Editing Slasher film (section)

==1996–2002: Genre revival==
[[Wes Craven]]'s ''[[Wes Craven's New Nightmare|New Nightmare]]'' (1994) used characters from [[A Nightmare on Elm Street|his original ''Elm Street'' film]] in self-referential and ironic ways, as the actors played versions of their true personas targeted by a movie-inspired demon. Despite solid critical reviews, ''New Nightmare'' failed to attract moviegoers and sold only 2.3&nbsp;million tickets the North American box office, the lowest of any ''Elm Street'' film.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1994-10-14 |title=Wes Craven's New Nightmare {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wes_cravens_new_nightmare |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=New Nightmare |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0111686/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> The slasher genre's surprising meta-resurgence came in the form of Craven's [[sleeper hit]] ''[[Scream (1996 film)|Scream]]'' (1996).{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} Directed by Craven and written by [[Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)|Kevin Williamson]], ''Scream'' juggled postmodern humor with visceral horror. The film played on nostalgia for the golden age of slasher films, but appealed to a younger audience with contemporary stars and popular music. Williamson, a self-confessed fan of slasher films, wrote the characters as well-versed in horror film lore and knowing all the [[cliché]]s that the audience were aware of.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} With 23.3&nbsp;million admissions, ''Scream'' became both the highest grossing slasher film of all time and the first of the genre to cross $100&nbsp;million at the domestic box office, {{failed verification span|text=making it the most successful horror film since ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1991).|date=March 2024}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scream |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0117571/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> The marketing for ''Scream'' distanced itself from the slasher genre as it passed itself as a "new thriller" that showcased the celebrity of its stars [[Drew Barrymore]], [[Courteney Cox]] and [[Neve Campbell]] over its horror elements.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Williamson's follow-up, ''[[I Know What You Did Last Summer]]'' (1997), was inspired by ''[[Prom Night (1980 film)|Prom Night]]'' (1980) and ''[[The House on Sorority Row]]'' (1983).{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} Released less than a year after ''Scream'' to "critic proof" success, the film sold nearly 16&nbsp;million tickets at the North American box office. Two months later [[Dimension Films]] released ''[[Scream 2]]'' (1997) {{failed verification span|text=to the highest grossing opening weekend of any R-rated film at the time|date=March 2024}}; the sequel sold 22&nbsp;million tickets and was a critical hit.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scream 2 |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120082/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> Taking note of the marketing success of ''Scream'', the promotional materials for ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' and ''Scream 2'' relied heavily on the recognizability of cast-members [[Portia de Rossi]], [[Rebecca Gayheart]], [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]], [[Heather Graham]], [[Jennifer Love Hewitt]], [[Joshua Jackson]], [[Laurie Metcalf]], [[Jerry O'Connell]], [[Ryan Phillippe]], [[Jada Pinkett Smith|Jada Pinkett]], [[Freddie Prinze Jr.]] and [[Liev Schreiber]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The two ''Scream'' films and ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' were also popular in international markets. In Asia, Hong Kong released ''[[The Deadly Camp]]'' (1999) and South Korea released ''[[Bloody Beach]]'' (2000), ''The Record'' (2001), and ''[[Nightmare (2000 film)|Nightmare]]'' (2000).{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} Australia's postmodern slasher ''[[Cut (2000 film)|Cut]]'' (2000) cast American actress [[Molly Ringwald]] as its heroine.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} Britain released ''[[Lighthouse (1999 film)|Lighthouse]]'' (1999) and the Netherlands had two teen slashers, ''School's Out'' (1999) and ''[[Swimming Pool (2001 film)|The Pool]]'' (2001).{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} [[Bollywood]] produced two unofficial remakes of'' I Know What You Did Last Summer'': the first was a musical-slasher hybrid called ''[[Kucch To Hai]]'' (2003), while the second was a more straightforward slasher called ''[[Dhund: The Fog]]'' (2003).{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

''Scream 2'' marked a high-point of public interest in the 1990s slasher revival with a massive marketing campaign and a cultural [[zeitgeist]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} This anticipation [[Greenlight|greenlit]] the production of several other slasher films to be released the following year.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} ''[[Urban Legend (film)|Urban Legend]]'' (1998) was a reasonable hit, selling 8&nbsp;million tickets, though its decline from the ''Scream'' films and ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' showed that slasher film sales were already starting to decline.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} Three 1998 sequels were each significant successes at the domestic box office; ''[[Halloween H20: 20 Years Later]]'' had 11.7&nbsp;million admissions, ''[[Bride of Chucky]]'' had 6.9 million admissions, and ''[[I Still Know What You Did Last Summer]]'' had 8.9&nbsp;million admissions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Halloween H20: 20 Years Later |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120694/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bride of Chucky |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0144120/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=I Still Know What You Did Last Summer |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0130018/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> Again, the marketing for these sequels relied on the appeal their casts, which included [[Adam Arkin]], [[Jack Black]], [[LL Cool J]], [[Jamie Lee Curtis]], [[Joseph Gordon-Levitt]], [[Josh Hartnett]], [[Katherine Heigl]], [[Brandy Norwood]], [[Jodi Lyn O'Keefe|Jodi Lynn O'Keefe]], [[Mekhi Phifer]], [[John Ritter]], [[Jennifer Tilly]], and [[Michelle Williams (actress)|Michelle Williams]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} Low-budget slasher films ''[[The Clown at Midnight]]'' (1998) and ''[[Cherry Falls]]'' (2000) had trouble competing with big-budget horror films that could afford bankable actors.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

''[[Scream 3]]'' (2000), the first entry in the [[Scream (series)|''Scream'' series]] not written by Kevin Williamson, was another huge success with 16.5 million tickets sold, {{failed verification span|text=though poor [[Word-of-mouth marketing|word-of-mouth]] prevented it from reaching the heights of the first two ''Scream'' films.|date=March 2024}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scream 3 |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0134084/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-02-04 |title=Scream 3 {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/scream_3 |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Urban Legends: Final Cut]]'' (2000) sold a meager 4 million tickets, {{failed verification span|text=less than half of what its predecessor had sold just two years earlier.|date=March 2024}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Urban Legends: Final Cut |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0192731/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> The third films in the ''[[I Know What You Did Last Summer (film series)|I Know What You Did Last Summer]]'' and ''[[Urban Legend (film series)|Urban Legend]]'' sequels were relegated to the [[direct-to-video]] market with a lack of bankable stars.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

After the turn of the millennium, the post-''Scream'' wave of slasher films were both critically and financially disappointing, leading to the genre's sharp decline.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} These films include 2001's ''[[Valentine (film)|Valentine]]'' (11% Rotten Tomatoes, 3.5 million admissions) and ''[[Jason X]]'' (19% Rotten Tomatoes, 2.3&nbsp;million admissions), and 2002's ''[[Halloween: Resurrection]]'' (10% Rotten Tomatoes, 5.2&nbsp;million admissions).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-04-26 |title=Jason X {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jason_x |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Valentine |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0242998/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-02-02 |title=Valentine {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/valentine |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jason X |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0211443/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-07-12 |title=Halloween: Resurrection {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/halloween_resurrection |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Halloween: Resurrection |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0220506/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> In development for 17 years with 17 different writers attached to at different points, [[New Line Cinema]]'s ''[[Freddy vs. Jason]]'' (2003) took note from the ''Scream'' films and mixed nostalgia and self-aware humor with recognizable actors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McNeill |first=Dustin |title=Slash of the Titans: The Road to Freddy vs. Jason |date=March 20, 2017 |publisher=Harker Press |isbn=978-0692033494 |location=USA}}</ref> It sold a massive 14 million tickets at the domestic box office and beat ''Scream 2''<nowiki/>'s record opening weekend {{failed verification span|text=for a slasher film|date=March 2024}} with a gross of $36.4 million over three days.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freddy vs. Jason |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0329101/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>