In cinemas “Krzyk 5”. Nobody believed the original and it became a hit. Why?

“Brutally bloody”, “happily self-referential”, “extremely entertaining”, “brilliant”, “deftly combining new ideas with respect for tradition”, “the best since the first part”, “the triumphant return of one of the most cunning film franchises in the history of horror films “- this is about the fifth part of” The Scream “, which goes to theaters in early 2022, reviewers write, mostly satisfied with what they came up with, and then directed by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

“Scream” returns after the break. The first part without Wes Craven

The plot is simple: the action of the newest part takes place 25 years after a series of brutal murders that shook the quiet town of Woodsboro. A new killer puts on an infamous mask and attacks groups of teenagers to recall secrets from the city’s dark past. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette return in “Scream 5” – the most famous three actors in the series who made their debut in 1996. New actors joined them, including the son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid – Jack Quaid.

On the one hand, it is a tribute to director Wes Craven, who died in 2015, who crafted the first four parts of the series and gave it the final touch, making Kevin Williamson’s ideas come to life. It is also something that some compare to the new “The Matrix” in terms of self-referential references, and also describe it as a nose pluck of toxic and unrepentant fans of the series. Because “Krzyk” was successful in the first place precisely because it intelligently made fun of the genre clichés used over the years.

Where did the phenomenon of “Scream” come from?

Kevin Williamson came up with the idea of ​​a movie about a masked killer who calls at night a girl who is locked at home alone, under the influence of a television program about a series of extremely brutal murders by Daniel Harold Rolling – known by the media as the Gainesville Roper.

Rolling murdered five Gainesville students over four days in late August 1990, for which he was sentenced to death in 1994. In the course of the investigation, he also confessed to the triple murder in Shreveport, raping his victims, and attempting to murder his father in May 1990. After Williamson watched a program about him, he found himself scared of the intrusion of strangers when he saw an open window in his house. This inspired him to write an 18-page screenplay, which became the starting point for what hit theaters under the title “Scream”, which was originally supposed to be called “Scary Movie”.

Williamson initially put the project in a drawer for a while, but forced by a poor financial situation, he decided to develop the concept in the hope that he would be able to sell the idea and make a quick profit. Within three days, he wrote the full screenplay for the first part of “Scary Movie” as well as two five-page summaries of potential sequels – he hoped that the prospect of a ready-made franchise would encourage buyers to invest. He did not make a mistake in his estimates, and in 1995 the rights to the script were bought by Miramax, a company owned by the Weinstein family.

A horror game that makes fun of horror movies

When asked later in an interview why he decided to write a bloody slasher, Williamson explained that he wrote the script for a film he would like to see as a kid raised in such productions as the cult “Halloween”, “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” “. And no one was filming such things at that time. It is not without reason that his script includes a lot of references to classic horror films. As an inspiration, the screenwriter listened to the soundtrack from his favorite “Halloween” while working – its pieces were later also used in “The Scream”.

What’s more, after the premiere, it was unequivocally recognized that, just as “Halloween” from 1978 refreshed the horror cinema, this film breathed new life into the slasher genre in the 90s – the horror convention was already heavily used, for almost 20 years the filmmakers were going to same patens and made subsequent parts of the same films. In “Scream” the critics were captivated by how Williamson perversely and ironically bit the standard concept of horror: at the same time he showed terrible things on the screen and combined them with dialogues that referred to slasher clichés in a satirical way.

Added to this was a truly star cast and a lot of happy coincidences. Likewise, Wes Craven was interested in Williamson’s script, but when it came to its production, he wanted to give up horror movies, and he was already busy with other projects, so he did not want to be persuaded by Bob Weinstein to direct. In the meantime, however, it turned out that, delighted with the project, Drew Barrymore approached the creators herself, asking for the role. Back then, she was much more than a Hollywood golden child, a girl from the acting house known from Spielberg’s “ET”. At this stage, she had already made two Golden Globes nominations, roles alongside actresses and actors such as Andie McDowell, Whoopie Goldberg and Tommy Lee Jones in “Batman” and was already entering the phase of conscious and more mature selection of roles.

Scream, 1996 photo: mat. Miramax

The information that Drew Barrymore wants to play in “The Scream” definitely contributed to the fact that Wes Craven, well-known for his production of “Nightmare on Elm Street”, took a new interest in the film – and it happened fortunately that the project that held him back before engaging in a new horror movie, it was canceled. Barrymore landed the lead role of Sidney Prescott right away. To this day, it is believed that thanks to her, “The Scream” also attracted other famous actors – despite the fact that the film had a relatively low budget.

