Ghostface (identity)

An original mold for the Ghostface mask based on Fun World's design but with significant differences, including more pronounced features, in order to avoid copyright issues.

The Ghostface costume is the outfit worn by the main antagonists of the Scream franchise, consisting of a rubber white mask with black eyes, nose, and mouth and black, cloth-like material, hooded-robe with faux-tatters draping from the arms and a spiked-trim to the base of the outfit. In the movie, the costume is considered common and easily purchasable making identifying the buyers difficult and creating the possibility for anyone to be the killer.

The Ghostface mask was first developed for novelty stores during the Halloween season between 1991 and 1992 by Fun World employee Brigitte Sleiertin as part of a series entitled "Fantastic Faces", the mask itself known as "The Peanut-Eyed Ghost".[16] The final design was approved by Fun World vice-President Allan Geller. Craven claimed to have originally found the mask[17] but later clarified that he had misremembered the event and that it was producer Marianne Maddalena who discovered it. She found it while inside a house during location scouting for the film and brought it to the attention of Craven, who set about trying to obtain the rights to use it.[18] Fun World Licensing Director R.J. Torbert joined Fun World in 1996 and was given the task of naming the mask prior to its film debut, deciding on "GhostFace" with the blessing of Fun World owners Stanley and Allan Geller. Torbert felt it looked like a "ghost in pain", believing it to be a unique design. The Ghostface design and title are owned by Fun World.[19]

The design of the mask bears reference to Edvard Munch's painting The Scream, one of the characters on the cover of the Pink Floyd album The Wall and the ghostly characters that appeared in the 1930s Betty Boop cartoon. The mask is stark white and depicts a caricature of someone screaming and crying at the same time. Designer Sleiertin stated that the mask displayed different emotions, "It's a horrible look, it's a sorry look, it's a frantic look".[16] Since the appearance of Ghostface in Scream, the costume has become the most worn and sold costume for Halloween in the United States.[20]

The initial script labeled the main antagonist as "masked killer" with no specifications to its appearance, forcing Craven and his staff to produce the costume eventually worn by Ghostface as they were shooting.[21] Craven asked Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger of design company KNB Effects to produce a mask specifically for the film based on the Fun World design but did not like the final result. After Fun World and Dimension Films were able to complete an agreement for the use of the Ghostface mask, Craven was able to use the original design as he wanted. The custom mask made by KNB Effects still appears in the scenes involving the murder of Casey Becker and Principal Himbry as filming of these scenes completed prior to the finalization of the deal between Fun World and Dimension Films.[22]

The Ghostface masks as seen in (top left-bottom right) Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3 and Scream 4.

The 1991–92 "Fantastic Faces" edition of the mask used in Scream is made of thin, white rubber with blackened eyes, nose, and mouth. Despite being portrayed by Ulrich and Lillard, the costume is mostly worn by stuntman Dane Farwell born 1957 and who gave the character many of its mannerisms including the ritualistic cleaning of the knife blade following a kill.[17] In the first film, Craven wore the costume during the opening murder scene where the character is struck by a phone and by Ulrich only once during a finale scene where the character prepares to murder Randy.[17] Despite Stu wearing the costume in the film, actor Lillard never actually wore the outfit.[17] Scream 2 features a slightly redesigned version of the mask from the "Fearsome Faces" line, possessing slightly-altered eyes and an indented chin.[22] Following Scream 2, the Ghostface mask became part of the "Ghostface" line of masks featuring several variations of the design including glow-in-the-dark models.[22] The plain, white version of the Ghostface line mask is used in Scream 3 by Bridger.[22] Another edition of the mask was developed, dubbed "The Deluxe Edition Mask" for use by Ghostface in Scream 4, again similar to the original Ghostface design but constructed of thicker rubber with a pearlescent finish.[22]

Following the description in Williamson's script of a "ghost mask", Craven and designers had originally intended to use a white-motif, creating a white cloak and hood for the killer's costume. It was the intervention of Maddalena who felt that the cloak would be scarier if it was black, that resulted in the dark costume shown on screen.[17] The cloak itself had to be custom-made for the film as the "Father Death" outfit identified in Scream as that of the killers did not really exist, as the Fun World mask was sold only as a stand-alone item. The cloak entered into retail markets only following the release of Scream. Each cloak was estimated to cost $700 to hand produce by a seamstress and was made of a heavy, thick, black material with reflective threads woven throughout, creating a subtle glimmer. The cloak was created to help conceal the identity of the killers by covering most of their visible bodies, as it was believed that otherwise audiences would be able to guess which character was involved by his or her clothing and body-shape.[23]

The knife used by Ghostface in the films is a custom prop knife based on the Buck 120 Hunting Knife that has since been discontinued by Buck. The knife blades are made of aluminum or chrome-paint-coated plastic with a rubber handle depending on the scenario for which they are needed. The handle is black with a silver, metal-appearance for the tip. The Buck 120 knife was chosen as the model for the Ghostface weapon because of the large blade it features, though the Buck 120 itself was discontinued due to customer complaints that the blade length was deemed "too big" for gutting animals.

Ghostface is rarely depicted as speaking while physically on screen in order to aid in concealing the identity of the character behind the mask. Exceptions to this are grunts and groans when injured, which are dubbed into the film during the editing phase by Jackson.[3] Ghostface only speaks physically on-screen on two occasions in the series; on those two occasions, it is just before his true identity is revealed. The voice given to the character, provided by Jackson, is used when talking to another character over the phone or to display the use of the voice changer when the killer reveals himself. Despite being portrayed by different characters in each film, Ghostface displays similar personality and physical attributes regardless of who is wearing the costume or speaking to a target, such as taunting his victims over the telephone, the ritualistic cleaning of his knife after a kill, slashing the throat of his victims before killing them by stabbing, almost superhuman strength and durability, and grunts and groans when injured.[3][4][5]

Ghostface is never referred to by its name until Scream 4, simply called "The Killer" and "Father Death" in the original Scream, while being credited as "The Voice" in the credits. The name originates from character Tatum Riley, played by Rose McGowan, who called a disguised Billy Loomis "Mr. Ghostface" in the first movie, prior to her death.

Ghostface is often shown to taunt his targets, initially representing himself as charming and even flirtatious when speaking.[25] His conversations turn confrontational and intimidating, using his knowledge of other characters or graphically describing his intentions before appearing to the target physically. Craven considers Jackson's voice performance as Ghostface to have "evil sophistication".[24] When confronting his intended victim, Ghostface is portrayed in varying ways, sometimes quick and efficient and other times clumsy, falling, or colliding with objects that hinder his pursuit, a characteristic that varies based upon who is wearing the costume. Whoever inhabits the costume, Ghostface taunts its victims and prolongs a kill when it appears to have an advantage. The Billy/Stu Ghostface would gut its victims after killing them; this was not performed on Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) who was killed in a mechanical garage door.[3] This Ghostface, in particular, would ask its victim questions about horror films and employ the tropes of the genre in its attacks, displaying a detachment from reality and aligned with the same self-awareness of the film itself which toys with the expectations of the horror genre.[26][27] The second Ghostface, created by Mickey and Mrs. Loomis, would repeatedly stab its victim to death but often in a public place or with witnesses.[4] The third Ghostface, created by Roman, preferred more clean kills with precise stabbings, and used theatricality and movie props to attack his victims, using a voice changer that allowed him to sound like many other people, casting suspicion and doubt on other characters. In addition, he would use images and the synthesized voice of Maureen to specifically taunt Sidney, even shrouding himself in a bloodied, crime scene cover, alluding to the murder of Maureen, to fool Sidney into believing that she was losing her sanity.[5] The fourth Ghostface, created by Jill and Charlie, filmed each murder on web cameras hidden around the environment and spy cameras in its mask. Charlie mostly repeatedly stabbed his victims to death in a more vicious and brutal fashion and would go further and gut them if he wanted, while Jill mostly stabbed only once. The two killers also made some of the murders public to gain the attention of the world press.[12]

The motivations for Ghostface's killing vary in each film and are respective to each killer wearing the costume. Billy claimed to have been driven to insanity by his mother's abandonment, an incident he blamed on Maureen, and after taking his revenge on her chose to continue his spree, leading towards her daughter Sidney,[3] while Stu Macher lists peer pressure as his motivation.[3] In Scream 2, Mrs. Loomis cites her motivation as simple revenge against the person she holds responsible for her son's death, while Mickey desires the fame that his involvement in the killings will garner when he is caught.[4] In Scream 3, Roman seeks revenge for what he sees as his mother's rejection and abandonment by engineering Maureen's death and trying to kill Sidney, seeing her as having the family-life he was denied.[5] In Scream 4, Jill, jealous of Sidney, wished to obtain similar fame as the sole survivor of a new massacre, while Charlie aided her both for those reasons and his love for Jill.[12]

In costume, the Ghostfaces share a ritualistic mannerism of gripping the blade of its knife between thumb and forefinger and wiping it clean of any blood following a murder by drawing its hand from handle to the tip of the knife. This characteristic was given to the character by stuntman Dane Farwell who wore the costume for many of its scenes in Scream.[17] Each killer is depicted as possessing effective physical abilities, such as the capabilities of nearly flawless stealth, prowling without being detected, moving silently, and efficiently vanishing from its targets' defense. Additionally, the killer tends to display sufficient strength that allows them to overpower victims, such as in Scream 2, in regards to defeating two trained detectives single-handedly. Ghostface is shown to be able to sustain and even ignore severe levels of physical damage, surviving blunt trauma, stabbing wounds and gunshots. Billy, Mickey, Roman, and Jill all had to be shot through the head or multiple times to the chest to be killed, despite having sustained severe injuries prior.[3][4][5]

