There’s no denying that Ghostface is an incredibly iconic movie villain. The outfit is perfect, the voice is scary yet sexy, and whoever is wearing the costume is usually sneaky as hell. Over the course of six films in the Scream franchise, we have yet to suffer through an uninspired sequel. We must always thank Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven for giving us this franchise in the first place.
We’ve gotten quite a few Ghostface killers and each of them has their own motives. Not everyone is simply trying to kill Sidney Prescott & Co. Even in the short-lived Scream TV series, the killers have very specific intentions for their murders. Some motivations are old hat and some are quite inspired, if I say so myself. With that in mind, we’re ranking these Ghostface killers according to their motives, from least compelling to most inventive.
6. Roman (Scream 3)
Scream 3 is for sure the most disliked film in the franchise, even though Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) contribute to its watchability. There are just a lot of plot points that require major suspension of disbelief (e.g., the voice changer), okay? As for Roman (Scott Foley)’s motives as Ghostface? They’re unbelievably cliche at the end of day.
The reveal that Sidney (Neve Campbell) is his sister and that they have the same mother is wild as hell. Essentially, Roman just resents Sidney for becoming famous as a survivor of two killing sprees, and he despises the fact that Maureen (Lynn McRee) loved Sidney but rejected and abandoned him (because he was conceived during a sexual assault). Roman is the literal reason that Billy (Skeet Ulrich) even found out about his dad cheating with Maureen; he was stalking Maureen, filmed her meeting up with men, and showed Billy the tape of his dad with her. It’s just that old trope of a man blaming a woman (Sidney, in this case) for his woes.
5. Billy and Stu (Scream)
Tired of hearing about the original? Too bad, baby! Breathing new life into the horror genre is no small feat and that’s exactly what Scream did when it was released in 1996. The killer reveal is a shock when you watch the film for the first time. Both Stu (Matthew Lillard) and Billy have their own motives. You can absolutely read Stu’s reasoning as him wanting to impress Billy—the queer subtext has been talked about a lot—and Billy’s motives as being hellbent on revenge. The motive(s) that Stu has to kill are more complex than Billy blaming/slut-shaming women, when in reality he should’ve been equally mad at his father for cheating on his mom. Which is why this is low on the list!
4. Mickey and Mrs. Loomis (Scream 2)
Say what you want but Scream 2 deserves bowl after bowl of confetti. There’s a lot that’s clever about it (especially Stab, the movie within the movie) and the side characters are very memorable, not to mention some pretty memorable moments for our main characters. When it comes to the killers, Mrs. Loomis (Laurie Metcalf) and Mickey (Timothy Olyphant) are melodramatic in the best way. Mrs. Loomis (a.k.a. Debbie Salt) is an angry mother avenging her horrible son. Meanwhile, Mickey wants to become famous for the murders. That dynamic serve as commentary about the ways horrible white men often get defended to the death, as well as the idea that white male serial killers can be romanticized. Each motive is powered by these ideas and that’s why they work.
3. Amber and Richie (Scream 5)
Try and tell me that Amber (Mikey Madison)’s “Welcome to act 3” line in Scream (2022) isn’t incredible. This “requel” didn’t impress everyone, but it gave us something fairly different for the franchise: A cast that’s more diverse, more intense death scenes, moments for the OG cast to shine, and a motive that’s wild yet relevant. Amber and Richie (Jack Quaid) represent toxic horror fans who justify their shit behavior. Rather than ignoring the horrible sequels that they despise (or even having fun with them), they believe that going on a killing spree will bring the Stab franchise back to its former glory. It’s clever and even pokes at the fans a little. Either way, it really does work in our modern time and hits an uncomfortable note.
2. Richie’s Family (Scream VI)
Scream VI is literally out here surprising the hell out of fans. Only one of the three killers was who I expected, and that’s actually pretty impressive. Richie (Jack Quaid)’s family believes that taking revenge on Sam (Melissa Barrera) and ruining her life is the best way to deal with his death. The reveal is pure chaos, has nothing to do with the Stab films or Sidney (possibly because Neve Campbell chose not to return), and the Ghostface killers are extra unhinged this time around. In the third act, we finally learn that the killer is actually three Ghostface killers this time: Richie’s dad, and his siblings Quinn (Liana Liberato) and Ethan (Jack Champion) try to take down the Carpenter sisters and the rest of the core four, but they inevitably fail. At least they got pretty cool deaths for the most part.
1. Jill and Charlie (Scream 4)
In recent years Scream 4 has received way more appreciation than it did in 2011. A lot of the decisions made for the sequel felt very deliberate, from the soft filter to the clever opening. While the newbie characters aren’t all great like Jill (Emma Roberts) and Kirby (Hayden Panettiere), they mostly fall in line with typical tropes. The OG cast members are great as usual, and Jill being revealed as one of the killers is perfection. Charlie (Rory Culkin)’s motives aren’t boring, per se, but Jill is the one who shines here. She was ahead of her time in terms of seeking internet fame and adoration at any cost. Ultimately, that lands her (and Charlie’s, by association) motives at the very top of this list. She’s an iconic character, period.
(featured image: Paramount Pictures)
