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[[quoteright:181:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screammovie1.JPG]]

->''"Don't Answer The Door, Don't Leave The House, Don't Answer The Phone, But Most Of All, Don't [[TitleDrop SCREAM]]."''
-->--Tagline

In 1996, director WesCraven (of ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'' fame) and writer Kevin Williamson (who would go on to make ''DawsonsCreek'' and ''TheVampireDiaries'') decided to make a film to [[GenreKiller end]] the [[SlasherMovie slasher genre]] once and for all: '''''Scream'''''.

A peaceful town in California turns into a bloodbath when a masked killer begins to wreak havoc all over town. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a young teenage girl whose mother was killed a year before, becomes a target of the masked killer; her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and her father soon become the main suspects. Local tabloid news reporter Gale Weathers (Creator/CourteneyCox) and Woodsboro police deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley (David Arquette) investigate and try to figure out the killer's identity - and if they killed Sid's mom the year before.

''Scream'' became a big success - and, in the process, gave new life to the genre it intended to kill in the first place.

''Scream'' and its sequels set themselves apart from other slashers. Instead of coming off just as straight-up horror films, they also served as [[BlackComedy dark]], [[PostModernism "meta"]] [[StealthParody parodies]] [[SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror of the slasher genre]]. The killers all [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy deliberately invoked slasher movie cliches]] while their targets tried to survive by [[GenreSavvy attempting to guess which horror movie tropes the killers would invoke next]] -- a move that just as often [[DeathByGenreSavviness got them killed]] as it did save them. To a generation that had grown up viewing slasher films as [[DeaderThanDisco trite and cliched]] following the genre's burnout at the end of TheEighties, ''Scream'' served as a breath of fresh air.

However, many (though [[SturgeonsLaw certainly not all]]) of the horror films that [[FollowTheLeader copied its formula]] in the ensuing years didn't understand this. A good number of filmmakers instead felt that the ''Scream'' franchise's success came as a result of its casting (which featured stars from hit TV series like ''Series/PartyOfFive'', ''Series/{{Friends}}'' and ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'') and its "hip" dialogue. As a result, the original film has suffered from HypeBacklash since its release, since its own various tricks and tropes [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny became more commonplace in the horror genre]].

In addition to all the copycats, ''Scream'' spawned three sequels of its own. While fans don't remember them as fondly as the original, they all have their fans:
* ''Scream 2'', released in 1997, saw the surviving characters [[CaliforniaUniversity move on to college]] while dealing with their FifteenMinutesOfFame thanks to both [[IfItBleedsItLeads extensive media coverage]] of the killings and ''Stab'', the RippedFromTheHeadlines slasher flick made about the event. Just as the original satirized slashers, the second film satirized the genre's obsession with {{sequel}}s (and all ''their'' related tropes).
* ''Scream 3'', released in 2000, concluded the original trilogy and moved the action to Hollywood, where a work on a third ''Stab'' film has begun. This film -- the only film in the series not written by Kevin Williamson -- targeted trilogies (and their associated tropes) as well as [[HorribleHollywood the inner workings of the film industry]]. Fans generally treat this as the BlackSheep of the series, as it features weaker writing and [[SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror less of the series' trademark humor]].
* ''Scream 4'' (or ''[[Letters2Numbers Scre4m]]''), released in 2011, brought the action back to Woodsboro as the surviving characters of the original trilogy dealt with the legacy of the events of those films. ''Scream 4'' parodied the [[TorturePorn various]] [[FoundFootageFilms trends]] in horror that cropped up in the decade between ''Scream 3'' and ''Scream 4'' -- including, most specifically, the surge of {{remake}}s and [[ContinuityReboot reboots]] of classic horror franchises. While critics and fans gave it a decent reception, its disappointing box office returns[[note]]The three previous films took in upwards of $100 million each domestically, but this one didn't even reach that amount with domestic and overseas grosses ''combined'' - though it only cost about $40 million to make.[[/note]] may have [[FranchiseKiller short-circuited]] the film's attempt to restart the franchise with a new trilogy.
* {{MTV}} [[http://tvline.com/2012/06/03/scream-tv-series-mtv/ currently has a TV show based on the franchise in development.]]

{{Troper}}s like us owe a substantial amount of our hobby to the film. ''Scream'' wholeheartedly lampshaded and deconstructed a large number of tropes -- which made it one of the first major, mainstream films to do so since ''{{Airplane}}'' -- while it remained grounded in reality and exploring a whole new genre. The original film predates ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' by only a few months when it comes to having a story about sarcastic, GenreSavvy teenagers in a [[PostModernism post-modern]] {{horror}} setting.

''This series has a [[Characters/{{Scream}} Character Sheet]].''

----

!! The ''Scream'' franchise serves as the TropeNamer for:

