Characters / Scream: Dewey Riley

Main Character Index
Movies: Recurring Characters (Sidney Prescott | Gale Weathers | Dewey Riley | Sam Carpenter) | Ghostface (Scream 4 Mastermind) | Scream (1996) | Scream 2 | Scream 3 | Scream 4 | Scream (2022) | Scream VI
TV Series: MTV Series | Resurrection

Dwight "Dewey" Riley

"One generation's tragedy is the next one's joke."

Played By: David Arquette

Appearances: Scream (1996) | Scream 2 | Scream 3 | Scream 4 | Scream (2022) | Scream VI^note Photos

"How do you know that my dimwitted inexperience isn't merely a subtle form of manipulation, used to lower people's expectations, thereby enhancing my ability to effectively maneuver within any given situation?"

Woodsboro's deputy sheriff, Dewey is always on the case when a new Ghostface killer comes out of the woodwork, partly due to the loss of his little sister Tatum to the first Ghostface, and partly out of his sense of family with Sidney, Gale, and Randy.

---

A-F

• A Death in the Limelight: Dewey gets the most focus of the original trio in the fifth film and true to form, dies during it, with Sidney and Gale being motivated by his death to team up with Sam against Ghostface.
• A Father to His Men: Downplayed, but in Scream 4, after Gale insults Judy's lemon squares, Dewey immediately assures the latter that they taste good. After initially being upset at Hoss and Perkins for not protecting Jill's mother from the killer, he is visibly moved when Judy informs him that the pair were found dead as well.
• Action Survivor: Dewey might be the poster child for this trope. He is uncannily lucky, enduring horrible stabbings and beatdowns over the course of five movies. It really shows in the fifth, where he is exhausted and suffering from chronic pains. He always lives to fight another day until finally biting it in the fifth.
• Affectionate Nickname: Dewey tends to refer to Sidney as "Sid".
• All for Nothing: It's revealed that, in-between the fourth and fifth film, Dewey and Gale moved to New York when Gale was offered a new career opportunity. However, Dewey couldn't handle life in the big city, and moved back to Woodsboro in the middle of the night without saying goodbye to Gale to resume his career. However, he was eventually asked to step down as sheriff, and fell to alcoholism to cope. When he sees Gale again in the fifth movie, he is clearly bitter and ashamed that he gave up his future with Gale for essentially no reason.
• Always Second Best:
  • In the fourth and fifth movies, Dewey comes the closest to defeating Ghostface before being taken out or sidelined so that Sidney can save the day.
  • Averted in Scream 3, as after Sidney seemingly kills Roman, he suddenly gets up for one last attack before Dewey shoots him in the head, killing him.
• Ambiguously Absent Parent: Although both of his parents are mentioned in the original film, neither is seen or mentioned by Dewey in the sequels.
• Amicable Exes: With Gale in the third and fifth films. In the third film, despite being upset that she left him to continue her career, he tells her that he liked her and Jennifer even comments that he sounds as though he's still in love with her when hearing the way he speaks of her. In their sole scene together in the fifth film, Dewey compliments Gale on her appearance and Gale says she came to Woodsboro mostly out of concern for him.
• And Starring: David Arquette shares the "with" credit alongside Courteney Cox in 5.
• Authority in Name Only: This is how Tatum treats him in the original film, openly defying his orders to stay back and even asserting the janitor as being his superior. On a secondary level, it also is how he is treated by the killers, who do not seem too afraid of his presence at Stu's home.
• Beard of Sorrow: In the fifth film, Dewey has traded in his mustache for a full beard, and he is easily at the lowest point in his life, suffering from pain, having lost his job, and separated from Gale.
• Being Watched: In Scream 2, Gale and Dewey watch her cameraman's footage before the screen starts changing to show recordings by Ghostface and the pair realize they are now being watched by the killer.
• Berserk Button: He hates any mentions of his younger sister's death.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He frequently is the target of taunts from his co-policemen, family, and friends, but when they are threatened, he is the first to help.
• Big Brother Instinct: Literally towards Tatum, metaphorically towards Sidney. He threatens to personally kill Ghostface in 3 when Ghostface attempts to hurt Sidney. He ultimately does.
• Big Damn Reunion: Dewey and Sidney have one at the start of Scream 2, where the latter happily runs up to and hugs him before they share a conversation where they catch up.
• Big Good: He is this in the fifth film, as he receives the most focus of the original trio and is personally sought by Sam for help as she wants to know how to protect her sister and herself.
• Big "SHUT UP!": He and Gale deliver one to Jennifer in Scream 3 as the latter calls for them to follow Milton and adds that her version of Gale would be more aggressive and suspect everybody.
• Birds of a Feather: With Sidney. Both survived the first Ghostface murder spree and lost Tatum in the process, drawing them closer to each other. They both act as a Morality Chain for Gale, with both Dewey and Sidney reprimanding her for her fame-seeking ways while also teaming up with her to stop subsequent killing sprees.
