“SCREAM VI”, ICONIC GHOSTFACE IS BACK

“SCREAM VI”, ICONIC GHOSTFACE IS BACK

Cinema Writer/Film Critic Efe TEKSOY; wrote the horror, thriller, and mystery film “SCREAM VI”, for America’s Los Angeles-based Internet Newspaper @alaturkanews.

A MODERN HORROR CLASSIC

Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Media Group, Project X Entertainment, and Radio Silence production Scream VI, took its place in the vision. This 6th sequel of the cult horror series Scream, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, brings a new breath to the iconic series. This time around, the story stays true to the horror movie subgenre slasher element but still brings more of an action movie aesthetic to Scream 6, with fight sequences and spectacular drops in dizzying heights and dangerous sequences. The Scream (2022), which defined itself as the first story of the 1996 movie The Scream, restarted the series by centering Sam and Tara Carpenter. Scream 6 reunites some familiar faces for a terrifying, sharp, and bloody horror experience. Melissa Barrera stars in the original 1996 film as Sam Carpenter, the illegitimate daughter of Billy Loomis, the first serial killer to wear the Ghostface mask, along with accomplice Stu Macher.

Four survivors of the Ghostface murders leave Woodsboro behind to move to New York City and turn a new leaf. But Ghostface has little intention of letting them go.

Stars; Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Mason Gooding, Roger L. Jackson, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, Samara Weaving, Hayden Panettiere, and Courteney Cox.

SOCIOLOGY OF THE MASK

Considered the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century, Erving Goffman was the 73rd President of the American Sociological Association. He made important contributions to the world of sociology with the concepts he put forward on social interaction. His book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is presented by the International Sociological Association as the 10th most important book in sociology in the 20th century and received the American Sociological Association’s MacIver Award. The book states that people give many performances in everyday life and we wear various masks to make an effective impression. Goffman; “Anyone who is confident in their thinking, proud of their position, or anxious to fulfill their duty wears a tragic mask.” He states that he commissioned him to be himself and conveyed all the arrogance of man to him. When we look at the movie Scream VI from a sociological perspective, we see that the characters actually show fake performances (as Goffman mentioned in his book) and wear masks in a metaphorical sense. Especially the character of Sam Carpenter, who has internal conflicts, wears a tragic mask, and questions her place between good and evil.

A NEW COMMENT TO THE NEW SERIES

The Scream is a cult horror series loved by superfans who have a deep connection to various elements in the movies. Bringing a new understanding to this iconic series is a very risky business. However, Scream VI masterfully balances horror, humor, and a film-within-a-film approach and masterfully saves this. In the movie; In the city of New York, one of the most populated metropolitan areas in the world, it is shown that even the Ghost Masked killer must try harder to survive. With brutal murders and the highest body count from the series’ previous one, Scream 6’s masked killer is unlike any other Ghostfaced. It seems that the killer even used a different, old, stained, cracked mask to make his look a little more creepy. French philosopher Roland Barthes, one of the founders of European semiotics (semiology) and master of thought and writing in the twentieth century, in his work consisting of his essays called Rhetoric of Image, Art, and Music; states that in the functional history of the mask, which has changed according to the periods, it is used as a metaphysics of psychological essences and reveals the physical nuances in an exaggerated way. Barthes says about the theatrical change of the mask over time. In the horror cinema universe (in the cult film series with a modernized interpretation) we see that, this change in Ghostface’s mask has also taken a new shape and become iconic.

CREATING META-HORROR

Production designer Michèle Laliberté describes Scream 6 as her dream project and says she enjoys using design elements and surprise eggs to commemorate previous films. “It was fun trying to add a lot of little details to tie all the Scream movies together in our world.” Costume designer Avery Plewes played a big role in bringing Ghostface fans to the highest meta-level. The movie theater, where the final showdown took place, has been transformed into a secret Ghost faced museum, the temple of all real and fictional Ghostfaced in the series. Actress Melissa Barrera says: “Extraordinary. For us, as fans of the movies, it was incredible and strange to go in and see the objects and treasures featured in iconic moments in the series. Seeing nine Ghostfaced models on stage was the most chilling. It is very cultic.”

 THE SECRET BEHIND THE MASK

When costume designer Avery Plewes first joined the project, she was extremely concerned about designing costumes for the beloved series, which had an ardent fan base. “Designing Ghostface was surprisingly difficult because you think it’s just a black cloak. But creating a creepy void on camera was crucial. One thing that was so clever in the original movie and continues in the other movies is that there is glitter in the cape. Used in camera to create texture and dimension. Because usually when you see black in the movie, it creates a black hole. Most people don’t realize it, but of course, the fans knew.” Plewes also adds a little meta detail to the cape design as a reference to the fans. She added three tassels on both sides. “Six for the sixth movie. Then we added the second layer behind it, which also carries a different glow. So it takes up more space. There are six chains on both sides.” The famous costume designer also had to modify his Ghostface mask. It was a process that he found both scary and fun. Even though the masks were from around 1996, they were supposed to look old. “The producers wanted the mask to be cracked but still retain the look of the most recognizable, classic Ghostface mask. I started looking at broken dolls, and porcelain doll heads, where the glossy surface was peeling off. We had a few masks to make. We identified the small details we wanted to see on them and started working from there. The most worn cracked mask is the scariest and has the most size and texture. We added light and dark highlights.” Ghostface Mask was originally released by Fun World Div., Easter Unlimited Inc. It came out as an anonymous, mass-produced mask designed by. Over the years, Fun World has made different versions of the iconic mask, and is protected globally, including the aged Ghost Mask Zombie Mask. Plewes says: “We wanted to add cracks, and discolorations on Fun World’s old Ghostface mask work in the version we used in Scream 6.

SCREAM VI

Filmed in studios at locations in Montreal, Scream 6 takes place in New York. Moving from a small town to a big metropolis as a place means a change in the look and feel of the previous films of the series. Much of it means that it involved describing a hectic place where danger could come from anywhere. This takes the viewing pleasure to the next level. Horror, thriller, and mystery genre Scream VI brings a different and modernized interpretation to the cult horror series, offering the audience a thriller-filled adventure.

EFE TEKSOY

REFERENCES

Roland Barthes, Görüntünün Retoriği Sanat ve Müzik (Rhetoric of Image, Art and Music barthes), translate. Ayşenaz Koş & Ömer Albayrak, İstanbul: Yapı Kredi yayınları press, 2017

Erving Goffman, Günlük Yaşamda Benliğin Sunumu (The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life), translate. Barış Cezar, İstanbul: Metis yayınları press, 2020