Skeet Ulrich, Of ‘Scream’ Fame, Back On The Big And Small Screens In 2017


Skeet Ulrich’s roles in teen-horror movies like Scream and The Craft have made him one of the most memorable actors of the 1990s. Scream and The Craft were horror movies that were not in the league of mainstream Hollywood cinema because they didn’t feature highly paid Hollywood actors. The Daily Mail reported that the 1990s was an innovative time for filmmakers who dabbled in the horror film genre to produce memorable movies like The Blair Witch Project.

Skeet Ulrich’s Scream was considered a ground-breaking film that made audiences view horror-genre movies in a different light. Even though there were no ghosts and demonic spirits, Scream petrified audiences because of the suspense, in addition to a series of violent murders, and it proved that the term “horror movie” need not only be associated with ghosts and haunted houses.

In Scream, Ulrich plays the role of Billy Loomis who teams up with his friend to embark on a killing spree in a fictional town called Woodsboro. Ulrich’s character may be reminiscent of Norman Bates, the main antagonist from Hitchcock’s Psycho, who was also a serial killer. However, female teenagers were attracted to Ulrich’s Billy Loomis because they found him attractive.

Cosmopolitan reported that girls were especially taken with the actor’s hair (greasy locks were fashionable at the time!), and he was often compared to other characters like Reality Bites‘s Troy Dyer and Romeo+Juliet‘s Romeo, who had also become favorites among teenagers.

Undoubtedly, Skeet Ulrich will always be one of the best-remembered actors from Scream and The Craft because he played the main villain in these films. In The Craft, Skeet Ulrich plays the role of Chris Hooker, who is quite mean towards women.

The original Scream film recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, and ET Online reported that the film’s screenwriter, Kevin Williamson, revealed that there were originally plans to make two additional sequels – Scream 5 and Scream 6 – but these plans were laid to rest after the director, Wes Craven, passed away in August, 2015.

“Wes and I… had plans for Scream 5 and 6. Now without Wes, I feel like you have to sort of answer the questions of how and why, and I don’t know how to do it without Wes and I don’t know why to do it.”

Skeet Ulrich later featured in The Newton Boys together with other actors like Ethan Hawke. Even though The Newton Boys did not do so well at the box-office, Ulrich got the opportunity to work in other films like Chill Factor. Expectations were high from Chill Factor because, besides being a thriller, it also featured Cuba Gooding Jr., who received an Academy Award for his role in Jerry Maguire in the Best Supporting Actor category.

Unfortunately, Chill Factor failed at the box office, and the film received negative reviews from the critics. Ulrich’s next effort to bounce back failed when Ride With The Devil became one of the biggest flops of 1999. His other movies like Takedown, Soul Assassin, and Chilly Dogs were not exceedingly popular, so the actor decided to try his luck in television.

Fans who remembered Ulrich as the villain from Scream and The Craft missed the actor because suddenly he no longer was featured in Hollywood movies. However, he resurfaced on television screens when he worked in shows like Miracles, Into the West, CSI: New York, and Law and Order: LA. He was also a voice actor in the popular stop-motion animated series Robot Chicken.

Filmmakers are well aware of Skeet Ulrich’s popularity among teenagers of the 1990s, and that’s why he has been offered the opportunity to feature in Riverdale, Greg Berlanti’s upcoming television show based on Archie Comics. However, the producers have a different perspective about Riverdale, meaning that it will be less of a romantic comedy like the comic book series and more of a murder mystery.

Riverdale features Ulrich as the leader of the Southside Serpents gang, Archie’s rivals who hold a grudge against Archie’s father. The A.V. Club reports that the Scream actor’s character will also be linked to Jughead, and will appear in the fourth episode of Riverdale.

E! reports that Ulrich will also be working with Luke Perry in Riverdale. Luke Perry is set to play the role of Fred Andrews, Archie’s father. Like Skeet Ulrich, Perry was also a teen heartthrob in his younger days. It will be interesting for audiences to see these former 1990s stars feature in a show based on fictional characters that have been popular with generations of comic book fans.

The Gazette Review reports that Skeet Ulrich will also be seen on the big screen in an upcoming comedy film titled Lost in Austin, which is slated for a 2017 release, as well as a film named Escape Room and the TV film Stay.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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