Did you knew? Scream Fun facts.

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References

Something that differentiated “Scream” of other films of its genre was its ability to connect all of them. Two were specially honored. Two classics of previous generations: “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th“, by which the writer, Kevin Williamson, has always been an aficionado.

In the introduction to his screenplay into a book, Williamson speaks openly about his passion and the first time that he watched “Halloween” in theaters and how it changed his life in October 1978, when he was only 12 years.

“Halloween was my revelation. I already knew my love of movies was bordering obsessive but had no idea of how fixated I was until the experience of Halloween. The movie frightened me beyond belief. I sat, white-knuckled, between Shelley and her mother. I remember vividly how I kept grabbing Shelley’s mother every time Michael Myers appeared”.

“Halloween was the film that opened my eyes”.

Oh, and we can see that, Mr. Williamson.

In the original script, Williamson didn’t imagined the mask’s shape. But of course it was a reference to “The Shape”. That bleached white mask mimicking the traits of William Shatner.

Tatum says, “I’m going to the video store. I was thinking “All The Right Moves” (1983). You know if you pause it just right, you can see his penis“. Williamson mentioned that people always make jokes about that line to him. You can watch this scene here.

Mathew Lillard ad-libbed “Houston, we have a problem here!”, a reference to “Apollo 13” (1995).

There are two references to Sharon Stone in “Scream” – who worked with Wes Craven in “Deadly Blessing” (1981).

The first one is about the genre of the killer. Tatum says that the killer could easily be a female, like in “Basic Instinct” (1992). The other one is about her famous flashing that is compared to Maureen Prescott´s behavior around man.

Stu mentions “Candyman” (1992) at the school.

Billy states corn syrup was the same stuff they used for pig’s blood in “Carrie” (1976).

“As if”, Stuart replies. It was a famous quote from “Clueless” (1995).

“E.T. – The Extraterrestrial” (1982) is mentioned.

Some footage of “Frankenstein” (1931) is shown.

Name the killer in “Friday the 13th” (1980)?

Raise the hand who yelled with Casey: Jason… I know I did.

And to my surprise – or lack of attention – I had to swallow the answer that he did not appear until the sequel. Jason’s mother, Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) is the original killer…

Check this video we did with all the references between those two sagas!

“Halloween” (1978) and “Halloween II” (1981), as mentioned before, holds the largest number of references in “Scream”. Just in the beginning, the film is told by Casey Becker as her favorite movie. Later, Ghost Face makes a movie trivia, and the question is the name of the killer – something that she responds with the same tone of voice of Rachel (Ellie Cornell) from “Halloween IV” (1988): “It’s Michael… Michael Myers. “

• Before Ghost face reveals his malevolence, Casey also makes popcorn in a very similar way to Annie Bracket (Nancy Kyes).

• Casey cries for help from her parents, but the voice just not comes out, and so does Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in “Halloween II”.

• When Mr. Becker realizes that something is very wrong in his house, he says to his wife to “Drive down to the Mackenzie’s” and that is the same advice that Laurie gives to Tommy and Lindsey.

• The name of Billy, Loomis, is a tribute to the tireless hunter of Michael Myers – Dr. Sam Loomis, played by Donald Pleasence. In turn, this name is another homage – to “Psycho”.

• The music that plays after the climbing of Billy to Sidney’s window is “Don’t Fear The Reaper“, which was featured in “Halloween” soundtrack. But in 1978 it was interpreted by the group Blue Oyster Cult.

• When Sidney comes back into the house after being scared by the killer, Ghost Face arises from within the closet – as Michael does with Bob Simms (John Michael Graham).

• Tatum tells Sidney that the situation is beginning to appear like a flick by Wes Carpenter – a mixed name of Wes Craven and John Carpenter, the director of “Halloween.”

• One of the movies that Randy brings to Stu’s party is “Halloween” – that is the movie they decide to watch. “Scream” features some scenes and there are clear context and hypertext at various times.

• The theme from John Carpenter is playing in the scene where Dewey enters Stu’s house the second time.

• Sidney hides in closet, just as Laurie Strode – but Sidney fights back her nemesis.

• A picture of Laurie Strode is the last thing that Stuart sees in his life.

• When Randy warns “Careful this is the part where the supposably dead killer come’s back to life for one last scare” – it is a clear allusion to the immortal killers such as Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees.

Henry Winkler (Principal Himbry) stops to slick his hair back which was a trademark of his character Fonzie on the TV-show “Happy Days” (1974).

Tatum refers to “I Spit On Your Grave” (1978) when she says “What is this? I Spit On Your Garage?”

The funny self-references of “Scream” started here. Casey thinks that Ghostface’s favorite scary movie is “Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) – created, written and directed by Wes Craven. She says that the first was good but the rest sucked, including “New Nightmare” (1994), also by Craven.

Casey pulls of the killer’s mask before her last breath, and so does Tina (Amanda Wyss) to Freddie’s face.

