In 1996 horror was experiencing a bit of a slump at the box office, with Hollywood seemingly out of ideas in terms of how to keep the genre fresh. That all changed with the release of ‘Scream’, directed by horror maestro Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Rewriting the rules of the horror genre, the film was a huge hit across the globe and it spawned two sequels in quick succession – ‘Scream 2’ in 1997 and ‘Scream 3’ in 2000. Originally devised as a trilogy, the series made a surprise return in 2011 with ‘Scream 4’ but the film’s underwhelming box office performance put a stop to the planned second trilogy.
11 years later, the ‘Scream’ franchise made a comeback under the watchful eye of Radio Silence aka Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who paid a respectful homage to the late Craven with their two films – ‘Scream’ in 2022 and ‘Scream VI’ in 2023. With ‘Scream 7’ scheduled for a February 2026 release, following a tumultuous couple of years which saw two of its leads leave the project, it feels timely to look back on the franchise. Ashley Cullins has done just that in her new book ‘Your Favourite Scary Movie’.
A long-time fan of the franchise, Cullins takes readers on a complete history of the ‘Scream’ films. Featuring contributions from members of the cast and crew, including Kevin Williamson and franchise lead Neve Campbell, the book uncovers the often-fraught journey of bringing the much-loved horror series to the big screen. Taking readers back to the very beginning when an unknown Kevin Williamson was shopping around a script known as ‘Scary Movie’, Cullins leaves no stone unturned and gives fans a real insight into what the making of each of the seven films was like.
It's interesting to hear early on in the book that no one had much confidence in ‘Scary Movie’ originally, and that it was a struggle to get it made. Of course, once ‘Scary Movie’ was retitled ‘Scream’ and unleashed into the world, it changed the face of horror movies and spawned a long-running franchise. Cullins digs into the interference of the studio, Dimension Films, who wanted to keep churning out the films to capitalise on their popularity with little regard for the people who were making them a success. By the time the franchise reached the third film, Williamson was jaw-droppingly considered expendable when he became busy with other projects.
Reading about each of the films is fascinating. The overwhelming take away is that the cast had fantastic experiences under both Craven and Radio Silence, but often it was the studio that caused plenty of issues. From not truly understanding the film that was being made through to not respecting the talent that makes them successful, it’s quite remarkable that the franchise has made as many films as it has. A good portion of the book is spent talking about Craven, who sadly passed away in 2015. Cullins discusses the positive impact he had on set, paints a picture of a man who was worlds away from the horror genre, and highlights the respect that he commanded from his cast and crew.
The books juicier moments come when Cullins reaches the 2022 ‘Scream’ film and the franchise’s subsequent resurrection. She talks about the situation that led Neve Campbell to walk away from ‘Scream VI’ and she documents the troubled path to ‘Scream 7’, which saw Melissa Barrera fired and Neve Campbell return after negotiating a deal she was comfortable with. The drama surrounding ‘Scream 7’ has played out in the media already but Cullins gets a few gems from the likes of director Christopher Landon, who was originally hired to direct but decided to walk away when the fan backlash became too much. Cullins also gets plenty out of Williamson who surprised himself by accepting the offer to direct the new movie.
‘Your Favourite Scary Movie’ is a bit of a whirlwind to read. There are some areas that I wish Cullins had dug into a little more, but overall the book gives a good overview of the franchise. Cullins highlights its impact on the horror genre, captures the love that the cast and crew feel for the franchise, and pays suitable tribute to Wes Craven. The inclusion of so many people involved in the film – Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Parker Posey to name a few – gives a well-rounded perspective, and it’s interesting that the cast seems to have had a much different experience than the crew. ‘Your Favourite Scary Movie’ is a must-read ahead of ‘Scream 7’ and I hope there’ll be a sequel to the book in a few years when more ‘Scream’ films have inevitably been made.
Publisher: Plume Release date: 19th August 2025 Buy ‘Your Favourite Scary Movie’ now
This article contains an affiliate link. Purchases through this link may result in us earning a commission.
