The original Scream is a horror film with a sense of humour, but people went to see it because it was frightening and gory. It has wit and cleverness in it, but it still is a very suspenceful thriller. It scared me and most people who saw it when it was new--it was known as a scary movie. By Scream 3 it became a "silly bit of fun", but the first film was quite dark and brutal in places. It was meant to be a slasher itself that turned the genre on it's head by being self-aware. Same with New Nightmare--a very scary and dark film in places.