Scream 6 Cinematographer on Making the New Slasher Feel Authentic to New York City (Exclusive)

The Scream franchise took a big risk with its latest installment, Scream VI, taking the characters and story to the Big Apple to create a different kind of slasher than longtime fans of the series are used to. The New York City setting of Scream VI helped deliver a darker, grittier movie than its predecessors. It’s also a movie that feels pretty true to New York, despite the fact that filming took place in Montreal. 

ComicBook.com spoke with Scream VI cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz about bringing the film and its New York City vibes to life. According to Jutkiewicz, it was all about filming in tight, lived-in spaced, and keeping the dark and mysterious aura of nights in the big city. 

“I think it was important for us to really feel like we were grounded in this world and we were experiencing the city how the characters would experience it,” Jutkiewicz told us. “There are obviously some bigger establishing shots just to show where we are, but when you live in New York, you don’t walk around and see the Empire State Building all the time. You’re in these little spaces. You’re in these kind of rundown bodegas, and you’re on the subway. Trying to keep the experience of the film very grounded in the reality of what it’s like to be in New York was something that we really tried to do from the beginning.”

Jutkiewicz went on to praise the Scream VI production design team, who made sure all of the sets look as authentically New York as possible.

“I think a lot of that, obviously, has to do with production design and our production designer, Michelle Laliberte, did a great job of bringing in our subway entrances, our street signs, and getting the correct cars and vehicles and everything like that, which certainly helped,” he continued/ “And then for me, also for the exteriors, it’s kind of trying to be true to the feel of New York City at night in terms of the colors that we were using for street lights, and the mixed color temperatures in storefronts and embracing a darker feel to the night scenes. Really the idea of feeling like danger can be around any corner, in any shadow, or in the crowd as well, which is a big change for this film, for the threat to be more public. And so embracing that as well.”

What did you think of Scream VI‘s pivot away from Woodsboro? Are you hoping to see another one in the future? Let us know in the comments!