Even as the latest installments have reinvigorated the series, Matthew Lillard admits to having one gripe with the newScreammovies. Lillard starred in the franchise-launching original as Stu Macher, one of the two teens revealed to be the Ghostface killer, though was defeated and seemingly killed in that movie’s ending. Though the franchise has seemingly moved beyond him, Lillard has always remained hopeful tomake aScreamreturn, expressing that Stu survived his climactic fight with Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott.
During a recent interview withGamesRadar+, Lillard opened up about his thoughts on the current state of theScreamfranchise. Though the star was largely positive in his views, expressing his love for what Radio Silence did with the past two movies,he did admit to being happier that creator Kevin Williamson is back in creative control forScream 7, feeling that the recent installments were “too violent”. See what Lillard explained below:
I think it’s in a good place. I think that [the movie being] back in the hands of Kevin Williams is great. I love what [Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin] were doing before. Nothing against them. In fact, I thought they were taking a really exciting [path]. I thought the movie got too violent. I think 6 was, like… I don’t think Ghostface ever needs a shotgun. I think that the movies are – everything is trying to repeat what we did in the first movie in a lot of ways. Like a maniacal monologue at the end. It’s really hard to do. I hope that Kevin takes it in a brand new, brave, and exciting direction so that we can sort of find different colors and different joys.
What Lillard’s Comments Mean For Scream’s Future
Williamson May Be Aiming For A Subtler Approach
Though Wes Craven’s original installments in the franchise weren’t necessarily tame, Lillard’s comments about therecentScreammovies' violencedoes show the different approach Radio Silence brought to the franchise. When comparing the trajectories of the late horror icon with the directing team,Radio Silence did come from a much harder-R-rating past than Craven by the time he got to the slasher franchise, with the latter instead being better known for telling psychologically tense horror stories than visceral experiences.
One of the prime examples of the different approaches between the two is Craven’s originalA Nightmare on Elm Street. Where the sequels became known for their intricate and gruesome death sequences, the 1984 classic was a more subdued one, including a few brutal kills, but generally staying focused on a chilling atmosphere. Radio Silence, on the other hand,have often displayed a fondness for gore throughout their filmography, whether inthe explosiveReady or Notendingor the comedic chaos ofAbigail.
Scream 7 Is Going To Have A Really Tough Time Topping This Ghostface Kill
The highly anticipated seventh installment in the Scream film series has a lot to live up to following one memorable Ghostface kill in Scream 6.
As such, in having Williamson not only as the writer, but also in the director’s chair for the next installment,Scream 7may returnto the subtler nature of Craven’s movies. The gory kills of the past two movies weren’t inherently poorly received by critics or fans of the franchise, save for Dewey’s divisive death in the 2022 installment, but with many of Williamson’s movies taking a similar approach to avoiding over-the-top gore, the next sequel may feel closer to the originals than Radio Silence’s.
Our Take On Violence In The Scream Franchise
Diverse Voices Keep The Kills Feeling Fresh
As a longtime horror genre fan, I can certainly appreciate a desire for more subtle violence as much as those who appreciate visceral kills, and I think that the different styles of Radio Silence and Wes Craven with theScreammovies are what make them all great in their own rights. WhileDewey’s death is definitely divisive, the intense visual of it still nicely fit the moment for me, considering he’d survived so many other near-death encounters with Ghostface, and as such it left no doubt about his fate.
Which Ghostface Has The Highest Kill Count In The Scream Movies
Each Ghostface in the Scream franchise has murdered at least one person in their respective movies, but one character killed more than the rest.
When it comes to the future of theScreamfranchise, regardless of what Williamson brings to the next installment, I think having filmmakers willing to take different approaches to the kills will help keep things feeling fresh, even if the story plays true to the iconic formula of Williamson’s original movies. Ghostface may always be a slasher serial killer, but in showcasing killers with different levels of brutality, the whodunnit nature of the movies can really toy with audience expectations of how far the various suspects are willing to go with their kills.
Source:GamesRadar+
Scream
Created by Kevin Williamson and originally helmed by Wes Craven, the Scream franchise takes a meta approach to the slasher horror franchise, centering on teenagers well-versed in the genre who find themselves hunted and killed by figures donning the Ghostface mask. The first four movies revolved around Neve Campbell’s Sydney Prescott as she frequently found herself the target of different Ghostface killers, while the fifth and sixth installments introduced new protagonists, sisters Tara and Sam, with their own dark past connected to the original Ghostface killer.
