Wilhelm scream
Recycled movie yell
The Wilhelm scream is a stock sound effect—a distinctive male scream—that has been used in hundreds of films and television shows since the 1950s.
Originally recorded for a Western, it became an inside joke among sound designers who deliberately insert it into action sequences, usually when a character falls, gets shot, or is thrown.
Spotting the Wilhelm scream has become a game for movie buffs: There it is—the Wilhelm scream when the stormtrooper falls off the platform.
- movieRecorded visual narrative
- clichéOverused, unoriginal expression
- sound effectArtificial audio enhancement
- audio cueAudible prompt or trigger
- sound libraryCurated audio clip collection
Easter egg · Wilhelm · inside joke · intertextuality · Hollywood · Star Wars · foley · parody · film · sound editing · fan service · internet culture · meme · homage · running gag · cultural icon · reverb · soundbite
- sound effectssound effects, sound effect, ringtone, boing, crash
- Tropeschosen one, hero's journey, red herring, deus ex machina, damsel in distress