The clothes make the killer
As Scream 6, the fifth iteration of Wes Craven’s 1996 horror film from an original idea by Kevin Williamson, hits screens March 8, the serial killer’s costume has become the visual signature of a franchise entering its fourth decade. After Jason’s hockey mask in Friday the 13th, the diaphanous one of Michael Myers in Halloween or even the human skin one of Leatherface, the cannibal psychopath in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this strange silhouette with a hooded dress has imposed itself. black and a white mask resembling a ghost’s head which refers to the work of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch The Scream.
A lucky coincidence
Contrary to what one might imagine, this mask is not the idea of ??anyone, neither the director nor his screenwriter. It was discovered by chance, while Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson are scouting. While inspecting a house, a props man unearths a costume for the Halloween party in a trunk. The mask hits Wes Craven, convinced he has found what he was looking for. Originally, his film was to be called “Scary Movie” (this name will be taken up by a parody horror film), but the discovery of this accessory imposes another title, Scream, the English name of the painting of Edvard Munch.
A very “fun” copyright
The famous disguise was created in 1991 by a designer, Brigitte Sleiertin. Notoriety helping, his former boss, Alan Geller, will claim to be the author of the mask, without ever being able to prove it. It is however established that the disguise was marketed by the company Fun World, for which both worked. Initially, Wes Craven wanted to stand out from this costume by keeping only the mask. Dimension Films, a subsidiary of Miramax, the production company at the time run by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, then tried various tests, without conclusive results. The Weinstein brothers therefore ended up signing an agreement with Fun World.
The cry of the heart
Since the release of Scream, this disguise remains among the best-selling in the United States during the Halloween party. Regularly, the shape of “Ghostface” is subtly revisited in order to maintain the appetite of collectors. Colors have been added, patterns too, such as the American flag or Beelzebub horns. In September 2022, the mask from the last episode, signed by the actors, was sold at auction for 27,555 dollars (25,854 euros). The profits were donated to charity.