• Blatant Lies: Dewey, having been retired for years as sheriff by the time of the fifth film, tells Sidney that things in the sheriff's business are fine when she asks about his job.
• Bookworm: Dewey is able to recite lines from both Gale's book in Scream 2 and Sidney's book in Scream 4 in order to demonstrate his frustrations with the former and provide the latter with reassurances that they will be okay.
• Breakout Character: Dewey was originally supposed to die in the first film, but positive reception to the character by test audiences convinced Wes Craven to use an additional scene of him surviving in the finished film. He's even implied to be this in-universe, with Ghostface describing him as the "fan favorite" of the Stab series when speaking with Gale over the phone in VI.
• Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: He and Gale share a kiss at the end of the first film, but are not together in the second, thanks to Dewey's disgust at Gale using the killings as an excuse to advance her career. After they reconcile, they start dating, but are broken up again by Scream 3 because Gale has not changed her ways. When she promises to do so, Dewey proposes to her. In Scream 4, they have been married for a decade, but their relationship is strained because of Gale's frustrations at being forced to become a housewife in Woodsboro. Their experiences with the fourth Ghostface terror are implied to reconcile them, but it's revealed in the fifth film that it didn't last. Though Dewey freely admits that the fault for their breakup lies with him.
• Broken Pedestal: In Scream 2, he is livid at Gale for using her experiences as a survivor to advance her career, throwing her friends under the bus along the way.
• Butt-Monkey: He gets the shit beaten out of him by Ghostface in each movie, although he survives four of them. Also counts as Iron Butt Monkey.
• The Cavalry Arrives Late: Happens a lot.
  • In Scream 2, Dewey and Gale only find Randy, who they notice has gone missing during their search for the killer, after he has already been killed by Mrs. Loomis.
  • In Scream 3, as Ghostface is attacking Jennifer behind a mirror that makes it hard for him to hear her, Dewey shoots at the glass to free her and only succeeds in getting her out of there right after Ghostface delivers the fatal blow.
  • In Scream 4, Dewey arrives after both Kirby and Sidney has been stabbed to the point of unconsciousness, Jill is heavily injured, and the rest are dead. Ironically enough, given that Charlie failed to kill Kirby and Jill only heavily injured Sidney, his late arrival arguably saves both of their lives, as Jill is ultimately defeated by the combined efforts of Sidney, Dewey, Gale, and Judy at the hospital.
• Celibate Hero: It is heavily implied he became this in-between the fourth and fifth films, after his romance with Gale has been over for quite some time. Now living alone, he is not seen being romantically interested in any other women, a far cry from his flirtations with Gale, Jennifer, and Judy in previous installments.
• Changed My Mind, Kid: After a conversation with Sidney where she tells him that she's glad whoever the killer is after has him to defend them, Dewey decides to "temporarily assist" Sam and Richie in their investigation.
• Character Death: After surviving the four Wes Craven-directed films, Dewey dies in the fifth film.
• Chick Magnet: Gale becomes attracted to him during the original film, Jennifer Jolie (who portrays Gale in Stab 3) flirts with him in Scream 3, and Deputy Judy Hicks shows some interest in him in Scream 4.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: No matter what happens, Dewey will always strive to help people and do the right thing, even if it is detrimental to his own well-being. In the fifth movie, he even tries to turn down helping Sam, reasoning that he is too old and weary to fight another Ghostface, but after Sidney tells him that Sam is lucky to have Dewey protecting her, he straps on his gun to go help out. Gale also lampshades this trait after Dewey dies saving Tara, telling Sam, "That's what he did. He helped people."
  Gale: You are a lot of things, Dewey, but you are not a coward.
• Clueless Deputy: Dewey is one of the series' bravest and most well-meaning characters. He's also not especially bright a lot of the time, though he does grow more Genre Savvy as the films progress.
  • Gale lampshades this in her book by comparing Dewey to the trope's most well-known example:
  Dewey: "Deputy Dewey filled the room with his Barney Fife-ish presence..."
• The Confidant: Dewey is this to Sidney from Scream 2 onward, as the two often discuss the current events of each film and their feelings on the matter.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Dewey is killed by getting his chest and back slit open vertically with two hunting knives before laying in a pool of his own blood.
• Death by Genre Savviness: How he dies in the fifth movie. He knew that Ghostface was probably wearing body armor and still alive despite getting shot, so while the other characters fled, he stayed behind to finish the killer off with a headshot. Ghostface takes this opportunity to play possum and exploit a momentary distraction to kill him before he can get the shot off.
• Death by Irony: An attempt to ensure Ghostface's death causes his own.
