Post-Scream Meta Horror
1996–2004 · US
Horror went self-aware: Wes Craven's Scream had characters arguing about slasher rules while still delivering real scares, and the years after it pushed that reflexive energy into both satire and new kinds of dread. Go in expecting protagonists who can name the tropes, plots that weaponize that knowledge, and sudden tonal shifts—Scream's slyness sits beside imitators like Final Destination and the broad send-up of Scary Movie.
