What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie?

Scream (1996)

• Directed by Wes Craven
  • Nightmare on Elm Street
  • People Under the Stairs
  • Hills Have Eyes
• Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, and Drew Barrymore.
• Budget of 15 million Box Office of 175 million
• Trivia
  • The script for what was then known as Scary Movie went on sale on a Friday in June 1995, but received no bids.By the following Monday, the script had become the subject of a significant bidding war among a host of established studios, including Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Morgan Creek Productions.
  • Studios began to drop out of the bidding as the price of the script increased, and the final two bidders were Oliver Stone, who was at the time working under Cinergi Pictures, and the Weinsteins of Dimension Films
  • Bob Weinstein approached Craven early in the planning stages, because he felt Craven’s previous work in the genre that combined horror and comedy would make him the perfect person to bring Williamson’s script to screen. Craven was already busy developing a remake of The Haunting and was considering distancing himself from the horror genre.
  • The party scene near the end of the film runs forty-two minutes long. It was shot over the course of twenty-one days from the time the sun set to the time it rose. After it wrapped, the crew had t-shirts made that read “I SURVIVED SCENE 118” (which was the name of the scene during shooting). The cast and crew jokingly called it “The longest night in horror history.”
  • Matthew Lillard was cast as Stu Macher by chance after accompanying his then-girlfriend to an unrelated audition taking place elsewhere in the same building. Casting director Lisa Beach saw Lillard in the hallway and asked him to audition for the part. He got into the role with “incredible ferocity”.
  • (At around fifty-two minutes) When Henry Winkler opens the closet, his black leather Fonzie jacket from Happy Days (1974) is hanging in it.
  • Drew Barrymore and Neve Campbell did not meet Roger Jackson, the actor who played The Voice, before shooting commenced. Whenever they are talking on the phone to the killer, they are actually talking to him. In fact none of the cast met him. Craven thought that would be better to bring out the shock reactions he needed from everyone when they heard that voice.
  • During production, Ghostface’s signature black robe was going to be white, to make him appear even more like a ghost. This was changed in fear of people comparing the costume to those that the Ku Klux Klan wear.
  • Being a favorite of screenwriter Kevin Williamson, Molly Ringwald was offered the role of Sidney Prescott, but turned it down, saying she’d rather not be playing a high school student at the age of twenty-seven.
  • Neve Campbell was originally going to say “no” to the film as she is especially afraid of horror movies. But when hearing her co-star Skeet Ulrich from The Craft (1996) was going to appear, she agreed.
  • Bob Weinstein approached Robert Rodriguez, Danny Boyle, George A. Romero, and Sam Raimi to direct. Kevin Williamson said that they “didn’t get it”. He was concerned that having read the script, many of the directors believed the film to be purely a comedy. Ironically enough, Rodriguez would direct the footage for the fictional in-universe film Stab.
  • Joaquin Phoenix turned down the role of Billy Loomis.
