'It was nice to play some real emotion': Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell dish on 'Scream' legacy
Neve Campbell will forever be haunted by Ghostface, and she’s totally cool with that.
The actress gets a load of the slasher antagonist on the regular even when she's not actually going toe-to-toe with the masked villain of the “Scream” movies, from the 1996 meta-horror original to the fifth installment hitting theaters Friday.
“I don't know that it'll ever not be trippy, opening my door to Ghostface every year (on Halloween) or having my kids see Ghostface and knowing I'm a part of it,” Campbell says.
Her character Sidney Prescott was a teenager when she survived the original Woodsboro Murders as the primary target of Ghostface – aka her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and his psycho pal Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) – in the first “Scream,” which also launched “Scream” regulars Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) into the pop-culture pantheon.
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Set 25 years later, the latest “Scream” – and the first not directed by Wes Craven, who died in 2015 – finds another Ghostface on the loose hunting a bunch of high school kids in a story that mines its own mythology in new ways.
“The Woodsboro roots run very deep in this,” says executive producer Chad Villella, part of the Radio Silence filmmaking collective with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (“Ready or Not”).
“So much of ‘Scream’ is about legacy and generations, the handoff between generations and sins of the past,” Gillett adds. “There was something in that I think made the whole thing just congeal real nicely.”
The cast and the filmmakers break down what’s new in the latest “Scream”:
A fresh-faced ‘Scream’ queen comes home
The franchise’s newest lead character, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), left Woodsboro years ago but needs to return when her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) is attacked by Ghostface. “There was too much trauma there, so she had to get out, she had to get away. And with that sacrifice, getting away from the person that she loved the most,” Barrera says of her role. “Coming back all these years later, you see her come face-to-face with her fears and conquer them, which is so characteristic of the franchise. It's always led by like powerful women who go from victim to warriors and fighters and protectors, and Sam is following in the footsteps of Sidney and Gale.”
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Sidney Prescott is one tough mother
The latest film finds Sidney content as a happy wife and mom, and no longer a reluctant heroine who in the past has hidden away from her past. When she gets the call that old friends need her help, she doesn’t hesitate to jump into action. “The possibility of a threat to your child just takes her strength to another level,” Campbell says. “It's nice to go in with, oh, well, Sidney would have no doubt whatsoever now. Not that she ever has much doubt, but she needs to take care of this because of the possibility of Ghostface coming for her family.”
Gale Weathers reaches a career highlight
Cox's ruthless newswoman is a New York City morning show anchor when the film begins. "It's always been her dream to be known across at least America and that was a big deal for her, to move away and do that," Cox says. She and Dewey have split up – mirroring Cox and Arquette's real-life divorce after 2011's "Scream 4" – but Ghostface's reappearance gives Gale a chance to mend fences. "There is an evolution of Gale," Cox says. "I like playing the campy stuff and she still has some quips, but it's 10 years later and we have all gotten older. And it was nice to play some real emotion in this film."
Lawman Dewey Riley has seen better days
Unlike Sidney and Gale, the former Woodsboro sheriff has remained in town, although past experiences weigh heavily on him and he constantly feels the pain of previous encounters (including several stab wounds). Dewey gets his cop swagger back investigating the new Ghostface with Sam and her boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid). “It was interesting that his life hadn’t turned out the way he’d wanted or expected. He found himself in a darker place and these new guys come around and lift him up,” Arquette says. “As you get older, you do get a little road-weary. You understand life a little more.”
New filmmakers bring the gore
“Scream” movies have never been for the faint of heart, but Campbell is quick to point out how the filmmakers went extra hard on the blood spatter, shattered bones and nasty neck wounds. “Wes would just be giggling. He would love it. It seems like they can't help themselves,” Campbell says. Living up to Craven’s violence in the original “Scream” was important for Gillett: “If we're doing our jobs right, you should be hoping that we're getting through it as quickly as possible, which is why we make you sit in it longer.” Adds Bettinelli-Olpin, “The agony of being in that moment with the characters is something we take really seriously.”
That old Ghostface is as freaky as ever
The ghoulish figure continues to be one of the franchise’s most iconic aspects. "There's something about not knowing who the killer's going to be each time," Cox says. "Anybody could be behind that mask." Getting to share screen time with Ghostface was the first time Barrera felt "genuinely scared" when acting, she says. "There's something so intimidating about the robe and the mask once it's on a person. When you see it like hanging on a hanger, the robe is glittery and you're like, ‘Oh, that seems harmless.’ And then when our stunt people would put it on and grab a knife, it would be terrifying.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Scream' movie reunites Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell – and Ghostface