* GuttedLikeAFish

----

!!The ''Scream'' franchise contains examples of the following tropes:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Series In General]]
* ActionGirl: Sidney, being a FinalGirl, has her moments.
* {{Adorkable}}: Randy.
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Roman's]] final moment with Sidney is almost ''touching'', but ends up ruined by the tacked-on NotQuiteDead moment.
** What with [[spoiler: Jill turning on him and killing him ("This isn't what we rehearsed..."), Charlie]] could almost qualify as well, except for [[spoiler: the whole "rewarding [[MomentOfAwesome his girlfriend for 'rescuing' him]] [[CompleteMonster by stabbing her in the stomach and leaving her there]]" thing. Add to this said girlfriend being played by HaydenPanettiere and it's less AlasPoorVillain and more Serves You Right, YouBastard. (See also Alison Brie fans after Rebecca's trip off the roof.)]]
*** Much like with the [[spoiler: Roman example above, the final moments of ''Scream 4'' have been seen as an attempt to cast Jill off in a tragic light, with a final shot of her face as the press are waiting to talk to her like she wanted]].
* AllStarCast: It certainly qualifies, particularly the sequels.
* AnyoneCanDie: Any character featured in the first ten minutes, [[DeadStarWalking regardless of the actor in the role]], can (and will) die. With other characters, however, this trope is averted -- [[spoiler:Sidney, Gale and Dewey have survived all four movies]]. 
* AssholeVictim:[[spoiler: Steven Stone and John Milton in Scream 3, Charlie Walker in Scream 4]]
* BadAssDamsel: Sidney laughs at the DistressedDamsel trope! 
* BigBad: [[SerialKiller Ghostface]] is the [[LegacyCharacter identity]] donned by every one of the series' antagonists; no matter who it is behind the mask, they always exhibit the same basic personality and physical attributes: taunts victims through phone calls, grunts and groans when injured, remains primarily mute while face-to-face with a victim, prolongs a kill when an advantage is gained, stabs victims with a hunting knife, switches from being quick and efficient to clumsy and accident-prone, outright ignores blunt trauma, stabbing wounds and gunshots, strong enough to physically overpower victims in a fight, prowls without being detected, and often vanishes from the targets' defense before taking them by surprise almost immediately thereafter. 
** BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler: All but the third movie have two people alternating as Ghostface.]]
* BittersweetEnding: All the films seem to end on this note, [[spoiler: Ghostface's dead and the heroes have lived to go on fighting and living another day, but most of the characters you have cared about are now dead and aren't coming back... [[OnlyMostlyDead unless they're still alive but barely.]]]]
* BloodierAndGorier: Discussed in the second film, but it actually used ''less'' fake blood and guts than the original. The fourth movie, however, is much bloodier than ''Scream 3'', and possibly the rest of the series.
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: Billy and Roman. Sidney also shoots Mrs. Loomis in the head, but she was probably already dead.]]
* BoundAndGagged: At least one character in every film: [[spoiler: Steve Orth and Neil Prescott]] in the first, [[spoiler: Derek]] in the second, [[spoiler: Dewey, Gale and Milton]] in the third, and [[spoiler: Charlie and Trevor]] in the fourth. 
* BrickJoke: One that occurs between movies. In the first, when Sidney is asked who she'd like to play her in the inevitable [[BasedOnATrueStory movie about the events]], she says that she'd prefer Meg Ryan, [[TemptingFate but knowing her luck, she'd get Tori Spelling]]. Guess who plays her in ''Stab''?
* ButtMonkey:
** Dewey, who depending on your point of view is either the unluckiest or the ''luckiest'' character in the series: [[spoiler:he gets attacked and very badly sliced up in every film but also manages to survive them all.]]
** Sidney as well, when you consider that she's basically destined to spend the rest of her life being periodically attacked and having all her friends killed by nutjobs attempting to imitate the previous killers... [[DysfunctionalFamily some of whom she's related to in some way or another.]]
* ConversationalTroping
* CreatorCameo: Director Wes Craven has brief cameos in all the films. In the first, he's the school janitor [[ShoutOut Fred]]; in the second, he plays a doctor in the hospital; in the third, he's one of the tourists on the movie lot.
** Also had a cameo in the fourth, but it ended up on the cutting room floor.
** Additionally, writer Kevin Williamson appeared as a man interviewing Cotton Weary in the second film.
* DeadStarWalking: A tradition for the films is to have a big-name actor in the opening scene, only to kill them off within fifteen minutes. The first film had DrewBarrymore in this role, the second had [[BlackDudeDiesFirst Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett]] (and later killed off [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the Slayer herself]], SarahMichelleGellar), the third had [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome Liev Schreiber]], and the fourth one has ''<breathes in>'' LucyHale, [[{{BeverlyHills90210}} Shenae Grimes]], KristenBell, AnnaPaquin, [[FridayNightLights Aimee Teegarden]] and [[TheSecretCircle Brittany Robertson]].
** YMMV on the fourth one, in terms of the word "star."
*** If you mean the fourth movie, well, Kristen Bell and especially Anna Paquin (winner of an Oscar and a Golden Globe) surely qualify. If you mean the fourth name on that list, well... ditto.
* DeadpanSnarker: Most of the characters often say witty snarky comments, but Ghostface seems to be the biggest one when he taunts the victims.
* DeconstructiveParody: What it [[IndecisiveDeconstruction aims to be, but isn't.]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: Gale over the course of the series.
* {{Determinator}}: Ghostface is ''really'' driven when it comes to killing his intended victims. 
* EvilPhone: The killers are quite fond of messing with their victims over the phone.
* EvilSoundsDeep: As the series went on, Ghostface's voice went deeper in tone, possibly as a result of the voice actor (Roger L. Jackson) getting older.
* [[ShowWithinAShow Film Within A Film]]: The ''Stab'' series of slasher films, which act as [[CelebrityParadox this universe's analogues to the]] ''[[CelebrityParadox Scream]]'' [[CelebrityParadox series]]. The first ''Stab'', featured in the second movie, is [[RippedFromTheHeadlines based on the events of the first film]] (albeit with some artistic embellishment), is directed by RobertRodriguez, and stars Tori Spelling as Sidney, Luke Wilson as Billy, David Schwimmer as Dewey, and HeatherGraham as Casey. The third film, meanwhile, revolves around the production of ''Stab 3'', which the masked killer is trying to sabotage. By the events of ''Scream 4'', there have been [[FranchiseZombie seven]] ''Stab'' films, with the series having abandoned all pretense of being BasedOnATrueStory after the third (Sidney sued to prevent any further use of the original characters) and gone into straight-out fantasy by the fifth (which included a TimeTravel plot).
** On top of that, there's also (the [[ExpandedUniverse presumably non-canon]]) ''Stab 8'', which was featured on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCTAM8QOoKs the Terror Tram]] at {{Universal|Studios}} HalloweenHorrorNights 2011. It incorporated {{found footage|Films}} elements so as to [[WereStillRelevantDammit keep the series relevant]], earning the ire of a film geek who hacks into the tram's video feed while dressed as Ghostface to complain about it (before getting messily offed by the ''real'' Ghostface).
* FinalGirl: Sidney and Gale are subversions; while they survive all three movies, neither of them (especially Gale) represents the ideals of purity that this trope upholds.
** Sidney evolves into a {{deconstruct|edTrope}}ion of this trope as the series progresses, what with her life coming to be defined by the trauma suffered by her and those close to her thanks to her "perpetual victimhood."
** Jill in the fourth film [[spoiler:is arguably among the greatest subversions ''ever''. She masterminded the killings and planned to frame someone else for it so that she could play this trope and get her FifteenMinutesOfFame, much like her cousin Sidney did.]]
* FloatingHeadSyndrome: The first film helped to popularize the use of this trope with horror movies, and all of the sequels indulged in it as well. This trope is so attached to the series that, when the fourth film [[http://www.joblo.com/arrow/index.php?id=26950 finally released a "floating head" poster]] (even if it's only the Mexican poster), the fans were ecstatic that it was following series tradition.
* FollowTheLeader: ''TheFaculty'', which essentially did for sci-fi horror what ''Scream'' did for the slasher genre.
** Which makes some sense, as it was written by the same screenwriter. 
* ForTheEvulz: Many of any Ghostface killer's reasons.
** Probably [[spoiler: Stu]] the most though. He really had no reason to help [[spoiler: Billy]] but did just because he [[EvilIsHammy wanted to]].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Arguably, Ghostface. [[spoiler: Roman Bridger]] being the biggest one [[spoiler: since he masterminded Billy and Stu into killing his own mom then in turn the Woodsboro murders]] and followed through [[spoiler: his own killings by killing his cast and trying to kill Sidney, his half-sister, as well while appearing as their dead mom]].
* FreudianExcuse: Almost every Ghostface claims to have one. By the third film, Sidney has had enough of it and yells at the killer that [[ShutUpHannibal they all have no excuse, they're all just that — excuses to kill people]] FortheEvulz.
