Scream 7hits theaters at the end of this month, and the promo game is gradually building up. While Sidney Prescott fights another Ghostface or two, franchise owners Paramount and Spyglass are in a legal fight for the rights to the villain’s iconic mask.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, the two companies are taking SFX studio Alterian Ghost Factory to court before it can threaten copyright infringement. With this suit, Paramount and Spyglass hope to file a court order to prevent Alterian’s suit, claiming the company “intentionally slept on its purported rights in the iconic ‘Ghostface’ mask used throughout the Scream franchise for 30 years.”
The Ghostface mask was developed for Halloween in the early ’90s by Fun World and later discovered by Scream producer Marianne Maddalena. It was later licensed for the movie and featured throughout the franchise and its different sequels, with the one exception being the MTV show. Alterian’s arguing that since it created the underlying design first, Fun World was in the legal wrong when it licensed out the final version to Paramount. Conversely, Paramount believes Fun World deserves Alterian’s ire and that Alterian lost any right to call ownership of Ghostface after spending decades without taking any legal action.
“[It] has never legally established that it owns the rights to the Ghostface mask, and it will not be able to prove it now in this litigation,” reads Paramount’s complaint. “And seeking to disrupt the release of a completed motion picture mere weeks before its release—the seventh installment of a franchise that Alterian watched grow in silence for three decades—is an outrageous attempt to shake down [Paramount and Spyglass].”
Scream 7 is in theaters on February 27, and the legal fight for Ghostface may continue beyond that date.
Santa Art is coming to town, and he’s bringing a few of his killer friends along to bring us a new season of frights. Taking a cue from horror movie villains, Spirit Halloween just won’t die, and we love that.
Sure, Spirit’s Christmas section also has non-horror holiday stuff too. But Creepmas fun is the main attraction, and the Halloween retailer has just unleashed a swath of holiday gear featuring Santa Art the Clown as seen in Terrifier 3.
Also joining Art under the tree are Scream‘s Ghostface, Chucky, Regan from The Exorcist, and even Halloween icon Michael Myers. You can find their ghoulish faces splattered across ugly Christmas sweaters in festive light-up garish sparkle. Listen, with the way the world has been, if you want to don spooky gear all year long, it’s very valid.
Santa Art making his mark as a holiday staple makes a lot of sense, as the brutal character played by David Howard Thornton spends most of Terrifier 3 cosplaying as the jolly man in red. The movie’s release last year may have been too close to the holidays to really see much merch take hold, but this year, it’s a full-on assault of Santa Art: nutcrackers, plushes, costumes, Christmas tree glasses, shirts, and plenty of gifting goods for the Terrifier fan in your life. We’re pretty sure Santa Art is going to stay a holiday staple for years to come.
Ghostface is also part of Spirit Halloween’s plan for taking over another holiday, including some cutesy selections if you’re dreaming of a pink Christmas—giving the masked maniac an excuse to linger around the house until the release of Scream 7 in early 2026.
Ghostface is also parodying the Christmas games started by Elf on a Shelf withGhost Face at Your Place. So you know, if you’re naughty, Ghost Face is watching. I actually prefer Ghostface over the Elf, who looks more cursed and creepy.
There are, of course, characters that make actual sense as part of the holiday pivot, including Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws from The Nightmare Before Christmas and winter folklore terror Krampus—and Spirit Halloween is all over them, too. You can find costumes, decor, and a wildly scary Krampus animatronic inspired by the 2015 film. Check out the gallery below for a look at that as well as more Creepmas inspiration!
It seems these days most major franchises want to cash in on that Star WarsBaby Yoda money by making their own adorable version of something within any given fandom. We saw it last year with the debut of Baby Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and now this year we have Spirit Halloween‘s Horror Babies.
The cuteness aggression is too real with Terrifier star Art the Clown—plus Chucky, Ghostface, lil’ Michael Myers, Leatherface, Pennywise, and others, all featured as infants in the Spirit Halloween line. You just want to hold them and let them love you to death, ya know? We particularly love Pink Ghostface and the sunglass-wearing Art, who delight with bold, bright colors and playful poses.
Take a look at the lineupbelow!
