MOVIE NEWS – The opening scene of Scream VI with Ghostface is both a nod to tradition and a subversion of expectations, so much so that even the directors are in shock. WARNING, this article contains spoilers!

Amid a hugely successful opening weekend, Scream VI directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin recently talked about how the film’s opening scene simultaneously shattered expectations while ringing true to the franchise’s origins.

The franchise, based around the 1996 slasher classic Scream, is known for its violent and bloody opening scenes, which usually set the tone for the entire film, often introducing new characters or killing off old ones.

The convention that a mysterious phone call from a horror-loving stranger ends in a bloodbath for the recipient is one of the signature strokes for which the franchise has become known and parodied.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin confessed that they were initially a bit surprised by the choice of the opening scene of Scream VI, which was created by screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. “Obviously, it was the first thing we read when we read the script,” said Gillett. “There is a standard that’s been set by these movies that the opening, as its own little contained short film, has to achieve something really specific, and set the tone for the rest of the movie, and also has to live up to what exists as the openings in the lineage of this franchise. This one for us was the most surprising and shocking.”

In the opening scene of Scream VI, a film professor, Laura Crane, played expertly by horror favourite Samara Weaving (Ready or Not), awkwardly waits for a Tinder date in a Manhattan bar. While the first phone conversation about the upcoming date is about horror movies, not an unexpected move given her profession, the scene ends in an alleyway where she is brutally murdered by a disgruntled student and novice serial killer (played by Tony Revolori) determined to practice his skills on the Carpenter sisters (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega), who survived the previous Scream movie.

Though the murder is violent and strangely ironic, given Laura’s supposed familiarity with the dangers of horror films, the shock is perhaps even more significant when the killer’s identity is immediately revealed, seemingly completely blowing apart the “whodunnit” structure of the previous films.

However, the student is soon replaced by a mysterious new Ghostface, who murders him and his psychopathic accomplice. The initial choice, however, subtly changes the expectations of the franchise. It’s a deliberate nod to the recurring character Mindy’s (Jasmin Savoy Brown) later declaration that all bets are off in the Scream franchise. “It just felt like, oh, we are going to take some chances with this,” says Gillett. “And if the audience is onboard, then they are going to be on board for the rest of the movie. At the end of the day, I think that’s the goal of the opening. How far can you push it? How far can you push the guard rails and hopefully set up a wild set of expectations for the audience with the movie moving forwards.”

Fans of the franchise will be delighted to see Weaving in this small but essential role. Especially as she has previously worked with the directors on Ready or Not. Drew Barrymore’s brief appearance as Casey Becker in the original Scream movie and Jada Pinkett Smith in the second were memorable. Likewise, Weaving makes her mark in another fantastic opening scene. Bettinelli-Olpin says: “She brought so much because she’s only in the movie for five minutes, and she has to do so much in those five minutes; you have to fall in love with her. You have to get scared when she goes into the alley. It takes like a real f—ing pro like Samara to be able to do that.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly