Scream VI directors share the nail-biting Ghostface chase scenes they wanted to top

Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have revealed which legendary Ghostface chases they wanted to top in the latest instalment of the hit horror franchise.

The new film picks up from where the 2022 reboot left off as the Carpenter siblings (Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera) leave Woodsboro to start a new life in New York, alongside twins Chad and Mindy Meeks (Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown).

Before long, though, the past returns to haunt them as Ghostface re-emerges to stalk the survivors, leaving the usual carnage in his wake.

The most instantly recognisable hallmarks of any Scream film are the dramatic Ghostface vs survivor chase set pieces. Over the years, Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) met her fate in the original Scream, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) was hounded off a roof, then across a field by the masked killer, and Jenna Ortega was attacked in the franchise’s most recent outing.

Now, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have told Collider that they had all these and more in mind when directing Scream VI – but that the chases they really wanted to outdo were both from 1997’s Scream 2.

“The Gale/Dewey sound-booth, pizza, that whole shebang,” said Bettinelli-Olpin, when asked which set piece he wanted to top.

The scene involves Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) running from Ghostface in a recording studio, with the signature twist being the sound-proofed booths. Weathers is therefore unable to hear Dewey pounding on the glass behind her, only turning around as he meets the business end of Ghostface’s blade.

Gillett, on the other hand, opted for what is widely known as the police car scene, and hinted at some of the ingredients that might be sprinkled throughout Scream VI.

“The police car, climbing over Ghostface. The stacking of obstacles one on top of another was, I think, the thing that we’ve always thought defined the sequences in the franchise. There [are] so many ingredients to play with here.”

The description of “climbing over Ghostface” refers to the killer falling unconscious into the driver’s seat after a car chase’s abrupt end. Prescott and a fellow reporter have to then extract themselves from the back of the vehicle by clambering gingerly over the maniacal murderer. Nail-biting stuff.

The first reviews for Scream VI have been overwhelmingly positive. If its chase scenes are up to par with those mentioned by the directors, we can see why.

Scream VI opens in the UK tomorrow (8 March).