** The exception to this being [[spoiler: Jill, who openly admits that she's evil, citing that "sick is the new sane".]]
* GenreBlind: Ironically enough, [[spoiler: the killers. Each time there have been two killers, one has turned on the other. And yet they never see it coming.]]
* GenreSavvy: Randy, a horror movie fan who [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-q-AWD_8AY lists three rules]] for surviving a horror movie -- [[DeathBySex don't have sex]], [[TheScourgeOfGod don't drink or use drugs]], and never say "[[TemptingFate I'll be right back]]." Naturally, [[TooDumbToLive the characters break all three in record time]]. Randy expands his rules to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZJzD67-Dek sequels]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmGxpXaNRpU trilogies]] [[labelnote:Warning]]Warning -- both clips contains spoilers for, respectively, the first and second films.[[/labelnote]] in the later films.
** He is replaced in the fourth film with Robbie and Charlie, two horror geeks who deliver a rules for [[TheRemake remakes]].
** ''All'' of the characters become this as the series progresses. [[spoiler: Sidney]] becomes {{Dangerously Genre Savvy}} by the end.
* {{Gorn}}: Even for a horror series where the killers only use knives to kill, some of the deaths are quite icky. A particularly grisly example is the second victim in the series -- while she is [[GoryDiscretionShot eviscerated offscreen]], it soon cuts back to her intestines falling out. Even RogerEbert admitted being a little grossed out by the first two, almost to the point of docking the films for it.
* GuttedLikeAFish: TropeNamer, and happens quite a bit in the series.
* HarassingPhoneCall: The killers love doing this to people they intend to kill.
* HotScoop: Gale.
* IfItBleedsItLeads: Personified with Gale, although [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold she gets better]] in the sequels.
* LampshadeHanging: And how!
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Best to watch the films in order, because the sequels tend to be quite open about the identity of the killers from previous entries.
* LegacyCharacter: Ghostface.
* MadeOfIron: Notably averted. Ghostface is clumsy, falls down, and gets smacked around quite a bit, due to the fact it's normal folk under the masks, and not the genre's usual undead/supernatural/etc. figures.
** Though it should be noted that it still takes a lot to [[{{Determinator}} kill]] [[NotQuiteDead them]].
* MetaGuy: Randy in the original trilogy, and Robbie and Charlie in the fourth film. See GenreSavvy.
* MurderSimulators: Referenced several times with regards to violent horror movies. Considering that the director is a man who made his name with such films, this can easily be interpreted as a TakeThat against [[YouCanPanicNow fear-mongering]] MoralGuardians.
* MutuallyFictional: With ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' and TheViewAskewniverse.
* NotQuiteDead: In each damn one. The characters end up fully expecting it. In ''Scream'', [[spoiler: Randy lampshades this with Billy, who promptly reveals himself to be not quite dead. Sidney ''very'' calmly shoots him in the head]]. Subverted in ''Scream 2'', [[spoiler: Gale and Sidney expect Mrs. Loomis to be this, and then Mickey jumps up behind them screaming. They shoot and kill him, and then Sidney shoots the (probably already dead) Mrs. Loomis in the head, just to be sure]]. ''Scream 3'' has [[spoiler: Roman play this straight, until Dewey shoots him in the head]]. ''Scre4m'' [[spoiler: shows Jill survive a defibrillator on full power to the head, and attempt to stab the characters in the back with glass. Sidney, fully expecting it, turns around and shoots her in the heart killing her]]. 
* PluckyGirl: Sidney.
* PostModernism: Numerous elements in the films as discussed in the main text. The film also started a massive wave of self-referential, teen-focused horror films that ran through the late '90s.
* SelfReferentialHumor: The series' bread and butter.
* SerialKiller: Needless to say.
* SlasherMovie: Despite the director's initial intentions, the films are well-accepted members of the genre.
* SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror: The first two films were roughly equal mixes of horror and comedy. The third film, which had a different writer, was more of a straight horror film, with more of the humor coming from the characters rather than from [[DeconstructiveParody jabs at the genre]]. Finally, the fourth film, which brought back original writer Kevin Williamson, is arguably the most comedic of the franchise, with even a few of the deaths (such as [[spoiler:Deputy Perkins]]) being {{played for laughs}}.
* TemptingFate:
** The phrase "I'll be right back" is treated like this. Stu makes a point to say it multiple times, apparently jokingly.
** Sidney, why did you even ''mention'' [[BrickJoke the idea of Tori Spelling playing you in the movie]]?
* TooDumbToLive: Multiple examples throughout the entire franchise.
** In the first film, Tatum Riley tries to escape Ghostface when she panics and tries to get through a large dog-door. Not only can she not get through, she gets stuck so she can't get back in. Ghostface recovers and switches on the automatic door, which snaps her neck rather messily. When one considers there were several instances where she could have a) defended herself with any of the numerous objects lying around the garage and/or b) [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] Ghostface to within an inch of his/her life after managing to knock Ghostface down not once, but twice, it becomes this trope.
** Officers Ross and Hoskins are another classic example... see TooDumbToLive under ''[=Scre4m=]''.
** In the first movie, Ghostface told Casey to choose a door to escape the house through. Instead of taking the risk of Ghostface being behind the door she chose she could have [[TakeAThirdOption taken a third option]] and gone out a window.
* {{Troperiffic}}: Lampshadedly the whole point of the series, especially the first film.
* VoiceChangeling: Ghostface's voice changer, which can even replicate other people's voices in the third film. On the other hand, TechnologyMarchesOn...
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: Ghostface.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Scream'']]
* AManIsNotAVirgin: Subverted with Randy, who attributes his survival to being a virgin.
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Billy and Stu.]]
* [[spoiler:BigBadDuumvirate - Billy and Stu are the ones that issue the killings as Ghostface.]]
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: [[spoiler:Randy]] gets thrown backwards several feet by a gunshot.
* CatScare: When Tatum hears a noise in the empty garage, she turns just in time to see a startled cat scramble out the pet door.
* ChekhovsGun: The 30 second delay on the tape [[spoiler:gets Kenny the cameraman killed]].
* CombatPragmatist: [[spoiler: After stabbing Billy with an umbrella, Sidney [[{{Squick}} sticks her finger through the wound]] to gain the upper hand]].
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: [[spoiler:Billy and Stu]], until they decided to [[spoiler:stab each other ''before'' trying to kill Sidney and her dad]].
** [[spoiler:Tatum during her death scene]]; she continually mocks the killer and the idea of the helpless female victim scenario, until he actually pulls a knife on her:
--> "No, please don't kill me Mr. Ghostface! I wanna be in the sequel!"
** [[spoiler:Sidney]] also qualifies when she first talks to the killer:
--> "[referring to horror movies] They're all the same; some killer stalking some big breasted girl who can't act, who's always runs up the stairs when she should be going out the front door - it's insulting."
*** This of course leads to an IronicEcho, where she is forced to run upstairs instead of outside when the killer attacks moments later.
* DawsonCasting: All of the teen characters in the original are played by actors who were old enough to drink at the time.
* DeathBySex: Lampshaded.
-->'''[[MetaGuy Randy:]]''' Rule #1 [for surviving a horror movie]. You can never have sex. (boos from the crowd) Big no-no! Sex equals death, okay?
** Subverted, however, by [[spoiler:Sidney]], who has sex [[spoiler:(with the killer!)]] and still survives.
* EnforcedMethodActing: Wes Craven made DrewBarrymore think that he was going to kill her dog in order to get the right emotional response out of her; that's kinda ''fucked'', bluntly put. 
** Not quite. He was actually reminding her of a story she had seen about a sociopathic kid who had lit his dog on fire.
** Craven also fulfilled this trope by making sure that none of the actors had met Roger L. Jackson prior to filming and the telephone scenes were filmed with him actually on the phone. 
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: When [[spoiler:Stu, one of the killers]], is informed that the cops are on their way, rather than reacting negatively to that, or the fact that he's coughing up quite a lot of blood, he starts crying and says, "My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me!" You almost feel sorry for him. ''Almost''.
** Being [[spoiler: Billy's motivation for the murders.]]
* EveryoneIsASuspect: The exact phrase is even quoted word-for-word.
* EvilIsHammy: [[spoiler:Stu, who seemingly goes crazy following TheReveal.]]
* GenreKiller: An attempt at a deliberate example of this... which [[SpringtimeForHitler didn't really work out]].
* HaHaHaNo
* HoYay - Billy and Stu ('Give it to me, babe! Get it up!') Also noted by Sidney: 'Pansy assed momma's boy!' and Randy, who calls Billy 'homo-repressed'.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Sidney drops a TV on the killer in the first film. It can be taken as DeathByIrony, since the TV is showing ''Film/{{Halloween 1978}}'' and the killer, who was an obsessive fan of horror movies who wanted to live one out, is now [[IncrediblyLamePun all the way into one]].