Like Barrymore, Courteney Cox volunteered to the producers, determined to play the role of the mean journalist Gale Weathers. She wanted it because she wanted to cut herself off from the image of the little girl that stuck to her after the series “Friends” gained great popularity. Anyway, because of him, the creators did not want to engage her initially – Cox, however, insisted until she succeeded. In addition, we managed to cast other stars of the young generation, including Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich and David Arquette.

Shortly before filming began, it turned out that Drew Barrymore could not play the main role in the face of unforeseen professional obligations. But she was so anxious to star in the film that she begged a minor role as Casey Becker, which kept her from being part of the cast. The scenes with her participation were shot during the first five shooting days – a full-size mannequin with Drew’s face and artificial insides was also created for their needs, which was very effectively and ghastly dislodged by the movie killer. Killing one of the movie’s biggest stars right at the beginning was a big risk, but the producers hoped that thanks to this shocking and unexpected death, the audience would believe that absolutely every character could die.

Happy and unfortunate cases

Wes Craven had to find a new lead role and spotted her in the family series “Ich five” about the fate of orphaned siblings. Neve Campbell was initially reluctant to star in another horror movie – she had just finished shooting “The School of Witch”. Nevertheless, in “Scream” her colleague Skeet Ulrich took the role. And Sidney was supposed to be her first lead role – she eventually fell in love with the heroine and decided to play her. She then over the years methodically rejected offers to star in other horror films, but the character Sidney stayed true to and appeared in every installment of the series.

Scream, 1996 fragment of a poster, mat. Promotional items by Miramax

The sudden change of the lead role was not the only problem that Wes Craven faced. Although it was thanks to him that it was possible to bring back a lot of bloody scenes, which the producers had the author cut, into the script, he had to argue with them himself. First, he had to persuade them not to transfer the film set to Canada for savings, and after the shooting began, there was a threat that he would be fired, because Weinsten thought that the first footage was not satisfactory and wanted to change the director. Plus, he wasn’t thrilled with the mask the director chose for the killer – he didn’t think it was scary enough. Ultimately, the most significant change the manufacturer made was the new title. He decided that “Scary Film” somehow did not suit him and almost at the last moment before its premiere he decided to “Scream”. Initially, the director and screenwriter were disgusted, but after some time they agreed.

It was also Bob Weinstein who convinced Motion Picture Association officials not to classify the film as “adults only”, which would mean that most cinemas will not show it. Craven struggled for a long time and made various adjustments that definitely castrated the production from its most interesting bits. Ultimately, the producer convinced decision-makers that “The Scream” is more of a comedy than a horror film and not intended to glorify violence – it helped.

It was also unpleasant within a few days after the premiere. The film was released a few days before Christmas, the period when family films are most popular. Production on the opening weekend was only $ 6 million, which was considered a failure. But in the course of the next week, interest in production did not decrease, it even grew. Not only critics praised “The Scream” for its innovative approach, the film earned $ 100 million in the US alone and another 73 million in worldwide distribution. Until 2018, when the new version of “Halloween” was released, “The Scream” remained at the top of the list of the best the world’s earning slashers. In addition, it was a breakthrough film in that it featured already popular actors, thanks to which the title attracted a wider audience, especially women. The second part was written a year later and, surprisingly, enjoyed similar critical acclaim and high ticket sales. The formula seemed to wear out more and more with each new part.

“The Scream” in the hands of a new generation of artists

The fate of the creation of the fifth part had been in the balance since 2011, when Craven himself confirmed to the media that he was working on two scripts for the next films, which would be made on the condition that “Scream 4” would be properly received, i.e. it would appeal to viewers and earn a lot of money. . First, however, there were problems with the script, then both the director and the originator of the series had doubts, and in addition, the fact that the rights to the franchise belonged to the brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein. When the #MeToo era began in the media for good, the facts about the subsequent victims of harassment and rape of Harvey Weinstein were highlighted, and he himself went to prison, no one thought about another “Scream” – especially since Craven died in August 2015.

In 2019, the rights to the new film were acquired by Spyglass Media Group and handed over the project to filmmakers who are in love with horror movies as well as Kevin Williamson, who invented and wrote ideas for three films in the mid-90s. thanks to this unique approach to the subject, the slasher famous today was successful in the first place. According to many critics, James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick achieved the same.