With 2022’s Scream reboot arriving soon, there is no better time to recap the events of the slasher series. The Scream series revitalized the ailing slasher sub-genre when the teen horror movies arrived in cinemas in the late ‘90s. Genre veteran Wes Craven’s assured direction proved a perfect match for screenwriter Kevin Williamson’s quick-witted meta takes on the sub-genre.
However, while Scream 2 was a rare sequel that earned as much praise as the original movie, 2000’s Scream 3 lost Williamson’s services and suffered according to critics as a result. Scream 3 was criticized for attempting to do too much, whereas the belated Scream 4 (Craven’s final movie) won back the fandom by focusing on scares and laughs more than tying the movies together. Altogether, the four movies tell a pretty complicated story with a string of deaths, survivors, and killers to keep track of.
Now that Scream 2022 is arriving in cinemas, a look back on the series is in order to clarify who died, who killed them, and who made it out of the slasher franchise alive (so far). The four Scream movies take place between roughly 1995 and 2022, and their action begins a year before the original Scream with the death of Sidney’s mom Maureen Prescott. From there on out, there is a lot of killing and killers to keep track of, making this rundown a helpful prerequisite for anyone trying to keep up with the action of Scream's 2022 reboot.
What Happened Before Scream (1996)
One year before 1996’s self-referential slasher Scream begins, Sidney Prescott’s mom Maureen was murdered. Cotton Weary was convicted of her killing but was innocent (more on that later), and it would be another year before her real killers came to light. In the meantime, Sidney attempted to have a normal life after the tragic loss and continued dating local bad boy/teen heartthrob Billy Loomis.
Scream 1 Recap: Sidney's Story & Who The First Killer Was
After being toyed with by a killer who also murders her boyfriend Steve, Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker was murdered while home alone. Her death shook the small town of Woodsboro and particularly Sidney. With the anniversary of her mother’s death days away, Sidney was taunted by phone calls from an unknown assailant and suspected her boyfriend, Billy. However, Billy's name was cleared when he was arrested on suspicion of Casey’s killing, and the calls continued regardless.
Billy’s goofy friend and Scream series fan-favorite Stu organized a party in his parent’s house to celebrate the local high school closing due to the killings. There, reporter Gale Weathers attempted to investigate the killings, as did local sheriff’s deputy Dewey Riley. They met and started a tentative romance, but this was interrupted by the gruesome killing of Dewey’s sister and Sidney’s best friend, Tatum. Shortly after, Gale’s cameraman Kenny was murdered and the killers were unmasked. Both Billy and Stu were working together, and they were also responsible for Maureen’s murder. Sidney then defended herself by killing Stu and Billy, with the latter's demise successful with Gale's help.
Scream 2 Recap: Who The Killer Was & Who Survived
Two years later, Sidney embarked on a fresh start in college. Unfortunately for her, the killings soon started up again. One of the bloodier Scream movies, this sequel offed two movie-goers in the opening scene, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s sorority girl Cici, two cops who were tasked with keeping Sidney safe, Sidney’s new boyfriend Derek, and her roommate Hallie. However, the most infamous death in Scream 2 was that of Randy, Sidney’s scene-stealing friend.
Randy was the character who offered Scream’s iconic rundown of horror movie rules and was the one who explains sequel logic in Scream 2, making this arguably the saddest death in the franchise. Eventually, the movie’s disappointing climax revealed that Timothy Olyphant’s minor character Mickey and Billy’s previously-unseen mother Debbie were the killers, and Sidney teamed up with the now-exonerated Cotton Weary to kill both of them.
Scream 3 Recap: Who The Killer Was (& How This Changed The Series)
The most franchise-long obsession with Sidney led him to kill Stab 3 producer John Milton and attack Sidney, but the final girl bested him and killed Roman with Dewey’s help.
Scream 4 Recap: Who The Killer Was & Who Died
A decade had ed since the events of Scream 3 and it was the fifteenth anniversary of the original Woodsboro massacre and, thus, perfect timing for Sidney to return home for the last leg of her inspirational book tour. At least, it would be perfect timing if Ghostface wasn’t back and killing off a new generation of victims. Among those killed this time around were two high-school students in the opening scene, another one shortly after, Sidney’s publicist Rebecca, another two cops, Sidney’s aunt, and Jill’s boyfriend, Trevor. In its slasher-spoofing meta twist, this Scream sequel’s killer turned out to be the new final girl Jill, who had set up the events of the movie to make her look like a heroic lone survivor of a massacre. Her co-killer was Rory Culkin’s Charlie, who killed his own best friend Robbie before being killed by Jill as part of her plan.
The twist would have felt fresher if the then-recent indie hit 2022 Scream reboot’s returning characters, especially after Scream 3 survivor Mark Kincaid was never heard from again. Regardless, hospitalized but alive after killing Jill and surrounded by Dewey, Gale, and Woodsboro Deputy, Judy Hicks, was where the most recent Scream installment last saw its franchise heroine Sidney.