  • Henry Winkler, who asked to go uncredited because the producers did not want to detract any attention from the younger, lesser known actors, only ever appears in three scenes in the film, all of which take place in his office.
  • Elizabeth Berkley auditioned for the role of Gale Weathers, but was immediately turned down due to the backlash she received for Showgirls (1995).
  • Kevin Williamson listened to the soundtrack for Halloween (1978) for inspiration while writing the script. Excerpts from the soundtrack appear in the film
  • Seth Green auditioned for the role of Randy Meeks.
  • Linda Blair: (At around thirty-nine minutes) The auburn reporter who says, “People want to know, they have a right to know.” She starred in another classic horror film, The Exorcist (1973). Wes Craven had cast her in Summer of Fear (1978).
  • (At around one hour and thirty-five minutes) When the phone slips out of Billy’s (Skeet Ulrich’s) hand and hits Stu’s (Matthew Lillard’s) head, it was completely unintentional. Director Wes Craven kept it in because of Lillard’s realistic reaction.
  • At around one hour and thirty-five minutes) Matthew Lillard ad-libbed “My mom and dad are going to be so mad at me.” Director Wes Craven thought it was so funny that he kept it in the film.
  • Drew Barrymore was originally cast as Sidney Prescott (eventually played by Neve Campbell). But Drew insisted that if she played Casey, a victim in just the opening scene alone, then it would make the audience think anything could happen. Barrymore being given top billing and appearing on the poster was meant to mislead the audience.
  • There are several Stephen King references in this movie:
  • The fake blood that Billy is coated in is corn syrup and is referenced in the movie by Billy Loomis after he shoots Randy is a callback to ‘Carrie’.
  • Sidney wears a Jean jacket like Randall Flagg famously wears in ‘The Stand’.
  • When Principal Himbry’s body is found and Randy tells the group of movie-watchers who decide to (presumably) go after the killers vigilante-style, one of the students yells ‘Hi-Ho, Silver, Away!’ which is a favorite phrase from ‘It’ by the character Stuttering Bill.
  • The scene where Sidney is running from Ghost Face (who is Stu Marker) after he ‘kills’ Billy and runs through the house is similar to when Shelly is running from the ghosts in the Overlook Hotel in ‘The Shining’.
  • In January 1998, 16-year-old Mario Padilla and his 14-year-old cousin, Samuel Ramirez, stabbed Mario’s mother, Gina Castillo, 45 times, killing her. The case became known as the “Scream murder” and fell under intense media scrutiny after the boys claimed they were inspired by Scream and Scream 2. The pair confessed to needing the money acquired from Gina’s murder to fund a killing spree, which would include purchasing two Ghostface costumes, as well as a voice-changer used by the characters in the films. During their trial, Madeline Levine, a psychologist who studied the effect of violence on children, stated, “There were a whole bunch of reasons why they acted out that way. But did the movie provide a blueprint? Absolutely.” The case was expected to highlight the effect of violent films on teenagers. However, presiding judge John Cheroske ordered that evidence pertaining to Scream be barred and that the case not be referred to as the “Scream murder”, refusing media access to the courtroom, intending that the case be tried as murder and nothing else.

