painting,
The Scream by Edvard Munch
as well as artwork from the Betty Boop cartoons
and the Pink Floyd album, The Wall.
And this scene, where Casey desperately tries to outrun him,
it's based on this scene from the 1974 horror classic,
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre," where the character,
Sally, runs from the villain, Leatherface.
Next up, Casey's cries for help.
- Mom!
- [Narrator] Are modeled after this scene in "Halloween II."
- Help!
- [Narrator] And Ghostface dragging Casey across the lawn
is hauntingly similar to this scene from "Dementia 13."
Then when Casey's Dad says--
- Drive down to the MacKenzies.
- [Narrator] Jamie Lee Curtis' character
in "Halloween" had identical plans.
- I want you to go down the street to the MacKenzies' house.
- [Narrator] Moving along
to here, where Casey meets her early demise.
This isn't just an ode to 1977's "Suspiria."
When director, Wes Craven, and writer, Kevin Williamson,
decided to kill such a big name
at the beginning of the movie,
they were using the Hitchcockian early death trope
like when Janet Leigh was killed
in the first half of the classic film, "Psycho."
Fast forwarding.
[screaming]
- It's just me.
- [Narrator] Okay, pause.
Billy climbed through Sidney's bedroom window
just like Johnny Depp's character
in "Nightmare on Elm Street."
And you hear that song playing in the background?
♪ Baby, I'm your man ♪
It's an acoustic cover of "Don't Fear The Reaper,"
which also plays in "Halloween."
♪ Baby, I'm your man ♪ [coughing]
- [Narrator] But it needs more cowbell.
Okay, let's speed ahead a bit.
- So you're okay. - Mm-hmm.
- [Narrator] Stop here.
See the sheriff?
That's actor Joseph Whipp, who also played a cop
in Craven's "Nightmare on Elm Street."
Also, does this guy look familiar?
That's Henry Winkler, who played the Fonze on Happy Days.
And we'll come back to Arthur Fonzarelli in a minute.
Okay, moving right along.,
and stop.
See how Randy is chewing his food?
This mirrors the way Norman Bates eats in "Psycho."
Here the group continues to chat about the likelihood
of Casey's killer being a man or a woman,
and Tatum mentions "Basic Instinct."
- The killer could easily be female.
"Basic Instinct?"
- [Narrator] Yup.
That movie.
Where Sharon Stone, a female, is revealed
to be the murderer.
And at this moment right here--
- Did you really put her liver in the mailbox
because I heard that they found her liver in the mailbox
next to her spleen and her pancreas.
- [Narrator] Randy is imitating comedian Jerry Lewis.
- Do like I tell you, then you won't get in any trouble.
Aw, shut up!
- [Narrator] Fast forward,
when Sidney says--
- It's like deja vu all over again.
- [Narrator] That's a reference to a quote
famously attributed to baseball legend Yogi Berra,
who was known for his Yogi-isms.
Skipping ahead.
When Ghostface calls Sidney, he says--
- [Ghostface] Are you alone in the house?
- [Narrator] Which is very similar to the title
of a made-for-TV movie, "Are You in the House Alone?"
Moving along.
Okay, let's stop here.
When Dewey arrests Billy, we hear Billy's last name
for the first name.
- [Chief] Who is that?
- Billy Loomis.
- [Narrator] Which is the same last name
as Dr. Sam Loomis from "Halloween,"
who was Michael Meyers' psychiatrist.
- Loomis. Dr. Sam Loomis.
- [Narrator] See?
I warned you there were a lot of "Halloween" references
in this movie.
But this reference is twofold, because Samuel Loomis
is also the name of the boyfriend in "Psycho."
Okay, let's stop here.
See Tatum's VW Beetle?
It's the same car from Stephen King's "The Shining"
that crashed along the side of the road.
- Sidney!
- So how does it feel to be--
- [Narrator] And here, as Tatum confronts Gale
outside of school.
- People want to know!
They have a right to know!
- [Narrator] We can spot a cameo
from the legendary horror actress, Linda Blair,
who starred in "The Exorcist."
Let's pause here.
When Stu says--
- You mean after you ratted out the Candyman?
- [Narrator] That is a reference to the villain
in the 1992 flick, "Candyman."
And, stop.
Here is Principal Himbry again, fixing his hair
just like he did as Fonzie in Happy Days.
And then right here as the Fonze,
I mean Principal Himbry, meets a janitor in the hallway.
- What'd you call me?
- [Narrator] Wes Craven is making a cameo
just like Hitchcock used to make cameos
in all of his films.
And he's dressed in the original costume
worn by "Nightmare on Elm Street" villain, Freddy Krueger.
Himbry even calls him Fred.
- Not you, Fred.
- [Narrator] So we'll add three to the board for this one.
[suspenseful music]
See this here hanging in the closet?
That's just like the Fonze's iconic leather jacket.
Let's add one more to the board for the Fonze.
As Principal Himbry takes his last breath,
the reflection of Ghostface in his eye
mimics key moments in Hitchcock's "Psycho"
and "Strangers On A Train."
Okay, fast forward.
When Tatum says--
- You're starting to sound
like some Wes Carpenter flick, or something.
- [Narrator] She's mashing up the names Wes Craven
and John Carpenter, the "Halloween" director.
So we're gonna add two on the board for this one.
Moving along.
When Randy suggests the cops should watch--
- "Prom Night--"
- [Narrator] To solve the case,
that's a horror film starring Jamie Lee Curtis.
- Formula!
Everybody's a suspect!
- [Narrator] And look,
there's a poster for another film she's in.
Let's add two to the board for Jamie Lee.
Here, when Sidney calls her town.
- The town that dreaded sundown.
- [Narrator] That's also the title of another lesser-known
1976 horror film, that was also based on a true story.
