Killer Commentary: Dr. Paul Miller dissects “Scream” at the fall CPC Film Series
By Alex Foley
CPC Film Series Correspondent
Photos by Hannah Pasquarella
Knightly News Photographer
The CPC Film Series made a thrilling return to the Capital Blue Cross Theater on Oct. 24, this time being accompanied by a pre-show haunted tour of the Underground.
The presenter of the night was Dr. Paul Miller, assistant professor of media studies, returning to the CPC Film Series stage for the fifth time. Miller showed one of his favorite films, the 1996 classic slasher film, “Scream.”
Before the screening, Miller discussed his choice of film on the Knightly News Podcast. Together, Miller, Knightly News President Noah Lopez and I discussed the significance of “Scream” for the horror and slasher genres, as well as its personal significance for Miller. That episode of the podcast can be found here.
In our discussions, I wanted to know why Miller chose “Scream” for the film series event.
Miller explained that the CPC Film Series has a history of screening spookier movies during the fall term. Previous years have seen films such as the murder-mystery “Knives Out,” the zombie-horror film “Dawn of the Dead” and Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow.”
“When it came time for me to choose a film, I thought of my favorite horror film, ‘Scream.'”
Miller further elaborated that he wasn’t just choosing the movie for the festive atmosphere of an October night, but that “Scream” was an incredibly influential film to him as a young person.
“I was a teenager when ‘Scream’ came out. I wasn’t old enough to see an R-rated movie, but I really wanted to see this one. I waited for a slow afternoon, bought a ticket for a different movie, and snuck into the theater to see ‘Scream.’ Looking back, I now see how movies such as ‘Scream’ impacted my future career path.”
From Ghostface to ghost stories
Before the presentation, the Knightly News Media Club hosted a haunted tour of the Underground. This was a first in the club’s history.
From the beginning, club members were adamant about doing something special for this film series event, especially with it falling only a week before Halloween. After some logistical issues were ironed out, the group moved forward with the haunted tour of the Underground, spending the better part of two months planning for the evening. This was a team effort, as Miller said after the show, with over a dozen club members, past and present, participating in the set-up and execution of the event.
As guests arrived, Miller greeted them at the amphitheater in front of Milano Hall. Here, the stage was set with Miller sharing history about Central Penn College and its roots to the region, also sharing the evolution of the college, how it moved to Summerdale, and a brief history of the Boyer Farm, the land upon which the college sits.
From there, Miller regaled the audience about a (fictitious) tale of curious students who, using a Ouija board, disturbed the spirit of the Boyer House. The tour featured three rooms in the Underground. It started with the haunted hayloft, where one of the students who summoned the spirit detailed the series of disturbing events that had happened since. Then, guests had to face their fears in the spider room, needing to confront them head-on in order to escape. In the final room, participants had to solve an elaborate riddle to be granted passage to the film series event, while also navigating a visit from Ghostface himself.
The Haunted Tour, which was free and done for donations to the Knightly News, saw approximately 70 attendees.
Let’s start the show
After the haunted tour concluded, Miller began his presentation, entitled “Killer Commentary: How ‘Scream’ reinvented the slasher genre through satire and self-reflection.”
During his presentation, Miller examined how “Scream” revitalized the slasher genre through its sharp blend of satire, self-awareness and suspense. He explained that by directly acknowledging horror clichés, “Scream” invited audiences to become active participants rather than passive viewers. Miller highlighted how writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven created a film that was both a love letter to classic horror and a critique of its overused formulas.
The presentation also explored how the film’s meta-commentary reshaped audience expectations and inspired a wave of late-1990s horror films that balanced wit with terror. Miller discussed the film’s lasting influence on modern horror, noting that its balance of parody and fear continues to define the genre nearly three decades later.
As Miller’s presentation came to an end, the Capital Blue Cross Theater was met with a seemingly innocent phone call between Casey Becker and an unknown caller. Things quickly went south for Becker when the unknown caller revealed he had been watching her in her own home. She is then attacked by the unknown caller, who is hiding their identity behind a “Ghostface” mask.
Following Casey’s attack, we observed Sidney Prescott, a young girl attempting to cope with the looming one-year anniversary of her own mother’s murder, when she too gets a phone call from an unknown caller. Suddenly, Prescott found herself attacked by someone wearing a “Ghostface” mask.
Prescott now had to figure out how to keep herself safe from this mystery killer and eventually find a way to outsmart them.
The influence of “Scream”
This film was unlike any of its horror movie predecessors. As Miller noted in his presentation, “Scream” uses self-referential meta-commentary on the genre expectations of horror films. The characters themselves speak throughout the film about horror-movie tropes and compare their situation to those films. Characters make subtle references to previous horror films and even quote them directly at times.
During the pre-show presentation, Miller explained, “What was unique about ‘Scream’ was the use of satire. Usually, people think of satire as meaning comedy, but this satire comes from calling out the clichés of horror movies. Ironically, Wes Craven also directed many of those cliché horror films that were being called out in the film, essentially making fun of himself.”
Unlike many previous leading female roles in horror movies, Prescott was not portrayed as helpless, nor as a bumbling throwaway character. Her survival depended on her smarts and her own strength. Ultimately, she was the one to save herself. When “Scream” was released, this portrayal of a female lead was still rare in film, let alone in the horror genre.
In the years leading up to the release of “Scream,” horror, especially slasher horror, had been growing stale. The 1970s and 1980s saw the release of classics such as “Halloween” (1978), “Friday the 13th” (1980), and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), but by the 1990s, slasher films were growing repetitive and tired.
“‘Scream’ revitalized and modernized slasher films in a way that just has not been done since. If ‘Scream’ never existed, the slasher genre may have never come back,” explained Miller.
Ironically, “Scream” brought the slasher genre back to life. Not only did the 1996 movie lead to the development of an entire franchise with six films and a television show (along with another in active development to be released in 2026), but it also served as inspiration for numerous other films and film series.
Concluding the discussion of “Scream,” Miller said, “This movie was smart, it wasn’t overly violent or gory, and for the most part it was just a really well done satire of the horror genre.”
Until next time
The CPC Film Series continues to be one of the most anticipated events on the campus of Central Penn College. With another wildly successful venture, as well as the addition of the haunted tour, the series seemingly continues to grow.
And while this was my first venture as the CPC Film Series Correspondent after Nik Hogan’s graduation earlier this year, I look forward to the announcement of the next film series so I can mark it on my calendar as a must-attend event in Summerdale.
While the winter CPC Film Series film and presenter have not been announced as of the time of this writing, I can promise viewers that it will be another memorable event on our campus.
In addition to being the CPC Film Series Correspondent, Foley is the secretary of the Knightly News.
Pasquarella is the Vice President of the Knightly News.
