The Scream franchise is a popular American slasher series that includes six movies, a television show, merchandise, and games. The first four films were directed by Wes Craven and were distributed by Dimension Films, while Spyglass Media Group took over the rights from the fifth film onwards. The film series has grossed over $858 million worldwide.
Movie Plot and Reception
The first four films follow Sidney Prescott and her battle against several murderers who impersonate Ghostface to stalk and kill their victims. The fifth film onwards shifts the focus to Samantha Carpenter and her sister, Tara, who are targeted because of their connection to the original killers. The series received critical acclaim, and some of the movies were high earners at the box office. The series won several awards, including a Saturn Award and an MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance.
The Scream Films
The Scream film series started in 1996 with the release of the self-referential horror film, Scream. Written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven, it featured a cast of characters who were aware of the conventions of the horror genre and used them to survive. The movie was a financial and critical success, credited with revitalizing the horror genre in the mid-90s.
Scream 2
The sequel followed in 1997, written by Williamson and directed by Craven. The film continued the self-referential approach and featured characters who mocked the horror genre conventions while falling victim to them. Scream 2 was also a financial success and received critical acclaim for its commentary on the influence of the media in society.
Scream 3
The film was released in 2000 and directed by Craven, but Williamson was unable to formulate a complete script due to his commitment to other projects. Ehren Kruger was hired to finalize the script, and the film featured new self-aware characters who were aware of the conventions of a final entry in a movie trilogy. Scream 3 was less successful than the previous two films and was criticized for focusing more on humor than horror and violence.
Scream 4
The film was released in 2011, written by Williamson and directed by Craven. The movie takes place ten years after the previous installment and follows Sidney Prescott as she returns to Woodsboro and encounters another set of murders and a killer using the guise of Ghostface.
Scream 5
A fifth installment, also titled Scream, was released in 2022, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. It features the return of the surviving characters from the previous films and introduces new ones, all of whom are once again terrorized by a new Ghostface killer.
Scream 6
The sixth installment was released on March 10, 2023. The same team responsible for the previous installment will produce the upcoming film, with production beginning in Montreal, Canada in mid-2022. Courteney Cox is set to reprise her role as Gale Weathers, while Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Jenna Ortega are also set to return. Hayden Panettiere will also be making a comeback as Kirby Reed from the fourth installment. However, Neve Campbell will not be returning as Sidney Prescott due to a disagreement with Paramount regarding her contract and salary negotiations.
The Creators and the Cast
Kevin Williamson created the series and wrote the first two films and the fourth. Ehren Kruger wrote the third, and Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt wrote the fifth and sixth. Wes Craven directed the first four films, and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed the fifth and sixth, respectively. The cast members include Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Roger L. Jackson, among others.
Production
Miramax purchased Williamson's original script for the first film, which was then developed by Bob and Harvey Weinstein's Dimension Films label. Craven directed the movie, and he worked with Marco Beltrami, who scored the film. Williamson returned as executive producer for the fifth and sixth installments, which were directed by Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett.
Scream as a Television series
In 2012, MTV announced that they were in the early stages of developing a weekly television series based on the Scream franchise. David Arquette, one of the stars of the film series, confirmed that he would not be a part of the television adaptation. In 2013, MTV greenlit the TV series and Wes Craven was in talks about directing the pilot. The pilot script was written by Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin, two writers from the show Criminal Minds. However, the final show was penned by Jill Blotevogel, focusing on a YouTube video that had negative consequences for the teenagers of Lakewood and led to a murder that exposed the town's troubled past.
The first trailer for the series was aired in 2015, with the series premiering on June 30th of that year. Wes Craven initially approved of the re-designed mask for the series but later criticized the network's decision to abandon the iconic Ghostface mask. Wes Craven passed away before the second season premiered. In 2016, MTV renewed the series for a third season, which was announced to have a new cast and setting. The third season premiered in 2019 on VH1, under the subtitle "Resurrection".
FAQs
