‘Scary Movie’ Costume Designer Reveals How Ghostface Was Reimagined for 2026 [Exclusive]

‘Scary Movie’ Costume Designer Reveals How Ghostface Was Reimagined for 2026 [Exclusive]

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Horror movies have changed a lot since Scary Movie first arrived in theaters. The slashers, supernatural thrillers, and elevated horror hits dominating the genre today look very different from the movie that inspired the franchise’s earliest parodies. As Scary Movie (2026) brought back fan favorites like Cindy Campbell, Brenda Meeks, Shorty, and Ray, the sequel faced a challenge: figuring out how those characters would fit into a modern horror landscape.

That challenge extended well beyond the script. Costumes have always been one of the franchise’s most important comedic tools, helping audiences instantly recognize both the characters and the movies being spoofed. For Scary Movie, costume designer Ariyela Wald-Cohain was tasked with balancing nostalgia, horror references, and character evolution while creating looks for both returning favorites and a new generation of parody targets. Collider is exclusively debuting new costume sketches from the movie alongside comments from Wald-Cohain, who revealed the inspirations behind Cindy’s Laurie Strode-inspired transformation, Brenda’s Ma-influenced wardrobe, Shorty’s cannabis-covered wedding tracksuit, and the surprisingly complex process of redesigning Ghostface.



















Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz
Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving?
Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky

Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you’re not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one.

Jason

Michael

Freddy

Pennywise

Chucky

01

Something feels wrong. You can’t explain it — you just know. What do you do?
First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty.





02

Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong?
Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.





03

What is your most reliable survival asset?
Every survivor has a quality the villain didn’t account for. What’s yours?





04

What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through?
Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.





05

You’re with a group when things start going wrong. What’s your role?
Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn’t.





06

What’s the horror movie mistake you’re most likely to make?
Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not.





07

What’s your best weapon against something that can’t be stopped by conventional means?
Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.





08

It’s the final scene. You’re the last one standing. How did you make it?
The final survivor always has a reason. What’s yours?





Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated
Your Best Chance Is Against…

Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.


Camp Crystal Lake · Friday the 13th

Jason Voorhees

Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.

  • He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn’t strategise, doesn’t adapt, doesn’t outsmart. He simply pursues.
  • Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge.
  • The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
  • You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected.


Haddonfield, Illinois · Halloween

Michael Myers

Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too late for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.

  • But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
  • Michael’s power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is.
  • Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
  • You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it.


Elm Street · A Nightmare on Elm Street

Freddy Krueger

Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.

  • You are harder to destabilise than most. You’ve faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven’t looked away.
  • The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it.
  • Freddy’s greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
  • Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.


Derry, Maine · It

Pennywise

Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.

  • The Losers Club didn’t survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
  • You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away.
  • That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the dark — is Pennywise’s worst nightmare.
  • It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all.


Chicago · Child’s Play

Chucky

Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.

  • You don’t have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
  • Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone.
  • Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
  • Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.

Scary Movie Franchise Favorites Have Changed Since Audiences Last Saw Them

One of the biggest opportunities in Scary Movie 6 was showing how its returning characters have evolved over the years. For Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris), that meant drawing inspiration from one of horror’s most iconic survivors. “Cindy Campbell’s return was really exciting because audiences already have such a strong connection to her from the earlier films,” Wald-Cohain said.

“When we first meet her in Scary Movie 6, there’s definitely a visual nod to Laurie Strode from Halloween, she’s been living in survival mode for years, preparing for Ghostface to come back. We wanted her wardrobe to reflect that evolution.”

According to the designer, Cindy is far removed from the version audiences remember from the franchise’s early entries. “She’s tougher, more guarded, rougher around the edges than the Cindy we remember. At the same time, we sprinkled in subtle Easter eggs and little callbacks to earlier Scary Movie films for longtime fans to catch. Like the blue turtle neck, the t-shirt had a print inspired from a top she wore in one of the early Scary Movies.” Her wardrobe continues to change as the story escalates. Wald-Cohain explained:

“But what was really fun was watching her transform throughout the movie. As the story escalates, she goes from crazy and unkept to a focused killer on a mission, her costumes evolve with her, and she slowly becomes this full on badass by the end.”

Similarly, Brenda’s look was inspired by one of the most memorable horror characters of the last decade. “Brenda’s costumes in Scary Movie 6 were inspired by the layered, lived-in aesthetic of Ma, using clothing to suggest years of accumulated stories, chaos, and survival. Regina and I had so much fun during fittings searching for the perfect balance of humor and truth in her wardrobe, while also staying visually connected to the films we were spoofing.” The designer said she and Regina Hall developed an entire backstory around Brenda’s fashion sense. “We joked that Brenda’s taste had become slightly questionable over the years and that she probably shops the clearance racks at discount stores, which ended up helping us shape a look that felt both hilarious and oddly authentic.”

