The Scream movies have been such a dominant force in the horror genre for so long that it’s easy to forget they’ve primarily been the creative output of one filmmaker – the legendary (and sadly no longer with us) director Wes Craven, working with screenwriters Kevin Williamson (Scream, Scream 2 and Scream 4), and Ehren Kruger (Scream 3). But with Craven having passed away, that makes the upcoming fifth Scream movie – simply titled Scream, in a slightly confusing twist – the first one to come from another director. Or directors, plural, in this case, with Ready Or Not’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett cooking up fresh scares this time around.
Speaking to Empire, the pair opened up about their reverence to the iconic horror director who gave us the first Scream back in 1996. “This movie is a love letter in every way,” says Bettinelli-Olpin. “For both of us, Scream would be on not just our top five movies that we love, but movies that shaped who we are as filmmakers.” It was essential, then, to stay true to Craven’s original vision – which meant the return of Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox as Sidney, Dewey, and Gale. “There was no version of this story, for us, that would work without the three of them,” says Gillett. “They are the beating heart of these movies.” But with Ghostface on the loose, how long will those hearts stay beating?
Read Empire’s full Scream story in the Spider-Man: No Way Home issue – on sale Thursday 28 October. Scream comes to UK cinemas from 14 January.