2011 Ghostface figurine by NECA toys for Scream 4, displaying the full-length robe worn by the character.

McFarlane Toys produced a 6-inch figurine of Ghostface in 1999 for the "Movie Maniacs II" series of horror and science fiction inspired line of character models.[28] A series of figures were produced by NECA for Scream 4 featuring the standard mask and black cowl plus variations such as "Zombie Ghostface" with a decayed appearance on the mask and "Scarecrow Ghostface" with brown, burlap material used for the mask and clothing.[29]

Ghostface has been parodied and referenced numerous times in media following his appearance in the Scream franchise, most prominently in the parody film Scary Movie (2000) where a killer dressed as Ghostface commits a series of murders. However, unlike the original film, the killer is revealed to be single person as opposed to multiple;[30] this parodic version of Ghostface later appears in the June 1, 2016 Erma comic strip, named "Prank Call", wherein the character is making prank calls whilst quoting Scream, alongside the series' titular character.[31] In the parody film Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (2000), a killer wearing a Jason Voorhees-style hockey mask is set on fire, his mask melting to resemble that of Ghostface.[32] The film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) features Ghostface, as Shannen Doherty and Craven provide cameos as themselves making the then non-existent Scream 4, but Doherty objects when Ghostface turns out to be played by the orangutan, Suzann.[33]

As in film, Ghostface has been referenced repeatedly in various television programs and commercials. In the same year as the release of Scream 3, the mask made an appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 and the Nickelodeon series Cousin Skeeter. It was also used as an ornament in the bedroom of the character Dawson in Dawson's Creek,[34] a show created by Scream writer, Williamson.[21] The character appears in a 1999 episode of Celebrity Deathmatch entitled "The Unknown Murderer", where he threatens to kill a scream queen every round, murdering Barrymore, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jennifer Love Hewitt before planting his cell phone on a platypus to frame him, causing Campbell and Sarah Michelle Gellar to fight it.[35] The mask was later used in The Sopranos episode "Fortunate Son" (2001) where it is worn by the character Christopher to commit a robbery.[36]

The costume is referenced in an episode of the television series Boomtown entitled "All Hallow's Eve" (2002) where a police officer uses the costume to frighten a bully who has been terrorizing other kids.[19][37] In the Japanese anime FLCL episode "Marquis de Cabras" (2003), protagonist Naota's face changes to resemble that of Ghostface frequently during a scene where he and his family are eating spicy curry.[38] The character makes a cameo appearance in Tripping the Rift in the episode "The Devil and a Guy Named Webster" (2004) as the judge when Chode sells his soul to the devil and finds a way to sue him.[39] He also appears in a 2004 advert for Trivial Pursuit: '90s edition; representing iconic characters of the 1990s alongside Dennis Rodman and the character Rose from the 1997 film Titanic.[40] A parody of Ghostface appears in the television series All Grown Up! episode "Interview with a Campfire" (2004) where Lil DeVille is taunted by phone and stalked by a character wearing an Easter Bunny mask.[41]

The character appears briefly in The Simpsons episode "Home Away from Homer" (2005) where Homer Simpson suggests him as a babysitter for his daughter Maggie Simpson.[42] Roger L. Jackson lends his voice to Ghostface in the Robot Chicken episode "That Hurts Me" (2005) alongside other famous film killers in a show that parodies Big Brother, launching a prank war against Pinhead and Freddy Krueger before giving a speech to save himself from elimination from the show.[43] He is referenced by Kenny Powers, the main character of Eastbound & Down who requests to wear the mask while having sex.[44] In Scream XXX: A porn parody, a new Ghostface (wearing a clown variant of the Father Death mask) begins murdering the cast and crew of an in-production pornographic parody of the Stab series.[45] In another porn parody, the gay movie Moan, the version of Ghostface seen in the film does not wear a mask. Instead, he has a hood and facepaint that resembles the mask (presembly, this change was made to help make the movie more erotic).[46]

In his book Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, Adam Rockoff opined that Ghostface's mask was a "striking, surreal and downright terrifying presence". Calling the mask a "hyperbolic rendering" of Edvard Munch's The Scream, Rockoff wrote that the face is "twisted in an exaggerated, almost mocking grin, as if reflecting the look of terror and surprise on his victims' faces."[47] Tony Magistrale also discussed the similarities between Ghostface's mask and The Scream in his book Abject Terrors: Surveying the Modern and Postmodern Horror Film, stating that the painting, "an apt representation of the degree of alienation from other people, inspires the killers' murderous agenda".[48]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ghostface.

• Ghostface.co.uk
• HelloSidney