* InsistentTerminology: By the killer, [[spoiler:both of them]].
-->[[spoiler:'''Sidney:''' You're crazy, both of you.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Stu:''' Actually, we prefer the term "psychotic".]]
* {{Irony}}: When called by the killer, Sidney, who dislikes horror movies, badmouths them, saying they all just involve some eye candy girl who always runs upstairs instead of out the front door. When Ghostface attacks moments later, Sidney tries to run out the door, can't, and seeing no other option, runs upstairs.
* MurderSimulators: The killer states that violent movies "don't create psychos, they only make psychos more creative."
* NotQuiteDead: Lampshaded.
-->"Careful, this is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back for one last scare."
* NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont: Played straight, then later subverted.
* OhCrap: Randy's reaction after realizing that Sydney just [[spoiler: handed the gun to one of the killers]].
* RedHerring: Played with beautifully,[[spoiler: in that the red herrings aren't red herrings at all. The movie practically screams "This is the killer" whenever Billy's onscreen (a phone falling out of his pocket after a call from the killer, an unstable attitude, his tendency to show up only after someone is killed), and does it so much that everyone assumes this is the film trying to distract you from the real killer. The trickery is upped further when the apparent RedHerring is killed and everyone who's been paying attention will think "So obviously that means it was Sidney's father the whole time!" It then takes the usual horror denoument "The guy who was too obviously the killer was killed off, and the real killer turned out to be the person the FinalGirl thought she could trust the most (her father)" in a very inventive direction by doubling back on itself: The RedHerring was the killer, his death was faked and there were actually TWO killers and the guy you thought you could trust was trustworthy after all!]]
* TheRedStapler: Caller ID systems became so ubiquitous after this film came out ([[ParanoiaFuel any guesses as to why?]]) that it was even lampshaded in the sequel, where Sidney has one and uses it to catch a Ghostface-imitating prankster.
* RomanceOnTheSet: David Arquette and Courteney Cox.
** Also Neve Campbell and Matthew Lilliard, though only for 2years.
* SacrificialLamb: Casey.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Tatum.]]
* SawStarWars27Times: PlayedForDrama - Casey angrily declares that she's seen ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'' "20 goddamn times" when the killer says that she gave the wrong answer to the trivia question about it (with the stakes being her boyfriend's life). Unfortunately for Casey, the killer was not talking about the series as a whole, but the original movie, whose killer was ''not'' Jason Voorhees but his mother. The boyfriend gets GuttedLikeAFish soon after.
* SelfDeprecation: Casey saying that all the sequels to ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'' sucked. This could also be seen as a TakeThat, since Craven only directed the original and ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'' (and only co-wrote ''[[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors Dream Warriors]]''). He only decided to keep it in once its self-deprecating nature was pointed out; he apparently thought it was a bit mean-spirited at first.
* SequelSnark: "No, please don't kill me, Mr. Ghost face! I wanna be in the sequel!"
* ShoutOut: A brief appearance by a janitor named Fred, who dresses like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] and is [[CreatorCameo played by Wes Craven]].
* SleeperHit: A very rare example of a movie that debuted at #3 at the box office and then slowly climbed up to #1 thanks to strong word-of-mouth. No movie since has been able to accomplish that feat.
* StuntCasting: Drew Barrymore as the second victim. (Everyone forgets that her boyfriend Steve was the first on-screen victim.)
** Hmm... looks like Ghostface has a question for another trivia game.
-->'''Ghostface:''' Who was the first victim in the first ''Scream'' movie?
-->'''Soon-to-die teen:''' It was Casey! Drew Barrymore's character! I've seen that movie a hundred times!
-->'''Ghostface:''' Then you should know it was Casey's boyfriend who got killed first! I'm sorry, but it looks like ''your'' boyfriend is about to follow in his footsteps.
* TakeThat: "And no thanks whatsoever to the Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board." To elaborate: when this movie was in production, scenes were to be filmed at Santa Rosa High School in northern California. [[MoralGuardians The school board]], however, objected to the gory nature of the movie, and after a lot of small town political theatre, shooting for the school scenes was moved to a community center in the nearby town of Sonoma. In response, WesCraven threw that phrase into the credits, right after the "special thanks" portion. The town of Santa Rosa, once a popular filming location, was essentially blacklisted from Hollywood as a result of the experience.
** To be fair to the people of Santa Rosa, there was also a strong element of TooSoon involved, with the community still recovering from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Polly_Klaas Polly Klaas murder]] in the nearby town of Petaluma. The killer's trial was even set to take place around the time that ''Scream'' began production. Wes Craven later admitted in the Biography Channel's ''Inside Story'' program that he understands now why the timing was just too uncomfortable to be acceptable. 
* TechnologyMarchesOn: Or more specifically, access to technology marches on. When Billy drops his cell phone while comforting Sidney after her first attack by the killer, he becomes an immediate suspect because the killer was using one. Back in 1996, cell phones were still rare enough that this would look suspicious. Today, not so much.
* TooSoon: In-universe, the principal expels two students for insensitivity because they were roaming the halls dressed as Ghostface after the real Ghostface killed two students the night before, and then, not thinking it to be punishment enough, threatens to kill both for their actions AND hits BOTH with a [[PrecisionFStrike Precision S Strike]].
** For a real-life example, see above.
* ViewerStockPhrases: "Look behind you!" is played with in the sequence where Randy watches ''Film/{{Halloween 1978}}'' and says this to JamieLeeCurtis in the movie -- but also, unknowingly, to himself, as the killer is approaching him from behind. Meanwhile, a couple of people in a van outside, watching the exchange on a video camera, are saying the same thing to him. However, because the video they're watching is on a time delay, and whatever is going to happen is already over, they are powerless to help him -- just as Randy cannot change what happens in ''Halloween'', and the ''Scream'' audience [[PostModernism can't change what happens in the movie]] ''[[PostModernism they're]]'' [[PostModernism watching]]. Whew!
** Played with even more when Randy says, "Look behind you, Jamie!" He's talking to JamieLeeCurtis, but guess what the actor playing Randy is named?
* WhamLine: In the intro, the phone call starts off like a friendly chat between two strangers, until...
-->'''Casey''': Why do you want to know my name?
-->'''Ghostface''': [[ParanoiaFuel Because I want to know who I'm looking at]].
** [[Film/{{Psycho}} "We all go a little mad sometimes,"]] [[spoiler:as said by Billy Loomis before he shoots Randy Meeks (though non fatally)]].
*** [[spoiler:"Your slut mother was fucking my father. She's the reason my mom moved out and abandoned me. How's that for a motive?" as said by Billy, while explaining to Sidney about this. Even Stu was shocked by this.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Scream 2'']]
* AbortedArc: Gale sets-up the idea that the killings behind the new Ghostface Killer is a copy cat to the original victims but it goes nowhere.
** This might have been an in-universe example of CreativeDifferences. [[spoiler: Mickey]] wanted to create a RealLife sequel to the Woodsboro murders but [[spoiler: Mrs. Loomis]] was only doing this to [[spoiler: avenge her son's death]].
* AllPartOfTheShow: The death of Jada Pinkett's character is mistaken for this by the crowd in the theater, who thinks it's a publicity stunt.
* AnalogyBackfire: After [[spoiler: Mickey]] compares himself to the killer from the first film, [[spoiler: Billy Loomis]];
--> '''Sidney''': Yeah, well you're forgetting one thing about [[spoiler: Billy Loomis]]?
--> '''[[spoiler: Mickey]]''' What's that?
--> '''Sidney''': [[BewareTheNiceOnes I fucking KILLED him!]]
* AvengingTheVillain: [[spoiler: Mrs. Loomis.]]
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:Mickey and Mrs. Loomis.]]
* [[spoiler:BigBadDuumvirate - Mickey and Mrs. Loomis shared the role of Ghostface in this film]].
* BigDamnHero: [[spoiler: Cotton.]]
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Done, and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]].
* CaliforniaUniversity: Though Windsor College sounds like a fictional California college, the college in the film is in Ohio, both established in script and on the film.
* ChekhovsGun: Derek's Greek letters.
* CherryTapping: Sidney shoots [[spoiler: Mrs Loomis]] in the head after commenting that they ''always'' come back;
--> '''Sidney''': ''[[DangerouslyGenreSavvy Just in case]]''
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Arguably, [[spoiler:Randy]].
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Randy]].
* IfItBleedsItLeads: The killer [[spoiler:(at least, one of them)]] planned on invoking this in order to get himself media publicity and a sensational trial.
