The Wilhelm Scream

Growing up I was big into movies. It was the ‘90s and my family had a VHS player so I watched the same ones on repeat as much as I possibly could: Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark. I started to memorize every scene, every actor’s micro expressions, every continuity error. Many years later, while studying film in college, I came across the lore of the “Wilhelm Scream” sound effect. Immediately upon hearing the sound I knew exactly what it was. I’d heard it hundreds of times over the years watching movies and it had become as familiar as an old friend.

For years I would listen for the Wilhelm Scream in soundtracks and celebrate when I found it. It became a private hobby. While quarantined alone in 2020, deep in an endless marathon of Survivor, I heard the scream played under a shot of a contestant falling off of a treacherous set piece. Hearing it in the context of such loneliness and uncertainty was wonderful. I felt connected. It sparked an idea. If I feel this much warmth hearing the scream, other people must as well! And what about the people who actually place it in movies and shows? How did it even become a thing in the first place? Why is it called the Wilhelm Scream?

A project was born. I jumped into research headfirst, spending months reading articles, scouring iMDb pages, making calls and watching my favorite movies. I got connected with Steve Lee, a true steward of the Scream and a main subject of this film, and from there everything took off. Steve, who is known familiarly in the industry as a “sound effects wrangler”, put me in touch with some of his old colleagues including Ben Burtt (Star Wars), Gary Rydstrom (Jurassic Park), Richard Anderson (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Mark Mangini (Dune). I was in heaven. I got to ask all of my burning questions about the Wilhelm Scream and, maybe most importantly, explore why it resonates so much with audience members like me.

This short documentary is a collection of some of these important conversations and also features my own unexpected discovery into the history of the Wilhelm Scream. This is a story about humans— how we crave connection and develop passion for storytelling. Making this film has been the adventure of a lifetime and I’ve connected with countless other Wilhelm Scream fans in the process. Learning how many other people love this silly sound effect the way that I do has been a treasure unlike any other. I hope this film touches those people just as much as it touches people who’ve never heard of the Scream before. It’s a film about what makes us want to tell stories to each other.