The fifth installment in the Scream franchise contains some surprising cameos from the original film that even the most eagle-eyed audience members may have missed according to the film's directors, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The movie, which continues the legacy that horror icon Wes Craven started with the 1996 original, sees familiar faces making a return to Woodsboro, California, the location of the first movie. Another killer decked out in the series' signature ghost mask is on a murderous rampage which draws in several returning characters that have been with the series since its opening entry.
The first Scream followed Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott as she's tormented by masked killers with a penchant for scary movies. As the modern horror classic's final girl, Sidney naturally makes it through to the end, but not without the help of Deputy Dewey Riley and intrepid reporter Gale Weathers, played by David Arquette and Courtney Cox, respectively. The trio of core cast members has appeared in every Scream film to date, but it turns out the latest installment also features a couple of sneaky cameos from other members of the original cast.
Speaking to Bloody Disgusting, directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett confirmed that Campbell, Cox, and Arquette weren't the only returning cast members from the first movie. Drew Barrymore, who played the ill-fated Casey Becker in Scream's iconic opening scenes, serves as the voice of the main characters' high school principal, though she's only ever heard over a loudspeaker. Similarly, Matthew Lillard, who played Stu Macher, one of the original film's killers alongside Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis, lends his vocal talents to the latest installment. He can be heard voicing the "flamethrower Ghostface" in the trailer for the in-universe Stab 8. According to the directors, the actor's voice can also be heard saying, “Cool house, Freeman,” in one scene, which offers additional fan service as the line was said Stu's home in the original Scream.
Scream reinvented the horror movie landscape upon its release, injecting a sense of meta self-awareness into a tired slasher genre that had become increasingly stale after a seemingly endless stream of sequels from franchises like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. In addition to launching a new powerhouse horror franchise, by subverting the usual tropes and explicitly calling out all the issues viewers had been screaming at their TVs for years, Scream changed the way both creators and audiences approached horror films. It totally reinvigorated the genre and paved the way for future introspective horror movies like Cabin in the Woods.
Beyond changing the way the world looked at horror films, Scream quickly became a fan favorite of the genre. Besides its four sequels, the movie also spawned a TV show that lasted for three seasons. It's clear that the audience is still passionate about the franchise, and the fact that the latest entry offers these fun little easter eggs proves that the people who helped launch it are still invested, offering a wink and a nod to the Scream fans that have been around since the beginning.
Source: Bloody Disgusting