* MurderSimulators: A discussion in a film class early on has several characters debating whether or not violent slasher flicks turn people violent. Later, the killer plans on blaming his killing spree on said slasher movies (such as the newly-released ''Stab''), invoking this trope in order to create a sensational trial and get the MoralGuardians on his side.
* OhCrap: Sidney's expression when Ghostface turns off the voice changer and speaks with [[spoiler:Mickey]]'s voice.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Randy.]]
* SequelEscalation: Provides the page quote, too!
-->'''Randy:''' "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate — more blood, more gore. Carnage candy."
* SequelHook: The film was originally supposed to include a shot of the masked killer in the bell tower as the camera pulls back in the final shot, but this was never done.
%%
%% Note: The entry for Sequelitis here applies to an in-universe discussion of the trope, not the opinion of fans of the series (which already has a YMMV entry). Don't move this to the YMMV page.
%%
* {{Sequelitis}}: Discussed in-universe in a scene in a film class, with Randy claiming that "sequels suck" and destroyed the horror genre. To prove his point, he and Cici ask their fellow classmates to name sequels that are [[EvenBetterSequel better than the originals]]. Yes, this discussion is being had [[PostModernism in a horror sequel]].
* SpankTheCutie: What Mrs. Loomis should have done to [[spoiler:Randy]] instead of killing him.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Randy.]]
* YouBastard: The whole point of the intro.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Mickey is killed by Mrs. Loomis for this purpose.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Scream 3'']]
* ArcWelding: The killer, [[spoiler: Roman]], reveals that [[spoiler: he]] was the one who originally convinced [[spoiler: Billy and Stu]] to start killing, making [[spoiler: him]] directly responsible for the events of the first movie and indirectly responsible for the second.
* [[spoiler: BigBad - Roman was the one that convinced Billy and Stu to become killers in the first film, and was indirectly responsible for Mrs. Loomis wanting to avenge Billy's death, plus Mickey, Jill ''and'' Charles fame-seeking motivation for being the next Ghostfaces. Furthermore, Roman was the lone Ghostface killer in the third film, so one could arguably consider him as the Biggest Bad for the series, at least for the original trilogy. ]]
* TheBladeAlwaysLandsPointyEndIn: Subverted when [[spoiler:Ghostface throws his knife at Dewey, and it hits him on the handle side. It still hurts enough for him to fall down the stairs.]]
* {{Cameo}}:
** [[ViewAskewniverse Jay and Silent Bob]] appear on the movie set of ''Stab 3''. In their own films, they interrupt the filming of a fictional ''Scream'' sequel.
** RogerCorman also has a cameo as a studio executive.
** In-universe, Cotton Weary shoots a cameo for ''Stab 3'' AsHimself.
** Creator/HeatherMatarazzo appears as Randy's sister.
** Carrie Fisher appears ... as a woman who is always mistaken for Carrie Fisher, and is very annoyed by it. She also accuses Carrie Fisher of [[CastingCouch sleeping with George Lucas]] to get the role.
* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Handgun:]] This little dialogue says it all.
--> '''Kincaid:''' (hands Dewey his pistol) Take this GET THE SON OF A BITCH!! [[spoiler: he does get him.]]
* DawsonCasting: Happens in-universe. Sarah is 35 years old, but her character in ''Stab 3'', [[RedShirt Candy]], is only 21.
* DeathBySex:
** Lampshaded by Randy, who taped a video [[spoiler:prior to his death [[CrazyPrepared just in case]], and blames what became his eventual death in the last film on the fact that he had sex with a girl in the video store.]]
** One of the most {{egregious}} instances ever: [[spoiler:Angelina]] gets killed literally ''seconds'' after [[spoiler:revealing that she [[CastingCouch slept with the producer]] to get the role]]. ''Damn'', do the rules strike fast! Doubles as a DeathByIrony, since [[spoiler:Angelina played FinalGirl Sidney in ''Stab 3'', and yet she herself failed to follow the rules that Final Girls are to obey]] (but then again, so did Sidney herself in the first film).
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Cotton.
* DumbBlonde: Sarah, who mistakenly believes that ''Film/{{Psycho}}'''s famous shower scene was in ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' instead.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Subverted (possibly even inverted). [[spoiler:Roman's]] motivation for killing everyone was because his mother disowned him and ran off to start a new family.
* FryingPanOfDoom
* HorribleHollywood
* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: It's Roman's birthday.
* TheIngenue: Angelina. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope It's all just an act, though.]] Underneath this persona, she's actually [[NiceCharacterMeanActor a foul-tempered bitch]] who [[CastingCouch slept with the producer]] to get the role of Sidney in ''Stab 3''.]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Liev Schreiber (as Cotton Weary) has a cameo at the beginning. He is talking on the phone with his agent, complaining that the only gig he could get is a cameo at the beginning of ''Stab 3''.
** Also, the ''Stab 3'' cast can't predict their characters' fate: the script is being kept under wraps to avoid it being leaked on the Internet. This happened during the production of ''Scream 2'', and ''may'' have lead Craven & co. to change that movie's outcome: [[spoiler: in a leaked version, Derek and Hallie were the killers.]] 
* LighterAndSofter: De-emphasized explicit violence in favor of humor, due to being made post-Columbine.
* MadeOfIron: Randy's "trilogy rules" state that, at the ends of trilogies, the killers become supernaturally strong and tough, and can only be killed through [[OffWithHisHead decapitation]], [[HumanPopsicle cryogenic freezing]] or other extreme means. As it turns out, he's partly right. The killer is able to survive multiple gun shots, [[spoiler: because he's wearing a bullet-proof vest]].
* MurderSimulators: One of the producers of ''Stab 3'' notes how violence in cinema has become a touchy subject recently; the unstated-yet-obvious cause of this is the fact that, a year before, the UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} massacre took place. They also speculate that Cotton's murder may have been by a deranged fan.
-->'''Milton:''' Detectives, there's no reason to presume that Cotton's death had anything to do with this movie, is there?
-->'''Kincaid's Partner:''' He was making a movie called ''Stab''. [[DeadpanSnarker He was stabbed.]]
* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: The killer conceals their location by hiding in a rack of Ghostface costumes.
* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: In the beginning, Sidney is revealed to be living as a recluse, convinced it is the only way to stay safe from psychotic killers from coming after her, and killing those around her. She lives in the middle of nowhere, locks and sets an alarm on her gate before locking and setting the alarm for her house. In the end, in a moment that is both [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] and [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming touching]] [[spoiler: She leaves her gate open behind her, and doesn't set the alarm for her house. When the wind blows the door open, she looks at it and walks away.]]
* TheOtherDarrin: In-universe, ''Stab 3'' sees the replacement of Tori Spelling as Sidney with Angelina Tyler.
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Detective Kincaid]] is implied a number of times to be the killer, in fact, his innocence leads to a PlotHole[=/=]WhatHappenedToTheMouse incident. It was never explained how the real killer got Sidney's phone number, and [[spoiler:Kincaid]] used Dewey's phone just before the scene in which Sidney gets the phone call from the killer. And it doesn't explain why he had all those newspaper clippings on Sidney in his desk, but the ending shows him now all chummy with the main three.
* SecretKeeper: Sidney is living as a recluse, convinced it's the only way to stay safe. The only people who know where she is are her father and Dewey.
* ShutUpHannibal: The killer [[spoiler: Roman explains that he is Sidney's half-brother]], and fires off a bunch of reasons as to why he committed the murders. Sidney then cuts him off, saying she's tired of all the bullshit that the killers she has encountered have told her, and says that all of the reasons she has heard are just pathetic excuses that the killers use to hide the fact that they kill people [[ForTheEvulz simply because they enjoy doing it]]. This leads to a rather large {{Villainous Breakdown}}.
* StageNames: It's revealed that Sidney's mother Maureen was a failed actress who went by Rina Reynolds. In the same scene, it's also revealed that Jennifer's real name is Judy Jurgenstern.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Cotton.]]
* TemptingFate:
-->'''Sarah:''' Guys, we are not in any danger.
-->'''Tyson:''' "We are not in any danger," says Candy, page 15.
* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: Played with. Disguised as [[spoiler:Dewey]], the killer has a phone conversation with [[spoiler:Jennifer Jolie's bodyguard]] while [[spoiler:he's looking through Dewey's trailer]]. When he insults "[[spoiler:Dewey]]" over the phone, the killer responds with "That makes me... angry!" (with a definitive emphasis of rage on that last word), while bursting in and stabbing [[spoiler:him]] in the back. 
