I can't believe it will soon be twenty years since Scream was released and revitalized the horror genre. I remember reading about Wes Craven's new "Scary Movie" in Fangoria and knew it was a love letter to slasher fans, but I never would have guessed it would be such a hit in mainstream pop culture. While I had been to various locations for the sequels, I never visited anything for the original film until last year. I was accepted into the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford University, and took a few extra days to hit locations in the area. I wasn't able to hit all that I wanted to for the film, but did what I could with my time limits.
UPDATE: Casey Becker's house is now for sale if you have a spare $8M! Located at 7420 Sonoma Mountain Road in Glen Ellen, California, there are some great pictures of the house on its real estate listing. I did my best to match up the shots, but of course I'm at the mercy of the photos. Fans will be excited to see a lot of the house is exactly the same including books, pictures, dining room tables, and more.
First up for locations I visited is Woodsboro High School. As all fans know, the original school balked at the script and a new location was chosen, the Sonoma Community Center. With the exception of re-landscaping and some trees cut down, the exterior looks pretty much the same as it did two decades ago. It is located at 276 East Napa Street in Sonoma, California.
Sidney and Tatum arrive at the school from the side to witness the media blitz...
And we get our first shot of Gale Weathers as the girls go into the school...
After school, the kids hang out at the park. Located at Healdsburg Plaza, the gazebo-like structure has been replaced. The park is located on the corners of Healdsburg Avenue and Matheson Street in Healdsburg, California.
The fountain has also changed with extensions on both sides.
The police station is adjacent to this park. The Virginia Carol storefront at 120 Matheson Street in Healdsburg was where the front doors to the station were shot.
As Gale finds her way to the back of the station, there are a couple buildings seen in the background across the street. The corner building is new, but the Taqueria El Sombrero store next to it is still identifiable.
The building in the alley has also changed quite a bit, eliminate the door and adding some windows. However, the drainpipe and the far windows are still intact.
As the sun sets on Woodsboro, we have a few shots, including one of the flag in the Healdsburg Plaza.
This shot is on the corner of Matheson Street and Center Street in Healdsburg.
The next day, we are back at the school in Sonoma...
The interior of the Sonoma Community Center was also used for many of the school hallways. Obviously no more lockers, but pretty much the same except for the water fountain as moved.
Although I usually just concentrate on exteriors, this was one of my favorite spots to photograph, where Sidney runs into Billy Loomis...
After a skirmish with Ghostface in the bathroom, Sidney runs back out the same hall and down the stairs...
Outside the front of the school, Gale and Dewey have their first steps toward a romance...
School is canceled!!
"Looks like we've got a serial killer on our hands!"
"So you do watch the show!"
School is out and the kids leave the side "auditorium" entrance at the Sonoma Community Center...
The kids cross the street and walk west up East Napa Street. Some of the foliage is the same, but a lot of the trees have been cut down and fences have been replaced.
RIP, Wes Craven, making a cameo as the Fred, the janitor, in Krueger garb. Although not all of his films were stellar and some were downright awful, you got to give it up to the man who recharged the horror genre multiple times.
"You're starting to sound like some Wes Carpenter flick." Tatum's house is located at 824 McDonald Avenue in Santa Rosa, California.
"If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time!" Probably my favorite line in the film, as shouted in the video store which was located at 3080 Marlow Road in Santa Rosa. It appears the store has been empty for a while now and all of these shots are through the windows, so nothing screen specific here.
The curfew is shutting Woodsboro down early tonight. This shopkeeper closes this store located at 104 Matheson Street in Healdsburg, California.
Across the way in the Healdsburg Plaza park, a mother picks up her boy as the police drive by on Plaza Street.
This coffee shop also closes early for the curfew, located at 320 Center Street in Healdsburg.
Sidney, Tatum, and Dewey return to the police, pulling up to the side and parking on Matheson Street.
Surprisingly, Sidney's point of view shot is the actual point of view, looking back at the park at the corner of Center and Matheson Streets.
The scene continues before Tatum and Sidney split to do some shopping....
The girls go to the grocery store, located at 1465 Town and Country Drive in Santa Rosa, California.
Another favorite scene of mine is in front of the police station with Sheriff Burke and Dewey, where each time Burke takes a puff off his cigarette, Dewey licks his ice cream.
Some of the houses in the film are inaccessible, such as Casey Becker's house in the opening scene and Sidney's house. a couple years ago I was able to visit Stu’s house at a special event. I haven’t really done a proper shot by shot, but did several scenes below:
And as always, here are a few of the crew and cast members I have seen or met over the years...
Some of you may not know that Troy Bishop, whose first role was in Terms of Endearment, has a cameo as one of the expelled students in Scream. He turned into quite the hunk!
Click below for a map of the Scream movie franchise filming locations:
