In the aftermath of Scream simply has the Ghostface costume and movie-focused commentary which is taken up by the various killers. Without Neve Campbell and David Arquette, without Wes Craven, does the series have enough substance to survive?
Though it has always been a character-dominated franchise, the creativity of the killers and the uniqueness of their attacks show a possible way forward. Make the kills meaningful again, with social commentary and powerful imagery at the center. The death of a slasher comes when there's nobody to root for, and that's a dangerous possibility if the franchise doesn't proceed cautiously. Looking back, many of the franchise's best moments were its iconic kills, where unique set-ups and surprises created situations never before seen in the horror realm.
Scream (2022): Liv McKenzie
There are a lot of great killer reveals in the Scream franchise, but Amber’s reveal was iconic. While everyone was bickering about who the killer was and what to do, Amber pulled out a gun and shot Liv in the forehead.
While the death itself is nothing particularly special, the surprise factor made it a moment fans won’t soon forget. Even those who suspected Amber to be a killer were surprised by the way it all went down, making it the most iconic kill in Scream (2022).
Scream 3: Tom Prinze
Scream 3 is often thought of as the worst Scream movie, and part of that comes down to the kills. There wasn’t terribly much variety or creativity involved, in part because there was only one killer. The exception to this rule was Tom’s death. The killer sent pages of the script to the cast, providing them with details about the next death. Tom gets out a lighter to read the final words: whoever smells the gas. Boom.
Luckily, most of the characters were able to escape the explosion, dragging out the final act. But in a movie better known for its comedy and gags than its thrill factor, the explosion was a work of genius. Fans might not have particularly cared about Tom, but his death stands out as the only memorable kill in the film.
Scream 4: Olivia Morris
While ittedly this kill had more impact on the audience than the characters, the call with the killer was one of the best since the first movie. Fans are accustomed to waiting for killers to pop out from their hiding spots, so the idea that Ghostface was hiding in Jill’s closet was entirely possible.
But the strength of Scream comes from its subversions, and this kill definitely did that. When Ghostface pops out of Olivia’s closet instead, Jill and Kirby have to watch in horror as their friend is brutally slaughtered next door. The horror might not be as effective knowing who the killer is, but the death scene itself was impressive.
Scream 2: Cici Cooper
Even outside of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar has quite a legacy in horror. She was in I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2 in 1997, both of which showed her skill at running from killers. In Scream 2, Gellar's character Cici got a dramatic chase scene, leading up to multiple stab wounds and being thrown off a balcony.
She may not have been the main character, but her death scene made quite an impact on pop culture. Her phone call is played out in a 2014 episode of Stalker (“Whatever Happened to Baby James?"), and the scene even plays in the background of Halloween: H20.
Scream: Stu Macher
While most of the interesting kills happen by the killer’s hands, Sidney occasionally makes a particularly fitting kill of her own. This is true in the case of Stu, who literally suffered death by TV (unless, of course, you follow the theory that he survived it).
Ultimately, Stu’s motive is never clearly explained, but he and Billy are the first to use horror movies as their model for a massacre. Had he been a little less focused on violence on screen, he may not have died. His death is the most poetic in the series, and visually captures the karmic consequences of his actions.
Scream 4: Jill Roberts
Jill may have been the most ruthless Ghostface killer, but that just made it so much more satisfying when she was finally defeated. She got so close to pulling off the perfect crime, but that landed her in the hospital, which, as fans saw in Halloween II (1981), has some fun ways to kill people.
She almost got away with it, but Sidney got the last word. As she put the defibrillator paddles on either side of Jill’s head, she said the iconic line: “Don’t f**k with the original.” Very few slashers have final girls quite so impressive as Scream’s Sidney Prescott, and this kill is so iconic because it made her, hands down, the best final girl in slasher history.
Scream 2: Phil Stevens
There’s something seriously disturbing about getting stabbed in the head, and Scream 2 tapped into that feeling perfectly. When Phil hears the person in the next stall whispering, he puts his ear to the wall to hear more and ends up with a knife through the ear.
This is ittedly one of the least believable kills in the entire franchise—how would Ghostface have known he’d put his ear to the wall, much less in that exact spot?—but it’s also very memorable. Scary Movie spoofed the scene, and {American Horror Story: 1984 had a similar punishment for voyeurism.}
Scream: Tatum Riley
As a general rule, if the kill was spoofed in Scary Movie, it’s pretty iconic. And that’s true of Tatum’s death too. Tatum fought back against Ghostface and had some completely brilliant lines, including “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface. I want to be in the sequel.”
She makes some stupid decisions, and the audience has to be willing to put forward a lot of suspension of disbelief concerning the danger of the garage door, but even so. The scene is incredibly impressive and did justice to a character who didn’t take anything lying down.
Scream 2: Maureen Evans
Although Maureen may not have been the first kill in Scream 2, her death made the biggest statement. She was stabbed amongst a crowd of people cheering and waving plastic knives in the air. Her cries for help blended in with their desire to see characters die onscreen. Yet, when they finally knew the truth, they were horrified.
This opening scene, while not the best in the Scream franchise, does an excellent job setting up Mickey’s eventual motivations. Because of this, it has been copied many times, including in Scary Movie, Scream: The TV Series, and Hell Fest. It casts a harsh light on horror fans, asking where we draw the lines between fictional violence and reality.
Scream: Casey Becker
It should be no surprise that the most iconic death in the Scream franchise goes back to the beginning. Everything that makes Scream so successful, from the horror to the meta-commentary, is all there. Fans in 1996 weren’t expecting Drew Barrymore’s Casey to die, and that surprise changed horror history.
It would be difficult to name all the movies that borrow from this scene, but suffice it to say, the question “What’s your favorite scary movie?” comes up a lot. Despite only being in the franchise for a few minutes, Casey is an icon when it comes to horror characters, and her conversation with the killer and eventual death fundamentally changed the formula of slasher flicks for years to come.
