'Scream 6' writers explain why Mason Gooding's Chad survived seemingly fatal Ghostface attack: 'Scream' franchise is meant to be 'secret feel-good movies'
- "Scream 6" writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick told Insider why Chad survived the sequel.
- Mason Gooding's character was stabbed several times in the movie's climax.
When "Scream 6" arrived in theaters, horror fans were thrilled to see a new Ghostface hunt the latest batch of Woodsboro survivors through New York in the 2023 sequel, as they come looking for revenge for the death of Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) in 2022's "Scream."
And although there are some incredibly gruesome kills scattered throughout the movie, Sam and Tara make it out alive, along with Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown).
However, Chad finds himself turned into a human pincushion in the film's climax when he is attacked by not one but two Ghostface killers, leading a few fans to wonder whether he was originally meant to die.
Insider recently spoke to "Scream 6" writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, who explained that they debated killing off the charismatic teen.
Vanderbilt said: "We test every character dying in our heads at a certain point in time and go back and forth on certain ones. And so, you know, we definitely had a conversation about that with Chad, with everybody."
The writer went on to say that "Scream" movies are meant to be enjoyable for audiences and killing Chad didn't fit the happy ending they were going for.
"You know, 'Scream' movies are sort of supposed to be roller coasters," said Vanderbilt. "And Tyler Gillett, one of the directors, talks about that they're meant to be secret feel-good movies at the end of the day. And we kind of felt like, you want to get off the roller coaster and you want to be smiling, not bummed and him not surviving at the end of the movie felt like a real... Chad has cheated death once again. He was supposed to die in 5 and he didn't. And he made it through this. God bless him."
Vanderbilt's cowriter Busick said that the scene was originally more violent, and Chad was stabbed several more times, but it didn't feel believable.
"And I believe, just a little bit of trivia, that some of the stabs were cut in post because there were several more stabs," he said. But it was just too… It's already stretching credibility a bit. But all the stabs… you would have really called foul, I think."
"We digitally removed some of the stabbing," added Vanderbilt. "But the guys always overshoot the violence to be able to, to pull it back or dial it up and add it, which I think is super smart."
"Scream 6" is available to download and keep on video-on-demand now, and is available on DVD and Blu-ray from July 10.