Some of the key players behind the production of Wes Craven’s 1996 teen-slasher Scream have revealed how the actor who voiced the film’s Ghostface killer remained hidden from the cast while on set. Now four films into what has become something of an iconic horror franchise with Scream 5 set to arrive this January, the original Scream was an unexpected hit. This year the film celebrates its 25th anniversary and Paramount is celebrating with a 4K Ultra HD re-release while also providing fans with plenty of Scream trivia.
For horror fans, the film’s arrival marked yet another effort on the part of one of cinema’s greatest horror directors. Craven’s resume spoke for itself prior to the release of Scream, with his biggest breakthrough into mainstream film discourse coming with 1984’s A Nightmare On Elm Street. While some feel that the creation of Freddy Krueger is one of, if not the greatest horror movie villains of all time, the arrival of Ghostface in Scream provided some strong competition. A different killer is behind the now infamous distorted screaming mask of the Ghostface killer with each Scream installment, and this ability to consistently change and surprise audiences has kept the killer relevant and entirely mysterious.
Yet even today, 25 years after the first Scream arrived in theaters to a somewhat disappointing opening, fans still have questions about Ghostface. The character has been voiced by Roger Jackson throughout each installment of the popular franchise, and as THR recently discovered during an interview with some of Scream’s key players, Jackson was never seen by the cast on the set of the 1996 film. Exactly how this manifested itself during filming was explained by editor Patrick Lussier, producer Marianne Maddalena and Ghostface himself, Jackson:
LUSSIER One of the smartest things they did when they shot it was Roger Jackson, who does Ghostface’s voice, the killer voice, he was on set. All those phone calls were done live. They were tapped into a phone, but Drew and none of the actors could see him. They didn’t know what he looked like.
MADDALENA We hid him. We had separate rooms. He was never around. He was never at craft services. He was absolutely incognito. It made it scary for the actors and Wes just got better performances out of them. It’s a completely different thing than a script supervisor reading the lines. He has an amazing voice, but I don’t know how menacing he would be in person, you know?
JACKSON The first night when we were filming the bulk of the scene with Ms. Barrymore, I was outside the window under a little canopy trying to keep dry because it was raining. I’m looking at her through the window while I’m talking to her on the phone, but she couldn’t see outside. Then on the second night they moved me to the garage of the house and set me up with a monitor so I could watch the camera feed. That made it much better, not being wet.
The decision to keep Jackson away from the actors is a bit of a brilliant touch on the part of the late Craven, and it could help explain why the original Scream still manages to feel so different from subsequent sequels. It does seem that Craven was dedicated to doing whatever he could to keep the tension and scares real on set, with past disclosures from the film’s production having revealed that he also told vegetarian and animal lover Barrymore real-life stories of animal cruelty in order to keep her agitated and visibly upset between takes. Some might say this was going too far, but the end result is nothing if not tense.
It is, of course, extremely unfortunate that Craven couldn’t be here today to have overseen directorial duties on the fifth Scream film. His talent and ingenious horror filmmaking abilities will absolutely be missed. But judging by what’s been revealed to date with regard to Scream 5, directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin share a strong love for the franchise and everything that Craven did to make it what it is today. After 25 years, Scream fans remain as dedicated as ever, and there’s no denying that’s due to Craven’s efforts.
Source: THR
