NetherRealm Studios has done an excellent job translating over another horror icon into the world of Mortal Kombat. Scream’s own Ghostface has officially joined the Mortal Kombat 1 fight as DLC, and so far, fans seem to be very pleased with the love and care that went into making this guest fighter.
That should come as no surprise, though, as NetherRealm has had numerous wonderfully made guest fighters join their ranks, and they almost always come absolutely jam packed with amazing references to the source material. Ghostface in MK1 certainly checks that same box, but going even further beyond, it looks as though the masked killer also takes the time to shout out and reference two other iconic slasher movie series in Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns.
A lot of what we see from Ghostface in MK1 stems directly from the Scream series of films. We see him use his trademark phone / phone calls literally within his special move set, witness three different Ghostface killers (as there are several in the movies) acting together to fight the kombatants of the various timelines, and even hear the voice of Ghostface from the movies, Roger L. Jackson, reprise his role here in the game.
Unfortunately, it seems we did miss out on getting the hilarious “WAZZUP” Ghostface mask from Scary Movie in Mortal Kombat 1, but NetherRealm And Warner Bros. appear to have made up for that in various other ways.
Something that’s really cool is that the newest DLC character actually makes references to both the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th horror movie franchises in Mortal Kombat 1. In one instance he mentions Freddy Krueger (not by name), while in the other some believe he is referencing Jason Voorhees, though it’s actually something slightly different.
A couple of clips showing some of Ghostface’s pre-fight intro dialogue were uploaded to Twitter this week and feature the references we’re talking about here.
In the first clip below, Kitana can be seen clashing with Ghostface before they do battle. “You are a nightmare,” Kitana says to the slasher, to which he replies, “No, that’s the guy with the glove and fedora!”
Obviously, any horror fan will tell you right away that this description fits none other than Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Funny enough, both the first Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream films were directed by legendary horror movie maker Wes Craven, and Freddy was also once a Mortal Kombat guest character joining the fight back in 2011’s Mortal Kombat 9.
Ghostface with the Freddy Krueger reference! #MortalKombat1 pic.twitter.com/UoeOmlbY6f
— Mortal_Kombat_Addict | Fatalities Daily (@MK_habit_addict) November 19, 2024
In the next bit of footage we have Ghostface interacting with Kung Lao before their fight. “Name the killer in Friday the 13th,” Ghostface tells Kung Lao, to which Lao responds, “I know nothing of film trivia!”
Though this sounds like it’s a reference to Friday the 13th’s main killer, Jason Voorhees, the reference to the series is actually in name alone here.
What this is actually alluding to is a scene from the first Scream movie where Ghostface plays a brutal game with Casey Becker (played by Drew Barrymore) in which he asks her a question that, should she answer incorrectly, will result in her boyfriend being killed.
Ghostface asks her to name the killer in Friday the 13th, to which she replies “Jason!” Unfortunately, this is incorrect as in the very first Friday the 13th film the main antagonist was actually Jason Voorhees’ mother, Mrs. Voorhees.
Still, we get a big name drop of Friday the 13th here in Mortal Kombat 1, as well as a shout out to Freddy Krueger himself.
This Jason Voorhees reference tho pic.twitter.com/OwEXiNwZ4r
— LOSTy (@LOSTyGIRL) November 20, 2024