* ThemeNaming: A number of characters ({{Angelina|Jolie}} [[LivTyler Tyler]], Creator/{{Jennifer|Aniston}} [[AngelinaJolie Jolie]], {{Tom|Cruise}} [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Prinze_Jr Prinze]]) are named after real-life actors. Fitting, since the characters are actors themselves, and in Jennifer's case it's actually a {{stage name|s}}.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: When Dewey catches the the killer by surprise, he retaliates by throwing his knife at Dewey...[[spoiler: though it's hilariously averted as the handle side hits him square in the forehead.]]
* TonightSomeoneDies: Randy mentions that the rules of the trilogy mean that someone big is going to die before it's over. [[spoiler:He's wrong though, Sidney, Gale, and Dewey all live.]]
* VideoWill: [[spoiler:Randy's tape]], also counts as TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat (somehow).
* WhamLine: From Ghostface, while unleashing its MotiveRant in ''Scream 3''
-->'''Ghostface/[[spoiler:Roman]]''': I searched for my mother, an actress named Rina Reynolds... searched for her my whole life. I finally tracked her down, knocked on her door, thinking she would welcome me with open arms... but she had a new life, a new name: [[spoiler:Maureen Prescott! You were the only child she claimed. Sid, she shut me out in the cold forever! Her own son. (takes off the mask, revealing whom they are) Roman Bridger, director... (uses the voice changer) and brother.]]
* WildMassGuessing: The cast of ''Stab 3'', since they don't have the full scripts for the movie (to keep the ending from being leaked), indulges in this while on-set. Angelina (the actress who plays Movie!Sidney) speculates that her character might even be the killer this time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Scream 4'' or ''Scre4m'']]
* ActorAllusion: Gale and Rebecca's conversation has Rebecca bring up how surprised she is that Gale and Dewey's marriage worked as well in real life as it did in the ''Stab'' movies. The actors who play Gale and Dewey, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, are married. Also becomes HarsherInHindsight when one remembers that the two of them separated not long after filming on ''Scream 4'' was wrapped -- and that the main thrust of Dewey and Gale's story is that [[LifeImitatesArt their marriage is falling apart]].
* AnyoneCanDie: The marketing has strongly teased the possibility of series regulars getting killed off. [[spoiler: They don't, though all of them come close.]]
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Jill Roberts.]] Perhaps more so than any of the previous Ghostfaces.
** [[spoiler: [[KristenBell Chloe]] may count as well, considering that she brutally stabbed [[AnnaPaquin Rachel]] over [[SeriousBusiness talking too much during Stab 6.]]]]
* [[spoiler:BigBadDuumvirate - Jill and Charlie are the joint-killers that donned the Ghostface identity here, the latter for his love towards Jill, and the former to make herself a "sole-surviving hero", getting the fame that comes with the title]].
* BondOneLiner 
-->[[spoiler: '''Sidney''': You forgot the first rule of remakes, Jill: Don't fuck with the original.]]
* [[spoiler:BuryYourGays: Played for laughs. Robbie states that being gay is probably the only way to survive a horror film. Later when Ghostface attacks him, he admits he's gay thinking it will save him. It doesn't.]]
* CastingGag: Erik Knudsen not only was in the second chapter of the ''{{Saw}}'' saga, though the forth chapter is mocked in the [[ShowWithinAShow the Stab openings]], but also starred in the CBS TV show ''Series/{{Jericho}}'' the lead of which was none other than Skeet Ulrich, who played Billy Loomis in the first ''Scream''. And even more surprising or by sheer coincidence, his name in ''Scream 4'' is named Robbie Mercer, which sounds a lot like the name of the character (Bobby Mercer) in ''FourBrothers'' who was played by MarkWahlberg and who is the brother of Donnie Wahlberg of NewKidsOnTheBlock fame who played Knudsen's father in the second Saw film and is Mark's brother.
* CashCowFranchise: While ''[[FilmWithinAFilm Stab]]'' was entering this with the third installment (the first not based on real life murders), the fact that it got to 7 installments - one of which has ''time travel'' - shows it went down the "grab a quick buck" path rather easily.
* ContinuityNod: [[spoiler:The girl in the beginning getting crushed by a garage door]].
* TheDanza: Emma Roberts' character is named Jill Roberts.
* DeathBySex: Apparently, averted. The trailer states that "the rules have changed. Virgins can die now." [[NeverTrustATrailer In the trailer]][[note]]but [[ManipulativeEditing not in the movie itself]] -- the two scenes aren't anywhere near each other[[/note]], this is then promptly used by Kirby for a TakeThat at the girls sitting next to her:
-->"Does that mean I'm not gonna live as long as these two?"
** [[spoiler: The answer seems to be "Yes," but it's never ''definitely'' stated she gets it, except by Jill -- who has a vested interest in her being dead, and who wasn't on the scene when it happened so it's likely she's only assuming it's such. And since Kirby [[EnsembleDarkhorse went down well with fans]] - being played by HaydenPanettiere didn't hurt - the possibility of her [[NotQuiteDead coming back]] cannot be ruled out. Especially as unlike virtually every other victim throughout the series the last time we see Kirby ''she's still alive...'']]
** [[spoiler:If Kirby actually died, it's a weird inversion - she died for ''not having'' sex (with the eventual murderer of all people, as a MomentKiller ruined their advances on each other)]].
* DistaffCounterpart: Kirby, for Randy from the original.
* [[spoiler:DownerEnding: Yes, in the end, Jill and Charlie's plans are foiled. However, all the new characters, save for Judy (and arguably Kirby), are dead. Sidney, Dewey, and Gale come out injured and broken. The media are convinced that Jill is a hero, and one wonders how Sidney is going to take having to tell the world that her own family member was playing them all like fiddles, and was committing the murders herself.]]
* DrinkingGame: At the ''Stabathon''.
* EvilIsHammy: [[spoiler:Jill, especially in the scene where she's [[WoundedGazelleGambit self-harming to make herself look like a victim of the killer]].]]
* EvilPlan: The events of the film were all planned out by [[spoiler:Jill, who wanted to kill Sidney, frame Trevor, betray Charlie, and come out the FinalGirl of the movie so that she could have the same fame and hero worship that Sidney got for surviving her first three ordeals]]. The MoralEventHorizon is crossed when [[spoiler:she decides that, in order to be more convincing and sympathetic, she had to kill off her own mother, in addition to Sidney. Considering her mother is MaryMcDonnell, Jill and the movie itself cross a MoralEventHorizon when she succeeds.]]
* ExecutiveMeddling: It apparently underwent a lot of this from the Weinsteins before its release, including most of the script changes. The DVDCommentary alludes to this on several occasions, particularly on noting that the movie was originally due to end with [[spoiler: a "We got a heartbeat!" scene involving Kirby]].
* {{Fanservice}}: Putting LucyHale, [[BeverlyHills90210 Shenae]] [[Series/{{Degrassi}} Grimes]], AnnaPaquin, KristenBell, [[Series/FridayNightLights Aimee Teegarden]], [[LifeUnexpected Brittany Robertson]], [[Series/{{Community}} Alison Brie]], HaydenPanettiere, EmmaRoberts, [[{{Grindhouse}} Marley Shelton]] and a [[ChristmasCake still-sexy]] [[Series/PartyOfFive Neve Campbell]] and [[{{Friends}} Courteney]] [[CougarTown Cox]] in the same movie defines the term, even if many of them are [[CannonFodder bumped off]] before (and in [[spoiler: Emma's]] case, during) the finale. (Come to think of it, for some men a movie in which [[spoiler: Alison Brie is thrown off a roof, Hayden Panettiere is stabbed in the stomach and Emma Roberts gets blown away - even if the last named ''is'' the killer - ]] is FanDisservice with a side order of TearJerker.) The only survivors, other than [[PlotArmor guess who]], are Kristen (who was actually in the movie within the movie), [[spoiler:Marley, and possibly Hayden.]]
** And as for Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere [[LesYay sharing a bed]], ''thank you.''
*** Panettiere ''taking her shirt off'' during the DVDCommentary (because she has it on the wrong way round - seriously) also qualifies, [[LifeIsntFair even if you can't see it]]. 
* FanDisservice: Subverted. Just before [[spoiler: Olivia]] is killed off she undresses and is seen in her underwear. However she puts a baggy sweater on thus eliminating the Disservice element.
* FifteenMinutesOfFame: [[spoiler:Jill's motivation for the killings.]]
* [[ShowWithinAShow Film Within A Film]]: ''Stab 6'' within ''Stab 7'' within ''Scream 4'', with a reappearance of ''Stab 1'' halfway through the film.
** Apparently Stab 3 did get made, and it was based off of Scream 3. So it was about the original actors, played be new actors, trying to make Stab 3 and dying, while Sid, Gale, and Dewey, all played by new actors, investigated the deaths. [[PostModernism It was a movie within a movie within a movie.]] And it couldn't have made much sense.
** [[NoodleIncident Stab 5 was the worst, with all that time travel stuff.]]
* GroinAttack: [[spoiler:Jill to Trevor. With a ''gunshot''.]] 
* GroundhogDayLoop: It has got to start feeling that way to poor Sid. The sad part is [[spoiler:with Jill and Charlie donning the mask for reasons that have almost no connection to the original murders, it's unlikely that it's ever going to stop. There will always be psychopaths who go after Sidney because she's famous for being the ultimate FinalGirl. She'll probably be dodging killers and watching people die until her old age. Luckily she has gotten very, very good at it.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: A cop is stabbed in the forehead. And still lives long enough for some BlackComedy FamousLastWords.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: One of the killers, [[spoiler:Charlie, is played by Rory Culkin - the brother of Macaulay Culkin, who has played a sociopathic killer not once but twice, in ''TheGoodSon'' and ''Party Monster''.]]
