A quarter century after the mysterious masked murderer known as Ghostface first slashed his way through a California high school, horror fans are still “Scream”-ing for more.
Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard, who played the first killers in the “Scream” franchise, never thought people would still be talking about their movie 25 years later, never mind that the original would spawn four sequels and a TV series and help sell countless Ghostface masks at Halloween.
Now Ulrich and Lillard, who played Billy and Stu, respectively, in 1996′s “Scream,” are enjoying the renewed attention being paid to the movie ahead of the newly remastered Blu-ray that was released Tuesday.
“I think there was just a love of the brutality of it,” Ulrich, 51, told the Daily News.
“Maybe if you’re part of the Marvel Universe, you expect certain things. Outside of that, and certainly in [1996], there was no way to know” the lasting impact the movie would have, added Ulrich, who now stars on TV’s “Riverdale.”
“One thing about this movie is that, collectively, as a cast, I think that it all represents such a big part of our youth,” the 51-year-old Lillard told The News. “We don’t take it lightly that we’re [in] this movie that still resonates.”
“Scream” was a game changer. when it opened in December 1996. The over-the-top gore in Wes Craven’s soon-to-be slasher classic not only satisfied bloodthirsty audiences, the movie deftly satirized the horror films of the ‘70s and ‘80s by deconstructing genre conventions.
Franchise regulars Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell starred in the original, which went on to make nearly $200 million worldwide.
The latest entry in the franchise — also titled “Scream” — will be released in theaters in 2022 and again feature the three stars.
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