Scream 2 (1996)

• Directed by Wes Craven
• Starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Liv Schrieber, Jerry O’Connell, Laurie Metcalf, Timothy Olyphant, and Elise Neal.
• Budget of 24 million and Box of 172.4
• Trivia
  • Williamson had been contracted for two potential sequels to Scream when selling the script for the original, based on five-page proposals he attached to the script, hoping to entice prospective buyers with the fact that they were not just buying a film but a franchise, and after a successful test screening for the original, at which Miramax executives were present, Craven was also given a contract to direct the two future films. Dimension Films considered pursuing development of a sequel in January 1997 after

Scream proceeded to gross more than $50 million in the first month of its release, with production being greenlit in March 1997 and an increased budget of $24 million over Scream’s $15 million.

• The production of the film suffered a significant setback when the script was leaked, revealing plot details including the identity of the killers, resulting in the script being modified to change many details.
• Actors who auditioned for the part of Derek were asked to perform the scene in the cafeteria in which Derek sings “I Think I Love You” a cappella. The role of Derek went to Jerry O’Connell.
• Robert Rodriguez directed scenes of “Stab”, the movie-within-a-movie. Rodriguez directed the Casey Becker (Heather Graham) scene and the Sidney and Billy (Luke Wilson) scene.
• Neve Campbell would shoot Party of Five (1994) on Mondays and Tuesdays during the day, and spent Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on this movie, most of which were night shoots. On Sundays, she would work all night until 6 a.m., go home for fifteen minutes to shower off all the fake blood and immediately go to the Party of Five (1994) set to shoot all day, all without sleeping.
• (At around one hour and one minute) Randy’s (Jamie Kennedy’s) reference to fake nude pictures of Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) on the Internet was inspired by fake images of Courteney Cox that appeared on the worldwide web prior to production of this movie.
• Many of the actors and actresses involved in the production, including Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Jerry O’Connell were starring in their own television series at the time, allowing the production limited availability to schedule their involvement. Gellar in particular was in between filming of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), and had only recently finished work on another Kevin Williamson-penned film, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). Despite the hectic scheduling, Gellar admitted in an interview that she agreed to perform in this movie without having read the script because of the success of Scream (1996).
• Lewis Arquette (Chief Hartley) was the real-life father of David Arquette (Dewey Riley) and father-in-law of Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers). Courtney Cox was married to David Arquette from 1999 to 2013. Lewis Arquette died in 2001.
• Wes Craven submitted eight different cuts to the MPAA before it was passed.
• Denise Richards was offered a role in the film, but she was busy doing Starship Troopers (1997) and couldn’t accept. She would eventually get to collaborate with Neve Campbell on Wild Things (1998).
• Tobey Maguire was offered the role of Mickey.
• Joshua Jackson and Rebecca Gayheart would, only one year later, collaborate in another teen slasher Urban Legend (1998), highly influenced by the success of these films (even facing accusations of being a rip-off).
• Laurie Metcalf and Jerry O’Connell play mother and son in The Big Bang Theory in season 11.
• Melissa Joan Hart, Candace Cameron Bure and Ellen Pompeo were all considered for the role of Cici Cooper before Sarah Michelle Gellar was cast.
• Matthew Lillard: (At around thirty-five minutes) Co-star of Scream (1996) is in the background at the frat party.
• Selma Blair: (At around twenty-nine minutes) Girl to whom Cici (Sarah Michelle Gellar) talks on the telephone before the killer calls.
• According to a rumor, the identity of Ghostface was changed after the original script was leaked on the internet, it was Derek (Jerry O’Connell) and Hallie (Elise Neal) in the original ending. This was referenced in Scream 3 (2000), where all of the actors and actresses on “Stab 3” were kept in the dark about the script for this reason.
• According to Wes Craven, it was Duane Martin’s idea to leave after Randy’s (Jamie Kennedy’s) murder, to make it more realistic.
• Many fans consider that Randy’s death was truly Dewey’s fault. As Randy and Dewey held a meeting in a cafe, truly testing their intuition, they began rattling off suspects, which hit too close to home. Randy mentioned his fellow film classmate and one of Sid’s friends, Mickey, could be the killer because he was way too obsessed with scary movies — and also, the idea of getting them right by honoring the prequels. Dewey then mentioned that by that logic, Randy could be a killer too, as they couldn’t trust someone close to Sid who loved the art form. Randy continued the conversation by stating that in that case, Dewey might be the slasher, which caused the cop to drop the whole topic because he got uncomfortable. It was a bad move, however, as Dewey was onto something in Randy’s words. Had Dewey entertained this thread in full, he and Randy could have disproved themselves as the slasher, as they’d have been with Sid when the killer was active. Granted, there were two killers, but seeing as Mickey was always missing, by the process of elimination, they could have sussed out Mickey was one of them, which might have led them to the second killer: Billy’s mom, the reporter masquerading as Debbie Salt. Dewey failed big time in stitching this puzzle together because by trying not to incriminate himself, he missed a clear red flag. Had Dewey done his job and followed up, he might have spotted the danger, investigated the film class some more and maybe tracked Mickey’s tuition to Debbie. It proved Dewey wasn’t good at strategy or detective work. Instead of being proactive, he was just hoping to luck out in the field, and because he dismissed their discussion about a solid lead so quickly, it led to Ghostface kidnapping Randy by Gale’s news van and killing him in a tragic end

Scream 3 (2000)