Billy, who looks a lot like Johnny Deep in “Nightmare…”, also climbs his girlfriend’s window.

Sidney lives on 34 Elm Street – but this reference was cut out from the movie.

Joseph Whipp who lives Sheriff Burke in “Scream” also lives a man of the law in “Nightmare…” – Sgt. Parker.

The boyfriend is always acused of being the killer. Tina´s boyfriend, Rod Lane (Jsu Garcia), is an example.

Tatum wears a shirt with a #10, just like Deep´s jearsey.

To close with a golden key the references around this film, Craven makes a small cameo using the costume of Freddie Krueger (Robert Englund), as Fred, the janitor.

The plot of “Scream” have some similarities to “Prom Night” (1980), this movie is mentioned by Randy sometimes during the movie.

One of the movies rented at Stu’s party.

If “Scream” is a tribute to “Halloween”, this one turns out to be a homage to “Psycho” (1960). At the time of the release of “Halloween”, people said that this was the scariest movie since the classic from Hitchcock. Besides the surname Loomis – present in all three movies – they share other similarities:

• The biggest one is the death of Drew Barrymore’s character – one that we thought would be the damsel in distress of the movie. The same happened in “Psycho”, when Janet Leigh – the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis – is torn apart in the shower.

• Billy Loomis quotes Norman Bates: “We all go a little mad sometimes…”

“I always had a thing for you Sid” was a Lillard contribution for the movie, a reference to “Serpico” (1973).

Billy thinks that Sid has similar problems to Jodie Foster in “Silence of the Lambs” (1991).

Casey´s body in a tree reminds me a lot of the girl hanged in the begining of “Suspiria” (1977).

Sidney replies “I´m scared I´m gonna end up like my mom. You know, like The Bad Seed or something” – this is a mention to the classic of 1956.

“The Exorcist” (1973) is the movie that Billy says that he was watching before go to Sid’s house. Linda Blair does a cameo as a reporter. Blair and Craven worked together in “Summer of Fear” (1978).

Mentioned at the videostore.

When Sidney is banging in the attic window, it looks like a scene from “The Spiral Staircase” (1941).

Randy quotes, “What’s Leatherface doing here?”. A reference to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974).

Sidney compares Woodsboro with “The Town That Dreaded Sundown” (1976).

The opening scene has a strong connection with “When a Stranger Calls” (1979), which, in turn, relates to an urban legend. In it, a baby-sitter is terrorized by phone calls from a psychopath who is closer than she thinks – inside the house.

Randy imitates Jerry Lewis voice when he says “Did you really put her liver in the mailbox…”.

Other Jamie Lee Curtis´ movies are mentioned: “Trading Places” (1983), “The Fog” (1980), “Terror Train” (1980) and “Prom Night” (1980). The “Mother’s Boys” (1993) poster appears at the video store.

The movies rented to Stu´s party are: “Hellraiser“ (1987), “The Fog” (1980), “Terror Train“ (1980), “Prom Night“ (1980), and “The Evil Dead“ (1982).

Goofs

When the police arrest Billy after Sid’s first attack, they place him in the car and close the car door, in which the windows are closed. After they’ve driven off, Sheriff and Dewey go to check on Sid and in the background we can still hear Billy calling out for Sid crying out “SID!”

Gale Weathers leaves the cameraman in the back of the truck she is heard to say “I’ll be right back”, but her lips say something like “keep watching”.

When Gale discovers Kenny on the roof, she starts to drive in a circle and says “Oh God. Kenny I’m sorry, but get off my fucking windshield!” but her lips aren’t moving.

SPOILER: When Dewey gets stabbed in the back, Sidney mouths “No!” but says “Dewey!”

SPOILER: At the end of the movie when Gale Weathers is holding the gun in the kitchen, you can clearly hear the sound of the hammer being pulled before the camera goes to her. However, when the camera shows a view from behind, you can see the hammer on the gun is still up and not in a firing position. Also, on the standard Beretta 92FS handgun, the hammer is unable to cocked back with the safety on, as Billy stated it was. Furthermore, when the safety is on, the trigger will pull freely. When Gale tried pulling the trigger, she encountered resistance.

When Casey is making popcorn, she puts the salt shaker next to the stove, and leaves the kitchen. When she comes back the shaker isn’t there.

When Casey is making the popcorn, she starts pulling the cover off with her left hand near the handle. In the next shot she is seen using her right hand pulling the paper cover from the other side.

When Casey sees Steve on the patio, the killer tells her to turn off the light. You see the shadow fall across his face. Yet when the camera flashes to Steve just before he’s killed, we see the already turned-off light go off again.

SPOILER: When the killer is chasing Casey outside her house, the part of the mask that hides his neck is grey. But when the killer is strangling Casey on the grass, the neck part is jet-black and the face of the mask is also wider.

After Casey is stabbed the first time she knocks the knife out of the killer’s hands, causing him to start strangling her with both hands. When she fights him off, the knife is suddenly back in his hand again.

