The Scream franchise is, well, a scream, baby. The original movie has become so infused in pop culture since its '90s debut that even people who haven't seen it can probably identify a Ghostface mask. It makes sense, of course, that a meta-movie that parodies both the horror genre and pop culture would go on to find its essential place in it.
Sure, we may have seen satirical and even meta-horror before Scream, but the movie spawned an entire subgenre for its particular brand of kooky yet clever horror comedy. Even better, the franchise has something to say about society. Prior to Scream VI, fans have witnessed nine different Ghostfaces throughout the franchise's run. So, let's head back to 1996 Woodsboro and look behind every Ghostface mask that’s haunted Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) thus far.
Billy Loomis (Scream Big Bad)
Most of the time, Ghostface isn't acting alone. In fact, in the first five films, there’s only a single killer once. Yet even when Ghostface is a duo, there's typically a dominant Ghostie and someone who takes on a more expendable sidekick role. In the first movie, Sidney discovers her beau, Billy (Skeet Ulrich), is not only working with Stu as Ghostface but he also killed her mother (though we later learn he had some help).
While Billy acts shady throughout the movie, Sidney’s Ghostface call while her boyfriend is in jail seems to exonerate him — but she won't make that mistake again. Following the reveal, it's clear that Billy is running the show. And though he tries to convince her that it's scarier when there's no motive to become a killer, she sees right through his bravado when she discovers that her mom had an affair with Billy's mom, causing her to leave.
PSA to all potential Ghostfaces out there: Sidney Prescott is no damsel. She dons the Ghostface outfit and stabs Billy with an umbrella from the closet just as Jamie Lee Curtis pops out of her own closet during the Halloween movie playing in the background.
Stu Macher (Scream sidekick)
Matthew Lillard played Stu with a heavy dose of entertaining chaos, quickly becoming one of the franchise's most iconic characters. Yet one thing that Stu Macher isn't? Bright. Who needs peer pressure drug ads when you can promote not becoming a serial killer just because your friends are doing it?
Stu claims that he thought of the plan to injure himself and Billy and frame the dead. But Stu and Billy (AKA absolute morons) stab each other before enacting their agenda. To make things more pathetic, Stu sobs, "My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me." Oh, honey. You won't be around to deal with Disappointed Dad Voice.
Stu's reward for confessing that he had a thing for Sidney is a swift death sentence when she shoves his head inside a TV screen. There has to be a poetic message in there somewhere. And like most villains, Billy wastes his time having the upper hand by taunting Sidney with the sentiment, "Say hello to your mother." Gale (Courteney Cox) comes in for the assist, shooting Billy.
Everyone's favorite horror expert Randy is still here, though, remarking, "Careful, this is when the supposedly dead killer comes back for one last scare." Spoiler alert: He does. Sidney is on top of it, though. She gets one last dig in, saying, "Not in my movie." Billy won't be recovering from that headshot any time soon.
Mrs Loomis (Scream 2 Big Bad)
Well, Stu said it best in Scream: "Cause let's face it, baby, these days, you gotta have a sequel!" Mickey (Timothy Olyphant) and, plot twist, Mrs. Loomis (Laurie Metcalf) make that happen in Scream 2. Remember that super annoying reporter that keeps bugging Gale in the sequel? Yep, she's not a reporter at all — but Billy's mother.
As it turns out, this absent mother extraordinaire only cares about her kid after he goes on a murder spree and dies in the process — all in her name. And like her son, she doesn't turn Sidney's college campus into a neverending crime scene alone. Long before the existence of Reddit, serial killer aficionados had to make their own creepy message boards, and that's where Mrs. Loomis finds her expendable sidekick Mickey.
Mickey (Scream 2 sidekick)
In the age of true crime, we're all too familiar with this guy. He's watched one too many horror movies and serial killer interviews and simps for them instead of developing an interest without reverence. Naturally, things don't end particularly well for the mom of the year or her fame-seeking cohort.
Mickey briefly makes Sidney think her boyfriend is working with him before he shoots Derek (Jerry O'Connell). Mickey has the absurd plan to blame the movies on his homicide spree, and even Mrs. Loomis isn't impressed, opting to shoot him. Serial killers should really stop trusting each other.
Mrs. Loomis isn't playing around, either. She shoots Gale, saying, "Two birds, one stone." Naturally, Mrs. Loomis killed Randy earlier in the movie when he was "disparaging her son," but Sidney quickly calls her out for the hypocrisy of abandoning him.
Meanwhile, Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), the man Sidney initially blamed for her mom's death, comes in and uses the moment to extort his 15 minutes of fame from Sidney while he has a gun on Mrs. Loomis. Under duress, Sidney agrees to do the Diane Sawyer interview with Cotton. Like clockwork, the killers always come back, so Sidney has to fire off a few more rounds into Mickey before it's truly over. She even fires a shot into Mrs. Loomis' head for good measure.
Roman Bridger (Scream 3 Big Bad)
A blast from the past via a recording left by Randy (RIP) tells us that the last movie in a trilogy changes everything you thought you knew about the origin story. And while Scream 3 isn’t the final piece of the franchise's puzzle, Randy is spot-on.
Folks, we’ve got ourselves another family plot twist. Once again, we learn that Sidney's mom kept more than a few secrets. Not only was she a D-list horror actress, but she had a son before making a life in Woodsboro. Enter Stab 3’s director, Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). Like Billy, instead of getting a therapist for his abandonment issues, Sidney's half-brother Roman decides to go on a killing spree.
In fact, Roman takes credit for coaching Billy on killing Mrs. Prescott, seemingly sparking the neverending deadly events in Woodsboro. Sidney quips back that he's a spineless bastard, but we'll never really know how much truth there is to his claims. Serial killers aren't exactly a trustworthy bunch.
