Scream 2022 star, Jenna Ortega, has explained how she shot a Ghostface phone call scene in the upcoming slasher film. Since it first kicked off in 1996, Wes Craven’s Scream series has grown beyond anyone’s expectations. Initially shot as a one-off, low-budget teen slasher, Craven’s efforts kickstarted a new era for the genre. Within two years after the successful release of Scream, he delivered the first of what would go on to be three sequels.
After the release of 2011’s Scream 4, Craven repeatedly spoke about the possibility of a fifth entry. Unfortunately, the horror great passed away in 2015, and many fans (as well as original Scream cast members) felt that there was no way the series could continue on without Craven. Fast forward over a decade, and the fifth Scream is just days away from its official release, much to the delight of fans. While a return to the aspects that made the original film such a favorite has been a priority to directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, some things about the series are a given. The chilling telephone relationship between the Ghostface killer and his victims has always been a part of the franchise, and within every opening sequence to date, the ringing of a phone can only mean one thing to fans: a new victim.
At present, details about much of Scream 2022’s plot are virtually unknown, as Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have made a considerable effort to keep things completely secret. Yet, despite the lengths gone to in order to keep audiences guessing, one thing that can be gleaned from the film’s trailers and promotional campaign thus far is that Ortega’s Tara Carpenter character spends a certain amount of time on the phone with the Ghostface killer. Whether or not this is actually the film’s opening sequence remains unknown, but as per Collider’s recent interview with Ortega highlights, simply being involved in a scene opposite Roger L. Jackson’s iconic Ghostface voice is both a challenge and a treat. Read Ortega's explanation below:
“It’s kind of difficult, especially because in this scene specifically there’s a landline and then there’s also the cell phone with the social media apps and iMessage and that whole thing. So it was like playing out two different scenes, which was kind of complicated and tricky, especially when prop phones, you press the wrong button and it takes you to videos of soldiers being welcomed home from war by these German Shepherd and just really sweet, cute videos when you’re trying to be serious and give this frightened performance. So there’s a lot of technicalities and weird things like that, but I would say the trick is — I don’t know, it’s really easy when you have Mr. [Roger L.] Jackson on the phone doing the actual voice and not really breaking character in between takes to keep you humbled and in the moment. So I would say get yourself a real Ghostface.”
No Scream film is complete without the sound of Jackson’s voice, and regardless of how much time passes between sequels, Jackson’s Ghostface voice will always bring fans straight back to that first time they ever heard it. Throughout the years, the killers in the Scream films have always been different, but thanks to the voice changer that was introduced in the first film, Jackson has been able to remain a part of the franchise. In a film series that prides itself on throwbacks to the history of horror, that voice has become solidified as a classic element in its own right.
So far, early reviews of Scream have been positive, leaving fans with the hope that this could be the film that the franchise deserves. Past sequels have all failed to match the magic of the first Scream film, so it’s understandable why this latest sequel is being touted as the one that refreshes the entire series. It appears that everything is in place for a new era of Scream, and at the very least, fans know they can rely on Ghostface to keep things creepy and fun.
Source: Collider
