Inspirations

‘Scream’ was actually based on a real-life story.

In 1990, five college students were murdered in Gainesville, Florida by Danny Harold Rolling, who became known as ‘The Gainesville Ripper’.

After watching a documentary about the tragedy, screenwriter Kevin Williamson found an open window in his house that he was certain was closed. He spent the rest of the night frantically searching the house, whilst wielding a knife and talking to his friend over the phone. After calming down a bit, the Williamson decided to put pen to paper, and produced the first draft of what would become ‘Scream’ over three days. As well these events, Williamson pulled from ideas from his favourite horror movie ‘Halloween’.