Is "Scream" the Next "Rocky Horror"?

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Is "Scream" the Next "Rocky Horror"?

Sun., Apr. 27, 1997 1:00 PM PDT by Elizabeth Johns

Look alive, Rocky Horror Picture Show, there could be a new cult fave in the movie house: Scream, the horror film directed by scare-meister Wes Craven. "People are coming back three, four, five times," Miramax co-chairman Bob Weinstein told Hollywood Reporter. "Some of them know every line in the movie."

Driven by strong word of mouth, the film has pulled in $91.5 million since it's release December 20, $5 million in the last two weeks. It' still in the theaters--in fact, Miramax recently quintupled the number of screens--and now looks poised to top Pulp Fiction ($106 million) as the studio's top-grossing film, beating out Oscar-winners Sling Blade and The English Patient.

What's all the fuss about? A campy movie about a serial killer who terrorizes a scenic town, Scream scares as well as satirizes--exposing clich?s horror movies have used over the years.

"I've seen Scream three times since it originally came out," says one fan. "I think it is a wonderful and scary movie. I feel lucky to have seen it..."

Cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show elicits similar reactions, 22 years later. Fans still attend screenings dressed in black lipstick and garter belts, acting out movie scenes and taunting Rocky virgins.

It's path Miramax hopes to follow. "We're promoting (Scream) nonstop," Weinstein told the Reporter. Look for a promotional tie-in with the MTV Movie Awards, airing June 12.

And, of course, Scream 2 is in preproduction, heading for a Christmas, 1997, release.