By Lito Velasco – Associate Producer and Music Supervisor of Scream: The Inside Story, and lifelong horror aficionado.

As a lifelong horror fan, few films have had as profound an effect on me as Wes Craven’s genre-defining masterpiece, Scream.

I vividly remember my first viewing. On Saturday, December 21, 1996, with great excitement, I drove to the theater with my two cousins. As devoted fans of Craven—particularly his iconic A Nightmare on Elm Street—we didn’t know much about Scream, but the anticipation of another journey into terror led by “The Master” had us giddy with excitement.

Barely 30 minutes into the film, as Casey Becker’s lifeless body swayed from the tree and the screen smash-cut to black, we were stunned. If you had been standing at the front of the theater, you might’ve noticed three young horror aficionados in the fifth row, jaws agape, eyes wide with shock and terror. That visceral opening scene didn’t just unsettle us—it rocked us to our cores. So much so, we nervously glanced behind us, half-expecting some unseen figure to emerge from the shadows. In that moment, I realized I was watching something extraordinary. Wes Craven had stripped away my sense of security, leaving me utterly vulnerable—a mark of true cinematic mastery.

I quietly hoped the rest of the film would live up to the brilliance of its prologue. It didn’t just meet my expectations—it exceeded them.

Fourteen years later, Scream remains one of my all-time favorite horror films, a sentiment amplified by my work on what I consider the definitive retrospective on the film, Scream: The Inside Story. The impact of Scream goes beyond personal nostalgia—it revolutionized the horror genre. It transformed how horror films were written, cast, marketed, and made. Its unique tone and self-aware voice redefined what a horror movie could be.

Sure, we’d seen similar scenarios before, but not with the same clever “spin,” nor with characters this smart, quirky, and relatable. The film’s blend of humor and terror, its sharp writing, and Craven’s unparalleled direction made it fresh, thrilling, and unforgettable.

Scream didn’t just solidify my love for the genre; it fueled my ambition to spend my life making films like it—or die trying. It was, in every sense of the word, a game changer. And yes, it truly was… a scream.

Celebrating 14 years of Scream! Read testimonials from fans and contributors on the legacy of this iconic horror classic.