It’s been quite some time now since the last horror movie icon was welcomed into a Mortal Kombat game, but that all changes on Tuesday as Scream’s Ghostface is set to join Mortal Kombat 1’s roster as the game’s next DLC character. NetherRealm Studios is always careful to mine every reference they can out of these fun guest fighters, and with six Scream films and a television show to draw from, there are already plenty of Easter eggs in the limited Ghostface footage we’ve seen.
Said references call back to scenes featuring beloved Scream actors like Jenna Ortega, Henry Winkler, Anthony Anderson, and others. YouTuber Legacy of Kaiser has compiled all early Ghostface Easter eggs into a video and contrasted them with the scenes they’re inspired from. Scream franchise spoilers ahead.
Henry Winkler’s role as the ill-fated Principal Himbry in the original Scream (1996) was cut short as he became one of the earliest Ghostface victims. Winkler’s character is stabbed multiple times as director Wes Craven takes his time and drags his audience through the uncomfortable intimacy of a drawn out stab kill.
The mainstay visual of the scene has to be a close up of Himbry’s eye as life actively drains from it. We see the reflection of Ghostface as he looms over his latest victim, and Mortal Kombat 1 doesn’t shy away from this grisly scene.
Ghostface’s first revealed Fatality puts his victim (Sub-Zero, in the initial showcase) through these same beats as they’re stabbed multiple times and that same eye reflection shot is used.
Jenna Ortega’s performances in Scream 5 (2022) and Scream 6 (2023) helped usher in a new era for the franchise, bringing a fresh, relatable face to the group of survivors. One of the most memorable moments for the MK1 footage thus far sees two Ghostface figures turn and clean their blades in unison, and this perfect trailer-bait moment is a direct call back to a particularly dramatic Scream 6 scene featuring Ortega.
Brutality is an overt theme here for obvious reasons, but one kill stands out to us as a little more brutal than the rest. This is a reference to the death of Anthony Anderson’s deputy Anthony Perkins from Scream 4 (2011) who winds up with a knife driven directly into his forehead.
NetherRealm added this as a Brutality in MK1 as finishing your foe off with Ghostface’s enhanced “Father Death” attack sees him bury his blade in his opponent’s frontal lobe in a similar manner.
Just as Perkins does in his drawn out Scream 4 death, the victim stumbles around for a bit, clinging onto the fleeting control of their limbs and swinging their arm about instinctively as blood spurts from their head wound.
There are already a ton more references and the character isn’t even out yet, but you can see them all in Kaiser’s full video below. Let us know in the comments what you think of NRS’ handling of Ghostface in MK1 thus far, and if you’ll be playing the scary movie-loving slasher when he drops.
Ghostface is slated to be released for early access on November 19 and will fully launch on November 26.