According to Spirit Halloween, the dolls range in price from $15 for the mini to $55 for the full-size. The smaller options appear to be in stores and have dimensions of 4″ H x 2.8″ W x 4″ D.
Meanwhile, the ones that approximate the size of actual human babies are made of foam filled with latex and are 12.5″ H x 12.5″ W x 8.8″ D. Some of the bigger ones will be available at the seasonal Halloween pop-up but others, like Leatherface and Pink Ghostface, appear to be online only. These are so good and, honestly, a good chilling chibi take on iconic horror titans that fans will definitely add to their collections. Happy Halloween hunting!
Zany and prolific actor Nicolas “Nic” Cage is coming to the asymmetrical survival-horror game Dead By Daylight on July 25. If you know anything about him, you’d expect his voice lines to be unhinged as hell. Well, they’re so unhinged that people on TikTok are marveling at Cage’s dedication to his latest role.
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After leaking earlier this year, developer Behaviour Interactive confirmed that the Cageman would join the game as a Survivor during Summer Game Fest with a reveal trailer. Survivors are one of the many playable characters in the 4v1 asymmetrical horror sim that are laser-focused on getting the hell away from the Killers that hang players on meathooks so they can sacrifice them to an otherworldly entity. Yikes.
At the time, we didn’t get any real idea of how Cage would play his Survivor, though he said it was a “heightened, exaggerated version of a film actor” of the same name. That means it’s wacky and wild, right? Well, yes, but IDK if you’re at all prepared for just how bonkers Cage’s voice lines are in this game. Strap in.
OK, what’s going on? He’s screaming his lungs out, babbling like Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura or something, and singing the infamous Halloween tune as if he’s in an ‘80s hair metal band. Nic Cage also apparently has 185 voice lines in the game. And the one that absolutely takes me out, aside from him doing the Halloween theme, is his character shouting “I’m Nic Fucking Cage” several times. I’d love for him to burst onto a movie scene with this line, just one time.
Nicolas Cage’s silly, and effective, Dead by Daylight perks
According to folks who have opted into the public test build (PTB) of the game through Steam, Nic Cage is the “best Survivor” because of his perks. Not only are they hilarious, but they seem to be pretty effective and offer a chance to drastically change the meta, which can quite often feel a bit stale.
One perk, Scene Partner, activates whenever Cage is within the Killer’s Terror Radius—he’ll comically scream before giving players a chance to see the Killer’s outline for a few seconds. There’s a chance he’ll ridiculously scream again, giving them a longer look at wherever the Killer may be lurking.
Then there’s Plot Twist, an active ability that basically lets players fake their own death—they’ll enter into the “dying state” but won’t leave a trail of blood or let out any whimpers to alert the Killer to their location. Recovering from that fake dying state will fully heal you and temporarily boost your movement speed.
Dramaturgy will turn Cage’s run into a Looney Tunes-esque knee-high canter, increasing movement speed and then randomly enacting one of several effects that could either help or hurt your game (you could be exposed to the Killer, or randomly gain a rare item).
Dead By Daylight streamer SpookyLoopz uploaded a YouTube video on July 5 demonstrating Nic Cage’s character in full. He’s got some pretty funny lore, with the character believing the Dead By Daylight world is part of some film script, and even funnier in-game animations, such as his scream.
SpookyLoopz
“That is Nicolas Cage,” SpookyLoopz said. “The man, the myth, the legend—the first celebrity we’ve ever gotten in [Dead By Daylight]. Super, duper excited for the [character]. […] He’s easily the funniest survivor in the game.”
In a press release announcing Nic Cage’s introduction to Dead By Daylight’s PTB, Behaviour Interactive head of partnerships Mathieu Côté hyped the actor.
“To say we are thrilled to have Nicolas Cage join the gaming world for the first time with Dead by Daylight is an understatement,” said Côté. “Mr. Cage recorded all his voice lines and was involved every step of the way; his dedication to his craft and professionalism is unmatched. We feel very privileged to have him and to our players: you’re in for a treat!”
Behaviour Interactive is also working with Atomic Monster and Blumhouse to turn the game into a film. Maybe the IRL actor will make an appearance in the movie? That would be a pretty meta crossover.
