by This article contains spoilers for Scream 6In the midst of a hugely successful opening weekend scream 6 Directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin recently spoke about how the film’s opening scene shattered expectations while still staying true to the franchise’s origins.
The franchise built on the 1996 slasher classic Scream is known for its violent and gory opening scenes, which usually set the tone for the entire film, often introducing new characters or killing old ones. The convention of a horror-loving stranger’s mysterious phone call ending in a bloodbath for the recipient is signature Scream Move for which the franchise was known and parodied.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin admitted they were initially a bit surprised by their selection for the scream 6 Opening scene by screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. “Obviously, when we read the script, it was the first thing we read,” says Gillett. “There’s a standard set by these films that the opening has to achieve something really specific as its own little self-contained short film and set the tone for the rest of the film and also live up to what exists as the openings in the line of this franchise. This was the most surprising and shocking for us.”
The scream 6 The opening scene features a film professor, Laura Crane, masterfully played by horror favorite Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) awkwardly waiting for a Tinder date at a Manhattan bar. While the initial phone conversation about her upcoming date turns into horror movies, a not unexpected move considering her profession, the scene ends in an alley where she is brutally murdered by a disgruntled student and would-be serial killer (played by Tony Revolori) determined to to rehearse for the murder of the Carpenter sisters (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) who survived the previous one Scream Movie.
While the murder is violent and oddly tongue-in-cheek due to Laura’s alleged familiarity with the dangers of horror films, the shock might be greater when the killer’s identity is immediately revealed, seemingly completely blowing up the crime structure of the previous films. The student is quickly replaced by a mysterious new Ghostface who murders him and his psycho accomplice. However, the initial choice subtly changes expectations of the franchise, a knowing nod to the statement later made by returning character Mindy (Jasmine Savoy Brown) that all bets in the franchise are open Scream Franchise. “It just felt like, oh, we’re taking some risks with this,” says Gillett. “And if the audience is on board, then they will be on board for the rest of the film. At the end of the day, I think that’s the goal of the opening. How far can you push it? How far can you push the guard rails and hopefully create wild expectations in audiences as the film progresses.
Scream Fans will be excited to see Weaving in this small but crucial role, following her previous work with the directors Ready or Not. Like the brief appearance of Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker in the original Scream Film and Jada Pinkett Smith in the second, Weaving leaves its mark in another great opening scene. According to Bettinelli-Olpin, “She brought so much with her because she’s only five minutes in the film and she has so much to do in those five minutes; you have to fall in love with her. You must be scared if she goes into the alley. It takes a real fucking professional like Samara to do that.”
scream 6 is in cinemas now.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