** As of this movie, might also be the case in-universe with the [[spoiler:Roberts]] family. Both [[spoiler:Sidney’s half-brother Roman and first cousin Jill]] turn out to be psychopathic murderers. 
* TheLadette: Kirby, a brash, [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]], tomboyish horror buff who makes the first move on a timid boy she's into.
* MadeOfIron: Holy crap, [[spoiler:Jill. The girl scratches herself, pulls out her hair, stabs herself in the shoulder, runs her face into a glass picture frame, and then throws herself through a glass coffee table. At the hospital she's still able to start up another rampage, nearly killing Sidney and Dewey. A defibrillator to the head only momentarily slows her down. It isn't until she shot directly in the heart that she stops. She's]] probably the toughest killer yet.
* MomentKiller: Oh, Trevor, why did you interrupt the geek getting the girl?
* NearVillainVictory: [[spoiler: Jill nearly gets away with her plan, except a) Sidney survives her attack and b) she mentions how she and Gale have matching wounds, despite the fact that [[SomethingOnlyTheCulpritWouldKnow she should have no way of knowing that]].]]
* NoExportForYou: You want to hear more of WesCraven, HaydenPanettiere and/or EmmaRoberts? Luckily they're on the DVDCommentary track (as is Neve Campbell, who literally phones in her contribution)... what's that? You live in the UK? And it's not included on the Region 2 release there, either on the DVD or blu-ray? Well, if you don't have a multiregion player... or if you can't be bothered to import the French R2 release (which does have the commentary - and an English language track)...
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:A rare heroic example -- Sidney, who was presumed to have been killed, managed to survive after all.]] WildMassGuessing also claims that [[spoiler:Kirby]] may have survived. There also seems to be hope for [[spoiler: Robbie]].
** [[spoiler: Alas, Robbie is confirmed ''on screen'' to be with his ancestors, complete with body on view. Kirby, on the other hand, may indeed be [[HesJustHiding just hiding]].]]
* OffhandBackhand: [[spoiler: Sydney pulls one by casually turning and shooting an attacking NotQuiteDead Jill with a handgun.]]
* OhCrap: Gale and Dewey upon realizing that [[spoiler: Jill is the killer]].
* [[spoiler:OutlawCouple]]: [[spoiler:Charlie thought that he and Jill]] were this. Unfortunately for him, [[spoiler:Jill was looking to play the FinalGirl instead. Emphasis on ''[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Final]]''.]]
* PlayingAgainstType: [[spoiler:EmmaRoberts - and then some - as Jill.]]
* PlotArmor: Discussed in regards to Sidney. [[spoiler: She still has it.]]
* PoliceAreUseless: Hoss and Perkins are nowhere to be found while [[spoiler: Olivia is being stabbed to death.]] Really, any cop in this series not named Dewey is pretty much hopeless.
** They even note that police in horror films tend to be worthless, and die. [[spoiler: They're right on both counts.]]
* PolishTheTurd: Parodied in the cast/crew section on the film's website, where all of the actors' bios are heavily glowing, praising their careers. When you read the one for David Arquette, however, you realize that the whole thing's a joke.
-->David Arquette is an actor, writer, director and producer whose unique sensibility makes him one of the most versatile talents working in the entertainment industry today, able to segue from comedy to drama with extraordinary ease. This makes David Arquette extremely uncomfortable, because of the fact that he is writing this bio himself and it seems arrogant to boast about his incredible talents in such a way while also [[ThirdPersonPerson referring to himself in the third person]].
* RedHerring: The movie likes to hint at [[spoiler:Trevor]]. [[spoiler:He really was just trying to protect Jill, after all]].
* RememberTheNewGuy: Judy Hicks, the new deputy, was an old classmate of Sidney's back in high school and says that her and Sidney used to act in plays together, despite not seen nor mentioned in the very first film. Sidney [[LampShadeHanging lampshades]] that she does not [[ForgottenFirstMeeting remember meeting her at all]].
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Kirby and, to some degree, Robbie and Charlie. Though in Kirby's case, she may be alive since unlike the other two they never confirmed she was dead. (While a lot of fans argue Miss Reed ''is'' dead, a lot of fans argue she isn't - and on the DVD/Blu-ray commentary track HaydenPanettiere and WesCraven [[WordOfGod confirm that Kirby's fate is indeed left unclear]], a rarity for a series that likes to make sure we know who's KilledOffForReal. Craven has subsequently [[https://twitter.com/#!/wescraven/status/158268903846457346 Tweeted]] that he doesn't think Kirby's gone to the great big cinema in the sky, and see also ExecutiveMeddling above.)]]
* SequelGap: It came 11 years after its predecessor (which incidentally is longer than the time it took to make and release ''all three previous films'') and thus takes shots at basically everything that happened to horror films in-between.
* ShoutOut: One of the characters is named after Anthony Perkins, who played Norman Bates in ''Film/{{Psycho}}''.
* SomethingOnlyTheCulpritWouldKnow: [[spoiler:Jill and Gale's "matching wounds."]]
** [[spoiler: With the invention of the internet and dozens of witnesses, nevermind a rather lengthy time between her attack and the events that led to the hospital scene (enough for a news report), was it out of the question that the details of the crime were already reported and she heard about them? Not hard for the news to say "this famous author got stabbed in the shoulder." Hello FridgeLogic. Possibly justified as Dewey from an earlier scene is clearly oblivious to how fast information spreads, and in this case he's right.]]
** [[spoiler: However, the news report aired, presumably, after Kirby got Jill from the house (since Kirby left before the attack) and it's easy to assume they never saw the news report. Robby and Charlie were too freaked out from the attack, given that they believed their lives would go to shit thanks to the attack happening at an event THEY were throwing. [[FromBadToWorse They were right.]]]]
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Subverted like there's no tomorrow. Characters are thrown at us as being replacements for the characters of the original film, but [[spoiler:most of the new characters die]], the [[FinalGirl apparent Sidney replacement]] [[spoiler:turns out to be the killer]], and we even get a Billy replacement who [[spoiler:is almost successfully framed for all the murders]].
** Hell, the ''entire new cast'' is built up as a counterpart to someone from the original:
*** Jill: Sidney
*** Kirby: Tatum
*** Trevor: Billy
*** Robbie: Randy
*** Charlie: Stu
*** Judy: Dewey
*** Rebecca: Gale
* ThoseTwoActors: This marks the third film EmmaRoberts has made with Rory Culkin (after ''Lymelife'' and ''Twelve''). [[spoiler: And the second film where they become a couple - this is also the case in ''Lymelife'', although her character doesn't kill his there.]]
** This also marks the second film with HaydenPanettiere and MaryMcDonnell (both were in the MadeForTVMovie ''Chestnut Hill'').
* ThoseTwoGuys: Deputies Anthony Perkins and Ross Hoss fall under this.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: Rebecca.]] After Ghostface appears on the [[spoiler:hood of her car that she has locked herself in and reveals he cut the wires, he disappears when she tries to signal a car down. Instead of staying in the car and calling the cops to rescue her, she gets out of the car and runs for the parking garage exit.]] Take a guess as to how well that turns out.
** [[spoiler: Robbie may count as well, considering that he went walking outside, alone, drunk, when he knew there was a killer on the loose. Though he may have thought he was safe due to the rules started in the film class scene. [[BuryYourGays Not really the case, though.]]]] 
** [[spoiler: Perkins]] gets [[spoiler:him]]self killed, along with [[spoiler:Hoss]], by choosing to joke around. 
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The trailer makes it look like they're spoiling [[spoiler:Gale's death, but she survives yet again]].
** It also makes it appear as if [[spoiler:Ghostface is in Jill's closet. Not really the case, AT ALL.]] It did, however, spoil [[spoiler: [[HesJustHiding Robbie's death]], Hoss' and Perkins's deaths, Rebecca's death, and Marnie's body crashing through the window]].
* TrilogyCreep
* TrueCompanions: Sidney, Gale, Dewey and Randy. Sidney and Gale are a particularly good example in that despite their long history together they never really become ''friends'' -- but have saved each others lives numerous times and know they can count on each other.
* VasquezAlwaysDies: [[spoiler:Averted by Hicks. "Wear the vest, save your chest."]]. It's worth noting that this is the only time this trope was featured in the Scream franchise.
* VillainousBreakdown: Arguably [[spoiler: Jill goes through this]] in the end after [[spoiler: her entire plan falls apart]] and basically turns to TakingYouWithMe.
* WhereItAllBegan: Woodsboro.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: [[spoiler: Jill's self-mutilation in order to make people think she was a victim.]]
** [[spoiler:And unlike the last time it was tried, it succeeds.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Charlie.]]
[[/folder]]
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9th Feb '13 3:06:24 AM Aquila89

