While having been one of the franchise’s more brutal killers, a Scream star nearly had their Ghostface reveal undermined by the costume’s uncomfortable feeling. Despite the white face being sourced from a store-bought Halloween costume, the Ghostface Killer is a slasher icon after the villain made their debut in 1996’s Scream. With a black robe, blade, and modulated voice provided by Roger L. Jackson, the killer has terrorized the teens of Woodsboro and audiences across six movies, with Scream 7 currently in development.
As of 2023’s Scream 6, there have been a total of 13 individuals who have taken on the idenтιтy of the Ghostface Killer, each with their own motives. The first three movies’ killers were mostly motivated by a personal vendetta against Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott due to her family’s history, but later movies would offer far more varied motives. Several later Ghostface killers cited the original Woodsboro cases as an inspiration, either to establish their own fame, or out of a twisted sense of fandom for the murders and the Stab! franchise they inspired.
The Ghostface Costume Made Mikey Madison Faint
The Restrictive Costume Made Filming Impossible
In 2022’s Scream, the Ghostface Killers were revealed to be Mikey Madison’s Amber Freeman and Jack Quaid’s Richie Kirsch. Rather than having a personal motive against Sidney, both Amber and Richie came together over their fixation on the Stab! franchise, plotting a new spree that could inspire new movies and right the series’ trajectory. Ultimately, the pair would be brought to justice thanks to the efforts of Sidney, Gale Weathers (Courtenay Cox), and Sam and Tara Carpenter (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega).
However, Madison revealed to GQ that she had an unfortunate accident when filming Amber’s killer reveal, as she had stepped onto set already facing some minor health issues. In order to prepare herself for the scene and its high-adrenaline moments, the actor had decided to jump up and down in costume to make herself appear raring to go, but her prior feelings paired with the restrictive outfit led to her needing to step away from set and ultimately fainting, much to the concern of the crew and her co-stars. Check out Madison’s reflection below:
There was one day where I already wasn’t feeling great. Something was kind of off. I didn’t really know what it was, and I put on the Ghostface costume, which is like a hooded cape with gloves, and it’s all sealed in, so all the heat was sort of just being sealed in, and I kind of was like not really feeling well. We were about to shoot this big reveal scene, so I was jumping up and down, and trying to get my heart rate up. And I was like, “Oh, uh oh, I think I’m going to pᴀss out.” And so I just like walked off set and went into a tent, and I just fainted, which I’ve never fainted before in my entire life, and I fainted in the freaking Ghostface costume.
So they’re like, “Okay, we will continue filming after the weekend.” It was fine. I think it was actually kind of a blessing because I was able to take the weekend and just be a little bit more prepared but, I mean. I remember Neve Campbell calling me and being like, “Are you okay? Did you eat enough this morning?” I was like, “Yeah, I’m sick or something.” And she was like, “Well, you’re not the first person to faint in one of those costumes.” I was like that makes me feel better.
Our Thoughts On Madison’s Ghostface Portrayal
The Star’s Killer Was An Unhinged & Memorable Murderer
Despite her on-set mishap and health issues, Madison’s Scream performance was not negatively affected by the incident, as the actor gave the franchise one of its most terrifying killers. While she may have been introduced as Tara’s caring and concerned friend, Amber’s true killer personality is a far cry from this persona, switching between cool and calculated to manic and murderous with ease. With this performance, Madison crafted a memorable character who stands out among the Scream franchise’s most infamous villains.
Source: GQ