And pause.
Right here Sidney brings up Jamie Lee Curtis again saying--
- How come Jamie Lee Curtis is in all of these movies?
- She's the scream queen.
- [Narrator] So we'll throw one more on the board here
for the scream queen herself.
Okay, hear the song playing as Tatum heads to the garage?
("Drop Dead Gorgeous"
It's "Drop Dead Gorgeous" by Republica,
perhaps foreshadowing what's to come.
And when she says--
- What movie is this from?
"I Spin On Your Garage?"
- [Narrator] It's a play off the title of the 1978
horror film, "I Spit On Your Grave."
This comment here--
- Cut, Casper.
- [Narrator] Is a reference to this friendly guy.
And then Ghostface slices into Tatum's arm
just like Michael Meyers does to Jamie Lee Curtis
in this scene.
[screaming]
In fact, in the audio commentary, Wes Craven
and Kevin Williamson said this entire scene
in the garage is similar to this gruesome scene
in "Halloween," where the character Annie
is also killed in the garage.
Craven has also referred to this entire sequence
as Hitchcockian, based on the way it was shot and edited.
So we'll count that too.
Fast forward a bit,
and here Randy says--
- What's Leatherface doing here?
- [Narrator] Which you may remember from earlier,
because that's another reference to the killer
from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre,"
and when Stu says--
- As if.
- [Narrator] And Randy replies--
- Oh really, Alicia?
- [Narrator] It's a nod to Alicia Silverstone's character
Cher from the 1995 classic, "Clueless."
- Ugh, as if!
- As if.
- [Narrator] That's way existential.
Pause here.
As Billy and Sydney discuss her PTSD, he says--
- It's like Jodie Foster in "Silence of the Lambs"
when she keeps having flashbacks of her dead father.
- [Narrator] That's because in that movie,
Jodie Foster's character also experienced
the murder of a parent, just like Sidney in "Scream."
Okay, fast forward a bit.
Oh hey, look at that.
They're watching "Halloween."
How meta.
- Predictable!
- [Narrator] All right, we're almost at the end here.
So stay low, and let's stick together.
- He was gutted and hung from the goalpost
on the football field.
- What are we waiting for?
- [Narrator] As the teens head off after learning
of the death of Principal Himbry, they chant a song
called "Ride of the Valkyries."
[dramatic music] [singing loudly]
Which is a classic music staple used in many films.
["Ride of the Valkyries"]
♪ Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit ♪
So, let's count that.
Another one of them yells--
- [Boy] Hi-ho Silver! Let's go!
- [Narrator] Which is how the Lone Ranger
would address his horse, Silver.
- [Ranger] Hi-ho, Silver!
- [Narrator] And yes, that is also a silver car.
But we will only count this as one.
[screaming]
Here, Sidney's fall out of the window
looks hauntingly similar to this moment
from "Friday the 13th Part III."
Okay, let's stop here.
- Behind you.
- [Narrator] Ghostface sneaking up behind Randy--
- Behind you!
- [Narrator] Is just like the moment in Halloween
where Michael stalks Laurie.
Does the blood dripping at Gale's feet look familiar?
That's because it's based on this scene
from "Night of the Living Dead."
And Sidney standing in the middle of the road
drenched in blood?
That's a throwback to "Carrie."
Let's stop here, because Billy's tumble down the stairs
brings us to our last reference from this moment
in, you guessed it, "Halloween."
When Billy says--
- We all go a little mad sometimes.
- [Narrator] That's a direct quote from "Psycho."
- We all go a little mad sometimes.
- Anthony Perkins "Psycho."
- [Narrator] Yeah, that's what I just said.
As Billy and Stu stand with their heads together
and reveal themselves to be the killers,
it matches this moment from the movie
"The Thing With Two Heads."
When Billy says--
- That woman was a [beeping] flashed her [beeping]
all over town like she was Sharon Stone or something.
- [Narrator] About Sidney's mom having an affair,
that's another reference to Sharon Stone
from "Basic Instinct."
We'll throw one more on the board for Sharon.
- Your mother--
- [Narrator] Stop here.
As they continue to taunt Sidney in the kitchen,
Stu says--
- What do we have behind door number three, Sidney?
- [Narrator] That's a reference to the 1960s game show
Let's Make A Deal.
- And let's see what's behind that door!
There it is!
- Whoa.
- [Narrator] And then this quote?
- Houston, we have a problem here.
- [Narrator] That's from 1995's "Apollo 13."
- Houston, we have a problem.
- [Narrator] And we know what you're thinking,
but yes, we'll attribute this quote to the movie,
because the quote by the real life Apollo astronauts
was slightly different.
- [Astronaut] Uh Houston, we've had a problem.
- [Narrator] Seriously. Google it.
And when Sidney escapes and calls Billy
on the phone, she says--
- [Sidney] Are you alone in the house?
- [Narrator] This is a callback to an earlier reference
to the made-for-TV horror movie
"Are You in the House Alone?"
- [Ghostface] Are you alone in the house?
- [Narrator] So we'll count that one again.
Lillard is really up on his movie knowledge,
because he also improvised this line.
- I always had a thing for ya, Sid!
- [Narrator] Which is also uttered in 1973's "Serpico."
- I always had a thing for ya, Sid.
- [Narrator] And finally this moment when Billy says--
- Say hello to your mother.
- [Narrator] That's a quote from the 1955 film
"East of Eden."
- Say hello to your mother, Aron!
- Bringing to an end the harrowing mystery.
- [Narrator] Phew, we made it through every reference
in "Scream," we think,
and probably because we didn't split up.
Did we miss anything?
Well we're sure you'll tell us about it
in the comments below.
Thanks for watching, and happy Halloween.
[suspenseful music]