Killer claims 'horror movie drove me to it'

A French teenager claims he was driven by the cult horror movie Scream to commit the murder of a 15-year-old girl.

The youth, 17, who cannot be named under French law, covered his face with the Scream mask, based on the painting by Edvard Munch, before stabbing the girl several times – in an attack just a few yards from her home, near Nantes, western France.

"I was obsessed with living through the same experience as the heroes of Scream," the boy told French police. "I wanted to kill like them."

The boy, from a wealthy family, had repeatedly watched videos of the three Scream movies, directed by Wes Craven, while staying with his grandmother. The movies, intended as a spoof of horror films, follow the murderous careers of young wealthy US college students.

The French boy's victim was a school friend of his, Alice Beauperè, who was still alive when she was discovered by a neighbour. Her last words were reported to have been: "I'm going to die. Please, give me a smile."

The Scream movies have been blamed for inciting violence in the past. This latest incident comes alongside a series of gang rapes in France – including one by eight youths from wealthy backgrounds in Lyons – that have been blamed on the influence of violent pornographic movies.