When Sidney looks out from her window and says, “Well I call your bluff.” She then opens the door, and apparently opens the door to where it’s facing towards the outside. But when she steps out, the door is facing inwards, into the house.

Sidney’s police jacket at police station.

No open handicap stall when Sidney enters school bathroom.

When Sidney is at the school bathroom sink her bracelet continually moves from one wrist to the other in between cuts.

The amount of paper on the floor, around the trash can, in the school bathroom.

The placement of hanging clothes in the principal’s closet.

When the principal goes to open the door the first time. The door opens left to right (the hinges are on the right side.) When he closes it he closes it left to right (the hinges are on the left side).

Length of the sheriff’s cigarette during the conversation with the deputy.

When Dewey walks into the party, he takes a beer bottle from a teenager, he then gives it back but in the next shot he still has it.

SPOILER: When Gale and Dewey go in to the party, Gale secretly places a video camera on top of the VCR facing the couch. The camera is placed at waist-level directly behind her. However, the height of both devices change. When Randy picks up the phone to receive the news of Principal Himbry’s death, he is standing upright and the camera is directly in front of his mouth.

When Tatum is getting beers from the refrigerator in the garage, she is seen grabbing beers and holding them in her right arm. When she’s done, she is originally seen from behind holding a beer in her left hand, and closing the door with her forearm, but then it switches shots, and her left and is holding two beers with her hand tucked into her arm, and closing the refrigerator door with her foot.

When Tatum throws the beer bottles at the killer in the garage, they break and wet his costume, but when the killer runs and falls over her, his costume is suddenly dry.

When Tatum is locked in the garage she reaches up to hit the garage door button to get out with her left hand because the beer bottles are in her right. On the close-up of her hand pushing the button it’s her right that hits it.

SPOILER: The amount of blood on the knife in garage after cutting Tatum.

At Stu’s party, everyone watches Halloween (1978). However, the scenes shown from that movie do not correlate with the time passing in this movie. For example, the time between Laurie finding her friends murdered and the “closet scene” is ten to twelve minutes in Halloween; in this movie, closer to 30 minutes elapse.

Randy says “Here comes the obligatory tit shot” while watching Halloween (1978) and everyone cheers, supposedly at the sight of breasts, but the scene they are watching at that precise moment doesn’t show nudity. The girl’s breasts in Halloween aren’t revealed until a later scene (and, some claim, not at all in the video version).

The number of standing beers on table during the “rules” speech.

When Randy and friends are watching horror movies, Randy says, “She always outsmarted the killer during the big chase seen. Virgins always do that.” However, when Kenny and Gale watch the footage on their hidden camera, the sentences have been shortened to, “The virgin always outsmarts the killer in the big chase scene.”

The white car disappears when running Dewey and Gale off the road.

SPOILER: When Tatum dies her head is seen being squished completely but later when Sidney finds her body, her head is still there and her neck is being squished.

SPOILER: When Tatum is killed in the garage, both of her arms hang in mid air, but when Sidney finds her dead, only one of her arms his hanging down.

SPOILER: The bloodstain after Billy gets stabbed.

SPOILER: In the end, there are no cuts or stab marks on Stu after Billy stabs him many times.

SPOILER: When Stu is setting up Sidney’s dad to be framed, you can see him put the cell phone in front of the voice changer box in his pocket. But when it cuts back and her dad is pushed to the floor, you see the cell phone is now behind the voice changer box.

Reflection in window of the opening sequence.

When Casey is running to lock her front door, you can see the shadow of some equipment on the wall as she is running around the corner.

As Sidney is walking up the side porch, after getting off the bus, a boom mic shadow is visible near her hand.

When Billy is being put into the cop car.

The camera crew is briefly visible in the reflection of the television after Dewey turns it off at breakfast, the morning after Sydney stayed at Tatum and Dewey’s house.

Shadow in the school bathroom.

When Billy says, “…and if you get it right, you die,” Stu bumps into the camera making it shake.

SPOILER: Near the end, when Sidney’s dad crashes through the door tied up, you can see a crew member pushing mops/brooms etc out after he falls (better spotted when paused and pressing frame advance button).

The police station is supposedly on a one-way street, but a sign reading “Slow School X-ing” indicates traffic travels in both directions.

Obvious stunt double when Sidney is attacked for the first time and knocked to the floor.

When a guy walks out of the shop that closes its door because of the curfew, the reflection in the shop door shows him walk past the camera and stop.

SPOILER: The shadow of the dummy’s feet used when Tatum gets stuck in the garage is visible before the scene takes place.

When watching Ghost face sneak up on Randy, Neve Campbell accidentally breaks character and calls him “Jaime!”.

SPOILER: When Billy gets “stabbed” by the killer it shows the killer wiping off the knife but right after it shows blood still on the knife. Then he wipes it off again.

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Everything about SCREAM (1996), movie directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson.
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The music and score – composed by Marco Beltrami – of SCREAM (1996).
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