• Defensive Failure: In Scream 3, Dewey tries to shoot Ghostface as the latter moves to attack Gale, but is out of ammo and instead knocked unconscious by the killer.
• Dented Iron: By the fifth film, Dewey's borderline ridiculous capacity for taking hits has worn off. Now he's fifty years old, and a lifetime of being stabbed, shot, and beaten has given him permanent nerve damage, a limp, and it's implied he suffers from chronic pain. It doesn't stop Dewey from being a badass, though, and he almost ends Ghostface's rampage himself, but sadly his luck finally runs out, and he dies for real about halfway through the movie.
• Despair Event Horizon: Before the events of the fifth film, Dewey's response to moving to New York with Gale was to end their years-long relationship and return to Woodsboro alone, where his personal issues affect his performance so much that he's asked to step down as sheriff and retreats to a sedentary life where he mostly keeps to himself. It takes Sam coming to him for help, and Sidney indirectly reminding him of how protective he can be, for him to resume his heroism.
• Dies Wide Open: Amber even says she was the last thing Dewey saw before he died.
• Didn't See That Coming:
  • While he doesn't scream like Gale does, Dewey is noticeably horrified when the pair stumble across Randy's corpse in Scream 2, having just seen the latter before he separated from them to search for the killer.
  • In the fourth film, he gets blindsided by Jill's bedpan attack and spends the rest of the showdown laying unconscious on the floor.
• Distressed Dude: Happens twice.
  • In the third film, Dewey and Gale are held hostage by Ghostface to lure Sidney to his location.
  • In the fourth film, Dewey is knocked unconscious by Jill, who places a gun to his head and threatens to shoot him if Judy doesn't give her gun to her.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In the first film, Dewey mentions how the town doesn't take him seriously as a deputy because of his youth. Tatum doesn't respect him when he is in uniform, and his fellow deputies laugh at his humiliation.
• Dying Alone: Dewey dies in an empty hospital as Ghostface watches.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: At the end of the original trilogy, after facing and helping to defeat multiple Ghostfaces and showing a consistent dedication to Gale, the latter agrees to his marriage proposal. Unfortunately becomes a Happy Ending Override by the time of Scream 5.
• Embarrassing Nickname: His real name is "Dwight", with "Dewey" being a childhood nickname he got stuck with. By the time Scream 2 rolls around, he makes a point of being called "Dwight" by Gale - it doesn't take, though. In Scream 3, Stone repeatably calls him "Dew-drop."
• Establishing Character Moment: In the original film, Dewey is first seen when the officers ask Sidney questions after Casey's death, with Dewey telling her to refer to him as a deputy while he calls her "Sid". The scene establishes the familiarity of the pair, and Dewey's lack of respect from the Woodsboro teens.
• Excellent Judge of Character:
  • In the second film, Dewey refuses to believe that Gale is one of the killers when Randy suggests her. Not only is he correct, but Gale plays a pivotal role in the defeat of the Ghostfaces on the campus just as she did with Billy and Stu.
  • In the fifth film, when visited by Sam and her boyfriend Richie, he warns Sam to not trust the love interest. Dewey specifically mentions they seem sweet, caring, and supportive of the hero until they try to kill them in the third act and casts doubts on Richie. Richie later reveals himself as one of the Ghostfaces to Sam.
• Experienced Protagonist: From the second film onward, Dewey is aware of the Ghostface killers and tends to do things that are aligned with solving the mystery. He even consults Randy in the second film on who the killer could be.
• Expert Consultant: Dewey, a person with first-hand experience with Ghostface murders, is hired as a consultant on the set of Stab 3, a film based on the Ghostface murders.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Randy Meeks. While they were never antagonistic to each other, they did not interact much in the original film. After surviving the murder spree of that movie, the second film finds them friendly enough to talk with each other alone and know personal things about the other, as Randy makes references to Dewey's attraction to Gale and Randy confesses his unrequited romantic interest in Sidney to Dewey.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Dewey is the Responsible Sibling to Tatum's Foolish Sibling in the original film. Dewey is serious about his job as a deputy and protective toward Sidney while Tatum openly mocks his authority and is attentive to Sidney as a friend. Dewey respects the law and even tells Tatum that she cannot be at the scene of a crime after Sidney is first attacked by Ghostface while Tatum brushes him off.
• Foil:
  • Scream (1996):
    • To Gale Weathers. Both are young adults several years older than the teenage characters who want to see the murderer caught and are nominally on the side of good. Dewey wants the killer stopped solely to prevent innocent lives from being lost while Gale mostly wants the killer caught to get the scoop over other reporters and increase her celebrity status. While Dewey both personally wants to and professionally is trying to protect Sidney and has been on good terms with the latter prior to the start of the film, Gale personally is neutral to and professionally antagonistic to Sidney and was disparaging of the latter before the start of the film.