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27th Jan '13 2:14:47 PM Sheora

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25th Jan '13 3:15:02 PM nombretomado

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* {{Fanservice}}: Putting LucyHale, [[BeverlyHills90210 Shenae]] [[Series/{{Degrassi}} Grimes]], AnnaPaquin, KristenBell, [[Series/FridayNightLights Aimee Teegarden]], [[LifeUnexpected Brittany Robertson]], [[Series/{{Community}} Alison Brie]], HaydenPanettiere, EmmaRoberts, [[{{Grindhouse}} Marley Shelton]] and a [[ChristmasCake still-sexy]] [[Series/PartyOfFive Neve Campbell]] and [[{{Friends}} Courteney]] [[CougarTown Cox]] in the same movie defines the term, even if many of them are [[CannonFodder bumped off]] before (and in [[spoiler: Emma's]] case, during) the finale. (Come to think of it, for some men a movie in which [[spoiler: Alison Brie is thrown off a roof, Hayden Panettiere is stabbed in the stomach and Emma Roberts gets blown away - even if the last named ''is'' the killer - ]] is FanDisservice with a side order of TearJerker.) The only survivors, other than [[PlotArmor guess who]], are Kristen (who was actually in the movie within the movie), [[spoiler:Marley, and possibly Hayden.]]

16th Jan '13 10:10:42 PM erforce

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15th Jan '13 8:29:28 PM nombretomado

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7th Jan '13 8:04:15 AM igordebraga

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