Shorty, meanwhile, remains every bit as outrageous as fans would expect. “Shorty was one of the most fun characters to revisit because his style has always lived somewhere between complete chaos and unexpected confidence. We wanted his new looks to reflect someone who had fully embraced his love of weed culture over the years while somehow convincing himself he was also a fashion icon.” One costume quickly became a favorite. “One of my favorite costumes in the film is his wedding tracksuit, inspired by luxury designer sportswear but covered in custom-made cannabis patches. We individually applied over 450 weed motifs across the suit, transforming it into something that felt both ridiculous and strangely aspirational.” Wald-Cohain said Marlon Wayans immediately understood what they were going for.

“During our first fitting, Marlon immediately understood the joke and loved it. Like many of Shorty’s costumes, the look walks a fine line between parody and character truth—outrageous enough to make audiences laugh, but still feeling exactly like something Shorty would proudly wear to one of the biggest days of his life.”

Ray proved particularly challenging because nearly every scene referenced a different movie. “Finding Ray’s character was a puzzle since nearly every scene referenced a different film, but we still needed a visual thread that kept him grounded and connected to the Ray audiences know and love.” His cowboy look became one of the movie’s most memorable costumes. Wald-Cohain told Collider:

“His cowboy Halloween look was scripted, and I immediately envisioned a brown suede fringe vest, western boots, and a cowboy hat. During fittings, we pushed the absurdity further with the pink bandana around his neck and another in his hair and then topping it with the cowboy hat, taking the look right to the edge of ridiculous while still keeping it rooted in character.”

Wald-Cohain added that “the challenge was balancing homage with originality, making the film references instantly recognizable without creating exact replicas.”

‘Scary Movie’s Ghostface Required More Than 28 Different Robes

While the returning characters offered plenty of opportunities for reinvention, Ghostface presented a different challenge altogether. The killer’s silhouette is one of the most recognizable in horror, meaning even small changes had to be carefully considered. “Ghostface was one of the most challenging costumes to design because the silhouette is instantly recognizable to audiences around the world,” said Wald-Cohain. “Our goal was to honor the iconic look while creating something unique to Scary Movie 6.”

The costume department spent extensive time refining every aspect of the design. “We spent considerable time testing fabrics to find the right balance of movement and sheen, while also refining the hood — finding the perfect depth, shape, and construction so it would frame the mask correctly and stay in place during action sequences.” The team also modified some of the costume’s signature details. “We also carefully distressed the robe’s signature sleeve flanges to give them texture and movement on camera.” As production continued, the number of costumes quickly multiplied.

“What began as a single costume quickly grew into more than 28 robes to accommodate stunts, visual effects, and additional photography. By the end of production, racks of Ghostface robes filled the costume department — a fitting reminder that in Scary Movie 6, one Ghostface is never enough.”

New Characters Take Inspiration From Modern Horror Favorites

While much of Wald-Cohain’s work focused on returning characters, the sequel’s newer additions came with their own challenges. Their costumes needed to instantly communicate the movies being spoofed while still feeling like original characters within the world of Scary Movie. “Sara, Jack, and Tuesday’s costumes were inspired by the films we were spoofing, with the goal of making each character instantly recognizable while still allowing their own personalities to shine through,” said Wald-Cohain.

For Sara, that included a subtle connection to one of the franchise’s most iconic characters. “For Sara, I incorporated a jacket reminiscent of Cindy’s, creating a subtle visual connection between mother and daughter. Throughout the film, we were constantly balancing audience recognition with character storytelling, ensuring each look communicated its reference in an instant while still feeling authentic to the character wearing it.” That same philosophy extended to a sequence inspired by Sinners.

“For the Sinners-inspired sequence, as Sara, Jack, and Tuesday attempt to get into the party, we sourced pieces and heavily dyed, aged, and reworked them to capture the rich texture, grit, and atmosphere that Ruth E. Carter so beautifully created in the original film.”

Rather than simply recreating the looks from Ryan Coogler‘s hit, the team aimed to adapt them to the franchise’s comedic sensibilities. “The challenge was honoring that visual language while filtering it through the heightened, comedic world of Scary Movie 6.”

Scary Movie is now playing in theaters. Check out our exclusive look at the costume sketches above.



Release Date

June 5, 2026

Runtime

95 Minutes

Director

Michael Tiddes


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