  • Scream 2:
    • To Randy Meeks. The two share commonalities of being young men who survived the first Ghostface spree and care about Sidney while also being among the few who she fully trusts. While Randy is a student at the same university as Sidney, Dewey is only visiting to keep her safe in light of a new killer surfacing. Randy has seemingly healed entirely from the first Ghostface spree, but Dewey has a severed nerve that visibly shows in his limp. Although the pair are both attacked by Mrs. Loomis as Ghostface, Dewey survives his wounds while Randy dies.
  • Scream 3:
    • To Jennifer Jolie. Both are involved with the making of Stab 3 and have views of Gale that lean toward being negative. But while Jennifer is only related to the Woodsboro murder spree through playing Gale, Dewey was actually there. Dewey works with Gale because he likes being with her while Jennifer choses to stick with her out of a belief that the killer will target the real Gale instead of the actress portraying her. While Jennifer has had affairs with men such as Roman to further her career, Dewey has only advanced in his through hard work and been consistently dedicated to a relationship with Gale.
    • To Roman. Both are young men working on the Stab 3 film who have some romantic interest in Jennifer. Dewey, through unrelated to Sidney, bonded with her over their shared loss of Tatum and experiences together while Roman, related to Sidney as her half-brother, never met Sidney and grew to resent her due to her being allowed the acceptance of the mother who rejected him. Dewey goes out of his way to keep Sidney safe and is one of the few that was trusted to know where she was hiding while Roman is trying to kill her and found out where she was through other means. Finally, while Dewey is trying to protect people from the killer, Roman is the killer.
  • Scream 4:
    • To Jill Roberts. Both are life-long Woodsboro residents connected to Sidney and the newest killing spree. Dewey achieved notoriety through his selfless acts of helping defeat multiple Ghostfaces while Jill wants to achieve notoriety through appearing to have survived a killing spree even through she is actually the killer. While Jill attacks Gale, feigns concern for her well-being, and wants to write a book with her, Dewey protects Gale, is actually concerned about her well-being, and has no interest in being involved with her writings. Dewey is unrelated to Sidney but tries his hardest to protect her while Jill is related to her and tries her hardest to kill her.
  • Scream (2022):
    • To Sam Carpenter. Both have a past with Sheriff Judy Hicks and want to stop the newest killing spree. Sam was a law-breaker in her youth while Dewey has always followed the rules and even formerly served as an officer. Sam has never experienced a Ghostface killing spree while Dewey is an Experienced Protagonist who has been through four of them. Dewey distrusts Richie from the moment he meets him and is correct to suspect him as one of the killers while Sam believes she can trust him and incorrectly thinks he is on her side until he stabs her. Sam never met Billy Loomis despite being related to him while Dewey knew him and is not related to him. The real-life version of Billy tried to kill Dewey while the hallucination of Billy tries to help Sam.
    • To Tara Carpenter. Both have injures from Ghostface that have left them in either severe pain or hospitalized for a time. While Dewey's injuries generally came at the end of each prior film, Tara is attacked at the start of the movie and is injured throughout the whole film. Dewey was generally only attacked by Ghostface when getting in the way of a killing spree with another intended target while Tara was attacked in her home and specifically targeted. Although Tara is attacked by Ghostface again, she survives the film while Dewey dies during the movie following an effort to kill Ghostface. Dewey is killed by Amber after trying to shoot her while Tara kills Amber by shooting her.
• Friend on the Force: Dewey is this to Sidney, who he knew before the events of the original film (as she was the best friend of his sister) and is even assigned to protect during the movie. Throughout the series, he's the most recurring help she gets in taking down Ghostfaces.

G-W

• Good Hair, Evil Hair: Dewey sports a heroic cop mustache for most of the movies.
• Go Out with a Smile: The last thing he sees before dying is a photo of Gale as she calls him on his phone. Even though Gale's call indirectly got him killed, Dewey smiles warmly, thinking about the woman he still cared about until the very end.
• Gutted Like a Fish: Suffers from this fate in the fifth film after the new Ghostface gets the drop on him. Interestingly enough, the film shies away from showing heavier Gorn, though it’s clearly what's happening onscreen.
• Handicapped Badass: Dewey has a severed nerve from his injury in the original film that carries over to Scream 2 where he walks with a limp, but it doesn't stop him from being one of the first responders to any Ghostface attack and one of the few who can survive their assaults.
• