The team behind the new “Scream” movie were well aware that they’d be fighting against spoilers in any footage released, which is why the new trailer serves as a classic misdirect…
When the original “Scream” was released in 1996, audiences were shocked and stunned at the identities of the killers who had been stalking poor Sidney Prescott throughout the entire film.
That mystery led to fans flocking to the internet long before Reddit or Twitter existed in order to posit theories and ask questions about who would be the killer when “Scream 2” was set for release. It also set the stage for the “Scream” franchise to serve as one of the biggest in horror history because discovering the identity of the killer or killers became just as important to the audience as the actual scares that kept them on the edge of their collective seats.
The directors and writers behind the upcoming “Scream” sequel due out on Jan. 14, 2022 were also well aware of the audience they were serving with the new film, which is why they were very careful when putting together the recently released trailer that revealed the first footage from the movie.
“This was a hard trailer for [marketing] to put together, and I think one of the things we’re happy with is that anything that you might think is a spoiler in this, there’s a good chance you’re wrong,” co-director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin told Bloody Disgusting. “There are misdirects within the movie. There are misdirects within the trailer.
“For us, that’s just the fun of the whole thing to make this a big whodunnit. Spoilers suck, but the fun as fans is to talk about who might be the killer. Then to go through it forensically to try and find out and see if you can win the game, basically.”
Bettinelli-Olpin and his directing partner Tyler Gillett took over the “Scream” franchise after pitching an idea to carry on the story from the original films while also paying homage to legendary director Wes Craven, who helmed all of the previous films in the series prior to his death.
Both directors decided right away that the film had to feature plenty of Easter eggs from previous movies as well as clues that could lead the audience to discover the identity of the killer or push them in a completely wrong direction.
“I can say that every corner of this movie, during the making of it, we have been very aware how to service fans, where the misdirects are happening, and the path that we want to lead people down,” Gillet said. “Obviously, without spoiling the movie, we can certainly say that the trailer is definitely doing that dance. Part of what we love about the Scream movies, and what we love about the Scream fandom is just how deep people watch these movies.
“We think some of the fun of this experience is this forensic watching of things and trying to figure out who the killer is. It’s all a part of what’s so unique and so special about this franchise to us. As deep, deep fans of the original four, we took pains to populate the world of this movie, and certainly the materials with as many fun nods and Easter eggs and misdirects as possible.”
If there’s been one major complaint about trailers lately, it’s that studios often times give away so much during a two to three minute clip that many movie goers feel like the story has already been ruined for them.
Chad Villella, who serves as one of the producers on the movie and the third part of the Radio Silence filmmaking group that also includes the directors, promises that the trailer is ultimately just a very, very small piece of the puzzle that will finally come together when “Scream” opens in theaters.
“This is the tip of a very, very large iceberg,” Villella said. “A very, very deceptive iceberg. The marketing campaign is just kicking off, and we’re very excited for all the materials that will flow out over the next three months leading up to release. This is just the first taste. It shows you the heart of the movie without showing you too much of what happens.
“That’s exactly what we’re going for; we want people to lean in, but we don’t want the movie to be ruined. We want them to enjoy every minute of it and discover what’s going on and who’s who in the theater.”
Of course there are still more trailers to come before the film is released so we’ll see what other details are eventually revealed but for now get excited about the new “Scream” sequel arriving in January!
