The “Scream” franchise is undoubtedly one of those classic cult slasher films where you just have to watch it at least a couple of times in your life because of the concept that molds the story together with its characters so well.
Now in its newest installment, “Scream VI” is the most anticipated out of its five predecessors as fans will be uncovering the secrets of Ghostface (or Ghostfaces?), the agenda of the horrifying murders, and for the first time in the franchise, set in New York City instead of the town of Woodsboro. This will be released on March 10.
Though “Scream VI” is good and exciting news for the diehard fans out there, still, it can be a bit confusing towards newer audiences connecting the dots themselves. So, here are seven things you should know about the Scream franchise to get your head straight.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Killer duo
Billy Loomis and Stu Macher are probably one of the best killer duos out there as they surprised audiences with their reveal in the first “Scream” (1996) movie. These two were the ones who started it all and people did not think that there were two killers on the loose, murdering the friends of Sidney Presscott.
The two had a fascination with horror movies and what would happen if it were to exist in real life. That is the reason why the iconic phone call from the killers will always be present with every “Scream” franchise as not only it was to keep the victims questioning, but scaring them as well.
First murders
Billy Loomis was the mastermind of the first Woodsboro murders in 1996, with the intention of getting revenge on Sidney Presscott because of Billy’s past. Billy was abandoned by his mother when his father, Henry Loomis, was discovered to have an affair with Sidney’s mother—Maureen Presscott. With this, Billy had his overflowing anger being contained for years, until the murder spree began to unleash in Woodsboro.
Stu Macher, on the other hand, helped Billy with the killings because of the thrill, plus, his character was portrayed with several mannerisms of being mentally unstable and might be a possibility of just being manipulated by Billy, himself. However, with Scream’s newest installment, who knows what the killer or killers are thinking?
Mise en Abyme
In the “Scream” universe, there is also a “Stab” universe set within each film. In “Stab,” most of the plot and story are based on the “real-life” events happening in the “Scream” universe. The “Stab” films are inspired by what is happening around the town of Woodsboro, with real names of the killers and victims from the “Scream” films. A film within a film, in short.
Past, present, future
The long-running slasher franchise is mainly connected with its past, where survivors are linked with the other and repeats the whole process itself for both the most recent, “Scream” (2022) and the upcoming “Scream VI” (2023). Every secret uncovered by each survivor lies another Ghostface killer or killers that will be most likely motivated to get revenge, thrill, or for fun for the killings. This was explained in “Scream 2,” where killer Mickey Altieri just wanted the attention and fame, with the intention of not getting away with the murders making him the only Ghostface killer wanting to get caught.
Buck 120
The Buck 120 is the iconic motif throughout the franchise as all Ghostface killers use this hunting knife when executing their murder sprees. This eight-inch knife is not only lightweight in handling, but also delivers painful serrated cuts as the blade has a clip-point feature which tears flesh pretty easily on the inside.
However, in the trailer for “Scream VI,” the Ghostface being shown had an addition to the arsenal as he/she used a shotgun to kill victims which makes his/her killing method somewhat distinctive towards other Ghostfaces in the franchise.
True-to-life inspiration
Though the universe of Scream is fictional, film’s screenwriter, Kevin Williamson took inspiration from Daniel Harold Rolling—a.k.a, the Gainesville Ripper who murdered five students in Gainesville, Florida back in August 1990. He was executed by lethal injection in 2006 after confessing to raping some of his victims, a triple homicide, and the attempt to murder his own father.
This also explains why the Ghostface victims are majorly students as film director, Wes Craven, wants to keep it closely related with the 1990 murders.
Same voice
Every Ghostface killer has a unique personality which sets them apart from every “Scream” installment. But one thing that they all have in common is the voice that they use when calling up to their victims. They all followed the same ritualistic manner since Billy and Stu’s setup using a voice changer that has a tone of a high-pitched old man to cover their identity.
Up until this day, the iconic “Hello, Sidney” call line from 1996 will always remain iconic throughout the franchise.