I never thought it would be hit, says ‘Scream’ creator 30 years later

When he sat down to write the first “Scream” film which appeared in cinemas exactly 30 years ago, horror movies were out of fashion and aspiring Hollywood creative Kevin Williamson had low expectations. “I never thought it would be a hit actually. I was just trying to get a job.

I was just trying to write a script to get noticed by Hollywood so that I get hired to write another movie,” he told AFP. “And I just wrote what I love: I love horror films,” he added. When “Scream” came out in 1996, directed by Wes Craven, it sparked a host of copycat slasher movies and has gone on to become one of the most successful horror franchises in the history of cinema.

The white mask of the Ghostface killer has become a pop culture reference. The opening scene — featuring its signature mix of fear and dark humour with Drew Barrymore, the film’s biggest star who is killed within 12 minutes — is considered by many as one of the most memorable openings in the whole genre. Williamson, who is directing “Scream 7” which comes out this week after a hugely troubled lead-up, took his original inspiration from a real-life serial killer who murdered four students in Florida in 1990.

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“I just got so scared that I spawned the show,” he explained. Craven, who also made the cult “Nightmare on Elm Street” films, died in 2015 after working on four Scream films with Williamson. “When Wes passed, I had sort of said goodbye to the franchise, and thinking it was over for me,” Williamson told AFP. “And then when they brought me back into the fold, I got excited again.”

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