Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on Wes Craven’s presence in ‘Scream’

With less than three weeks until the premiere of Scream in theaters, fans are counting down the hours until we see Ghostface on the big screen. The slasher icon is out for revenge in clips and photos released for the upcoming horror film, and nothing will stop them. 

Entertainment Weekly gifted fans a collector’s edition Scream magazine packed full of interviews, behind-the-scenes information, and incredible images, which offer a glimpse at the props and what went into creating the beloved horror film.

In one of the magazine’s interviews, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who have stepped up to continue the franchise after Wes Craven’s death, shared how his influence manifested within the upcoming slasher.

Bettinelli-Olpin had this to say about Craven’s influence.

“I don’t think there was a day that went by that we weren’t watching Wes Craven interviews on YouTube or reading Wes Craven interviews. Luckily a few months before we got involved, there was a whole new book full of Wes Craven interviews that got put together, so there’s a wealth of information that you can use to dig into his mindset, where he was at certain times during certain movies. And then just watching his work — for it’s the humanity that he brings to it. It’s the attention to scares, attention to characters, the emotion…He was there in spirit on-set all the time.”

Gillett continued by commenting on the Scream films and Craven’s brilliance.

“The thing that makes the Scream films what they are, but also why Wes is an icon in the genre space, is he’s not afraid to take some serious risks. And that means, at times, maybe stepping into some territory that’s going to be kind of hard to watch, and it’s going to be genuinely scary and genuinely horrific. But that, at the end of the day, as Matt said, there’s so much humanity. There’s so much concept.”

The latest chapter will be a unique film, as the first after Craven’s passing, but it looks like his legacy and his genius will be honored through the new directors’ efforts to keep the franchise’s vision alive. Do you have your tickets to see Scream in theaters on Jan. 14?