Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich addressed one of the long-standing mysteries in the “Scream” franchise Saturday: Who was in the Ghostface costume when Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) was killed?
During the “Scream” 30th reunion panel at Midsummer Scream in Long Beach, Calif., Lillard and Ulrich, who played knife-wielding best friends Stu Macher and Billy Loomis, respectively, in Wes Craven’s “Scream,” were asked point-blank if they knew who was responsible for the fan-favorite character’s brutal slaying.
Their answer? “To be honest, not even [screenwriter] Kevin Williamson knows who killed [Tatum]. And he wrote the damn thing,” Ulrich, who appeared alongside original “Scream” stars Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Joseph Whipp, as well as stunt actor Lee Waddell and Ghostface voice performer Roger L. Jackson.
“And we never discussed it,” he continued. “So, it’s really fan theory, which I think is great. But, I don’t know. No one knows.”
As fans of the iconic horror film will recall, McGowan’s death is one of the more memorable ones in the movie, as she’s killed by a closing garage door while trying to escape the Ghostface killer – who is later revealed to be two people (the aforementioned sinister BFFs).
Over the decades, it has never been formally confirmed whether Lillard’s Stu or Ulrich’s Billy dealt the final blow to Tatum, with fans making cases for both bad guys online.
However, Lillard indicated that he believed his character was responsible for the slaying, telling the crowd at the famed horror convention, “I always say it’s because she said ‘no’ to going to prom.”
This wasn’t the only behind-the-scenes tidbit shared during Saturday’s panel, as Lillard and Ulrich recalled how demanding the final sequence of the movie was to film.
The 42-minute stretch, known as “Scene 118” or the house party face-off, required 21 consecutive night shoots to complete.
“When you see the film, the energy that he and I and Neve [Campbell] and everybody is producing, we had to do daily for all that time,” Ulrich shared. “So, that sticks out to me as being most memorable. And fun, because I got to hit [Lillard] with a phone.”
Lillard co-signed this comment, chiming in with, “We shot at night. So, we were living a nocturnal life. And also, back then, we only had one camera … you would have to do a take on every angle, every set-up multiple times. So, that sequence is really brutal and stands out in my memory.”
Fans will get to see this iconic sequence on the big screen again this fall, as Paramount Scares, the dedicated horror brand for Paramount Pictures, confirmed at the panel that the movie would be re-released in theaters in October in honor of the 30th anniversary.
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