Both half-siblings opted to wear bulletproof vests before their standoff, making their scuffle difficult. But Sidney adapts by stabbing him in the neck while Roman gloats about making Stab 3. And though her newfound brother was the catalyst for years of pain, she holds his hand while he dies, highlighting her compassion. Of course, Roman proves Randy's theory that the third villain always appears superhuman by barreling back to life and finally getting dusted by everyone’s favorite detective Dewey (David Arquette).
Jill Roberts (Scream 4 Big Bad)
"Hello, Sidney. Surprised?" It's not like we haven't seen familial plot twists before in the Scream franchise. Hell, Roman's Ghostface was just one movie before Scream 4. Yet Sidney's soft-spoken niece Jill moonlighting as Ghostface continues to be one of the wildest plot twists in franchise history.
Yet her reasoning for going on a killing spree is one of the feeblest excuses we've seen up to this point. A vengeful Jill is fuming because her boyfriend cheated on her, dumped her, and "didn't even make [her] famous." A reasonable response to that betrayal would be to eat a tub of ice cream or start dating his best friend — not killing a bunch of teenagers.
Jill tries to paint herself as the bigger victim of bad boyfriends despite Billy killing Sidney’s mother, tormenting her, coercing her into sleeping with him, killing her best friend, and trying to kill her. Yes, getting cheated on is super worse than that. Now, that's not to say Jill doesn't get her revenge on her boyfriend. She shoots his junk off, which she could have done without killing innocents. No matter. Jill finishes the job with a headshot.
Charlie Walker (Scream 4 sidekick)
Like any good Ghostface, Jill dupes a henchman, and Charlie is obvious long before Jill’s big reveal. When Ghostface plays the tie-up game with Charlie, Kirby doesn't even wait until the end of the question before listing a slew of horror film answers. It seems fishy that her litany of answers is enough to untie Charlie, given that Ghostface never lets his victims win. After stabbing Kirby, Charlie spews an obnoxious incel speech about her not noticing him and his unwashed hair before now. Obviously, he had to become a killer. And given that we never see Kirby die, it's not surprising that Hayden Panettiere will be back for Scream 6.
After Jill shoots her ex, the deadly duo reveal that they want to become the new Randy and Sidney. But Charlie adds, "This time, Randy gets the girl." Spoiler alert: He doesn't. Taking a page from Billy and Stu's idiotic book, they stab each other before knocking off Sidney. Yet Jill turns on Charlie, noting, "What the media really loves, baby, is a sole survivor. Just ask you-know-who."
Jill is nothing if not committed to her ruse, slicing and dicing herself after appearing to kill Sidney. It almost looks like Jill will get away with it, too, but she mistakenly references something only the killer would know to Dewie. After bedpan fighting shenanigans and a slew of injured beatdowns, Sidney grabs a defibrillator and gives Jill 300 volts before saying, "You forgot the first rule of remakes, Jill. Don't f*** with the original." After taking her niece down, Sidney intrinsically knows Jill is behind her, landing one final shot in her chest. The film ends with a reporter calling Jill an American hero. But hey, “Sick is the new sane,” right?
Amber (Scream 2022 co-Big Bad)
Amber (Mikey Madison) and Richie (Jack Quaid) are a Ghostface duo without an obvious leader for the first time in franchise history. Neither tries to betray the other, and they both seem equally malicious — though Richie is much better at hiding his fame-hungry lust for deadly notoriety. We don't get to see quite enough Unhinged Richie to determine which of them (if any) is the stronger and more sadistic of the two — though there's certainly a case for Amber. So, how did the lovely couple meet? A Subreddit for Stab, obviously. They bonded over their homicidal nature and disdain for the Stab sequels, wanting to put their mark on the franchise.
Amber openly outs herself as the killer first, getting off on her friends' shocked reactions. Of course, she fails to dupe a seasoned Sidney and Gale into buying her victim ruse and shoots Gale — who tells Sidney to finish it for Dewie. But Gale isn't down for the count for very long. The OG women have had enough of Amber's nonsense, who taunts them about Dewie's death. After Amber says, "Time to pass the torch," Sidney lets Gale avenge Dewie by shooting Amber into the lit stove, lighting the high schooler ablaze. Gale snarks, "Enjoy that torch." Ah, what an exit.
Richie (Scream 2022 co-Big Bad)
The first rule of the Scream franchise is, "Never trust the love interest." Now, everyone in the Scream 2022 requel knows this (because Dewie flat-out tells the newbies). Somehow, the crew still gets taken for a ride by Richie. Outside of maybe Jill, he's the first killer in Ghostface history to have that patented sociopathic serial killer charm that immediately puts people at ease around him. Even though we know we shouldn't trust him, he seems so genuine, dorky, and sweet that it's hard to think of him as a suspect.
Yet Richie's manipulation game is on point. He even tries to convince Sam (Melissa Barrera) that her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) is the killer. But naturally, after his big reveal, Richie stabs Sam and says he really wants to be the one to kill her. Later, Richie gives off some Roman vibes, parroting the killer’s lame movie-related reason for becoming a killer. After whining about people making fun of horror fans, Richie waxed on, "How can fandom be toxic? It's about love!"
The guy has somehow deluded himself into believing that Sam, the daughter of a serial killer, is somehow more of a villain than the actual serial killers. After Sam stabs the holy hell out of him with the help of her Billy hallucinations, Richie asks, "What about my ending?" Sam says, "Here it comes," and slits his throat. Sidney warns Sam that they always come back, and right on cue, a burned-alive Amber comes barrelling in, and Tara goes for the kill shot. But the most noteworthy takeaway is Sam's newly established rule: "Never f*** with the daughter of a serial killer."
