If you’re the type to wonder about the origins of what makes your favorite slashers who they are, and question what goes into creating them, you’ve probably pondered the iconic killer — or, really, killers — at the heart of Scream.
Fans of Scream have a bit of insight into what went into making the infamous Ghostface mask, and it probably won’t come as a surprise to some of you. In a recent 25th-anniversary featurette, Scream creator Kevin Williamson discussed the origins of the mask.
After star Neve Campbell notes that she remembered the process of finding the mask, Williamson picked up the thread to reveal this about Ghostface’s origins:
“No one could agree on a mask, and I remember we were in a location scout, and we found Ghostface… in a box of stuff in a garage. Wes immediately looked at it and said, ‘This is like the famous Scream painting.’ And so we took that to our production, and we said, ‘Riff on this… make something like this.’ They must’ve done 20 different designs.”
Many fans have likely already drawn that conclusion. Not only does the painting resemble Ghostface, but the popular name given to it is also The Scream — and you can guess where we’re going with that. Drop one word, and you’ve got the name of the movie hailed as one of the best slasher films ever, sparking a franchise.
It makes sense that the look of the painting, and also the message behind it, would inspire Ghostface.
The artist behind The Scream, Edvard Munch, describes the inspiration behind the painting as one clouded in anxiety and blood — two of the critical components in the Scream film franchise.
You can see Scream in theaters on January 14th, 2022.
