With Scream 7 just weeks away from release what do you know about the 1996 original

'It’s the millennium, motives are incidental...' With Scream 7 just weeks away from release what do you know about the 1996 original?

Scream 7 is just weeks away from release, with Neve Campbell once again returning as Sidney Prescott to face a new Ghostface killer - who this time wants to her daughter Tatum Evans dead.

Ghostface made his debut in Wes Craven’s Scream 1996 meta slasher Scream, reinventing the horror genre with razor-sharp wit and self-aware scares.

With Ghostface now a pop culture icon it’s time to revisit the film that started it all...

Origins

Scream was inspired by a chilling real-life case.

In 1990, five college students lost their lives in Gainesville, Florida at the hands of Danny Harold Rolling, later dubbed ‘The Gainesville Ripper’.

Screenwriter Kevin Williamson watched a documentary about the case, and that same night he discovered an open window in his home that he was sure had been shut.

Gripped by fear, Williamson searched the house with a knife in hand while speaking to a friend on the phone.

Once he calmed down, Williamson began writing - and within three days, he had completed the first draft of what would become Scream.

The scribe also drew inspiration from his own favourite horror film, Halloween.

Alternate name

Before settling on its now-iconic title, Scream was originally called Scary Movie.

The change came when producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein were inspired by the 1995 Michael and Janet Jackson track Scream.

Bob recalled: “Michael Jackson had a song out, and Harvey’s listening to it, and of course the song was Scream."

Director Wes Craven was initially hesitant about the new title, but eventually came around. Interestingly, the original name, Scary Movie, was later used for the 2000 horror parody that satirises the events of Scream.

Wes Craven was not first choice director

Wes Craven, best known for horror classics like The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, wasn’t the studio’s first pick to direct Scream.

Miramax initially approached The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi and 28 Days Later filmmaker Danny Boyle, but both declined, viewing Scream as more of a comedy than a traditional horror flick.

Craven - who passed away in August 2015 aged 76 - was then offered the job but initially passed, hoping to step away from the genre.

He ultimately changed his mind after learning that Drew Barrymore had signed on to the project.

Drew Barrymore's accidental 911 call

During the intense opening scene where Casey Becker meets her grisly end, Drew Barrymore was unknowingly given a working phone connected to a real landline.

Between takes, she accidentally dialled 911, and her convincing screams while acting out the chase with Ghostface alarmed real emergency dispatchers.

When the police called back to check if she needed help, the production team finally realised the phone was actually live.

Box office hit

When Scream debuted in December 1996, it wasn’t an immediate box office hit.

With a budget of around $15 million, it opened to $6.4 million in the US, landing in fourth place that weekend.

Industry insiders were quick to label it a flop, with Variety even calling it “dead on arrival”. However, thanks to strong reviews and word-of-mouth buzz, Scream gained momentum and went on to earn $103 million in the US alone, eventually reaching a worldwide total of $173 million.