• Directed by Wes Craven
• Written by Ehren Kruger
  • Transformers Dark side of moon
• Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Scott Foley, and Patrick Dempsey.
• Budget of 40 million and Box office of 161.8 million
• Trivia
  • Throughout the film, Sidney (Neve Campbell) can be seen wearing the Greek letters around her neck that were given to her by her boyfriend Derek (Jerry O’Connell) in Scream 2 (1997), shortly before he was killed.
  • Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), the director of the movie-within-the-movie, complains that he had to make a horror film before he was allowed to make a classic love story. Something similar happened to director Wes Craven himself: he had to agree to do this movie before he was allowed to make the musical drama Music of the Heart (1999)
  • Jamie Lee Curtis was offered the role of Bianca Burnette but turned it down.
  • Kevin Williamson was unavailable to return to writing duties, due to scheduling conflicts with Dawson’s Creek (1998), The Faculty (1998), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), and directing Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), but he did write an outline for the film. Ehren Kruger all but ignored the outline, and his script was written mostly on the fly, with pages usually completed the day they were to be filmed. The characters bore so little resemblance to their appearances in the prior films that director Wes Craven did re-writes.
  • Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) was included in the climax at the producers’ insistence after they realized he disappeared before the third act, and his arc went nowhere otherwise.
  • Kate Hudson was cast, but replaced prior to the commencement of principal photography. This movie is listed among Hudson’s credits on the back cover of the VHS box of Desert Blue (1998). The role in which Hudson was cast is unknown, but speculation is that it was either Christine or Sarah.
  • Stone Cold Steve Austin was considered for the role of Steven Stone.
  • The only film in the series to feature Ghostface using a voice changer to imitate other voices perfectly, as a way to mess with his victims. This was a source of criticism for viewers and critics, as the series had mostly been grounded in reality until this point, and such technology veered dangerously close to science-fiction territory.
  • Alicia Silverstone was offered the role of Angelina Tyler, but turned it down. Ironically, Scream (2022) would reveal that, in-universe, Silverstone played the Stab version of Tatum, originally played by Rose McGowan.
  • Benicio Del Toro was considered for the role of Roman Bridger.
  • Rachel True, Keri Russell, Alyssa Milano, and Denise Richards were considered for the role of Christine Hamilton.
  • Heather Locklear was considered for the role of Bianca Burnette.
  • Ellen DeGeneres screen tested for the role of Sarah Darling.

Scream IV (2011)

• Directed by Wes Craven
• Written by Kevin Williamson
• Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Rory Culkin, Hayden Panettiere, and Emma Roberts.
• Budget of 40 million and box office of 97.2 million
• Trivia
  • Last film directed by Wes Craven before he died from brain cancer on August 30, 2015, at the age of seventy-six.
  • In the deleted scenes, Dewey (David Arquette) explains to Gale (Courteney Cox) that Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht) (Sidney’s father) has passed away since appearing in Scream 3 (2000) and this is the first time Sidney (Neve Campbell) has returned to Woodsboro since his death.
  • At four installments, this initially land marked the Scream franchise as being one of the only horror franchises to have both its main characters as well as its director (Wes Craven) return for all of its sequels, until the release of Scream (2022), which features a new director(s) as a result of Craven’s death.
  • Dewey’s limp, a result of a stab wound in the first film and shown to be quite prominent in the sequels, is no longer present. Though not explained onscreen, the script dismisses it quickly with a screen direction note: “His limp is nearly nonexistent. Years of physical therapy.”
  • For the first time in the franchise, a CGI-added knife was used because director Wes Craven wanted to avoid using prop knives that are rubber, cardboard, and collapsible.
  • The roles of Chloe and Rachel were written with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan in mind.
  • Kevin Williamson, the writer of this film, has expressed a subtle annoyance towards the release of the film. During production, producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein brought in Ehren Kruger (the writer of Scream 3 (2000)) to polish up the script. Wes Craven later stated that the main ideas, story, and concept of the movie were written by Williamson, with minor changes made by Kruger.
  • Deputy Perkins’ first name is Anthony, making his name Anthony Perkins, the same name as the actor who played Norman Bates in the Psycho film franchise. In Psycho (1960), Norman Bates’ line “We all go a little mad sometimes” was repeated by Billy (Skeet Ulrich) in Scream (1996). He also shares his first name with the actor that plays him, Anthony Anderson.
  • Christina Ricci did a screen test for the role of Deputy Judy Hicks, while Aubrey Plaza had one for Rebecca Walters, and Alia Shawkat had one for Kirby Reed.

Scream (2022)

• Directed by Matt Benetinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet
  • VHS
  • Devil’s Due
• Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid, and Mason Gooding.
• Budget of 24 million and box office of 140 million
• Trivia
  • The fact that Dewey never mentioned his sister Tatum or her death was an oft-criticized aspect of the prior sequels, making it seem like she had been forgotten. Here, we see that he still keeps her ashes on the mantle.
  • avid Arquette, who is a certified Bob Ross painting instructor, taught several of the cast members how to paint like the legendary artist during filming breaks.
  • Neve Campbell didn’t realize until after the fact that Sidney Prescott’s husband in Scream 2022 was an Easter egg. While speaking with Screen Rant about her role in the film, Campbell was asked about the Mark Kincaid Easter egg. She revealed that “someone just told me that yesterday,” and that she “didn’t realize it when I was saying it.” Considering that it’s been 22 years since the release of Scream 3 (2000) and the character has not appeared since then, this is not surprising, though she admitted that, “what’s funny is I played Patrick’s sister in Grey’s Anatomy (2005)!”
  • Hayden Panettiere was supposed to have a bigger cameo. Villella told The Wrap that the YouTube scene was “initially going to be a clip of Rian Johnson, talking about making Stab 8 with Woodsboro survivor Kirby”. This would have been a fun interaction and built on an earlier joke about fans’ real-life reaction to Johnson’s divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). Although the filmmakers “weren’t able to get all the pieces in place in time” to make this happen, they still wanted Panettiere to have a presence in Scream 2022, resulting in the Kirby photo and a touching voice cameo during the house party.
  • The second Scream film to feature Ghostface attacking someone in a hospital, following Scream 4.
  • Despite the fact that Samantha is the first direct character to be the illegitimate child of a serial killer (and the grandchild of one as well, who was the mother of Sam’s serial killer father), she ultimately reversed her role of assuming the “villain” serial killer role that Amber and Richie had planned for her, thus making Sam the first character in the Scream franchise to do so.

Scream VI (2023)

• Directed by Matt Benetinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet
• Starring Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, Jack Champion, Hayden Panettiere, and Dermont Mulroney.
• Budget of 35 million and box office as of today 116 million
• Trivia
  • Although Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) and Roger Jackson (phone voice of Ghostface) are the only actors who have had roles in all six films, this film marks the first time they have directly interacted via telephone.
  • Neve Campbell stated on June 6, 2022, that she would not be reprising her role of Sidney Prescott, after starring in the five previous entries, due a salary dispute with Paramount. Campbell’s statement read, “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.” After Campbell announced that she wouldn’t be reprising her role as Sidney, her former Scream co-star Matthew Lillard offered his support for her decision. “Did Tom Cruise take less money for Maverick 5 [sic]?” he asked, insisting that a woman should not be expected to take a smaller paycheck. He noted that Scream V was a “smash hit,” and that Campbell should be paid accordingly.
  • Somebody dressed as Mojo Jojo from Powerpuff Girls is seen in the subway. Roger L. Jackson, voice of Mojo Jojo is also the voice of Ghostface.
  • The longest film in the franchise, at 2 hours and 3 minutes.
  • the logo for Dead Meat is shown under the therapist’s TV. That’s a popular horror YouTube channel whose hosts had a cameo as the angry YouTubers in 2022’s Scream.+
  • This film reveals once and for all in canon that Billy’s mother is named Nancy Loomis, as Ethan calls her when he takes off the mask she wore during her killing spree, a detail that was never quite clear in the film series up to this point. Debbie Salt was her alias in Scream 2 (1997), and she never revealed what her actual name was and was simply known as Mrs. Loomis. In an early draft for Scream 4 (2011), Kirby has to answer Stab movie trivia questions to save Charlie’s life, and one of the questions is what’s Debbie Salt’s real name, and she correctly answers Nancy Loomis. This line never made it to the final cut of the film. Her name is an homage to Halloween (1978) actress Nancy Kyes, who played Annie Brackett. Nancy Loomis was her stage name.