The directors of the latest film in the Scream franchise, Tyler Gillet and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, have revealed details on the last-minute title change that went on during the production of the highly anticipated fifth installment. 2022's Scream 'requel' saw a return to form for the series, taking place back in Sidney Prescott's hometown of Woodsboro, California, as Ghostface returns to embark on another brutal killing spree. The movie continued the franchise's meta-commentary on horror films, this time shedding light on certain toxic fandoms and other franchises returning to feature legacy characters, such as 2018's Halloween, or 2021's Chucky.
Stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette return as the series' main trio, Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley, respectively. The series veterans appear alongside newcomers Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, who play the movie's main sister duo, Sam and Tara Carpenter. In this latest installment, Ghostface reappears when a series of brutal slayings occur around Woodsboro, catching the attention of the original trio of legacy characters who return to give advice to the newcomers. Scream was released on January 14 and is currently projecting a strong box office performance in theatres.
In an interview with Variety, the director duo spoke about various aspects of the film's production, including the sudden title change that took place late into the making of the film. They commented on how so many recent horror 'requels', sport the same title as the original film of their respective franchises, and decided to take on a similar trend for this new installment, deciding to use it to further highlight the film's commentary on current horror media. Throughout the rest of the interview, the directors commented on certain shocking deaths and other rejected plans for the script. Read their comments below:
We all had, I think, the same reaction that most people have, which is, 'Huh?' And then we thought, 'Wait, this was actually a wonderful gift if we can make it work within the movie and…do what we love about ‘Scream’ on that meta level, and just use the movie to look at the movie.'
When development on a brand new Scream installment was announced back in late 2019, many long-time fans of the franchise immediately expected the trend of the numbered sequels seen in the first four-installment to continue into the fifth film. However, after the revelation of the film simply being called Scream, many fans felt underwhelmed and skeptical. But even back then, Gillet and Bettinelli-Olpin knew what kind of film they were making, and used the title to prove the film understands what it is.
It's clear that these directors immediately knew what they were doing from the beginning of production, sticking by such a title change due to it reflecting what they knew this film was attempting to commentate on, despite any backlash. Furthermore, with such a change, the title also reflects a turning point within these iconic films, just as they are shifting the story in a brand new direction, they also drop other aspects of the original films, all the while living up to the original's legacy. Audiences can currently catch Scream in theatres.
Source: Variety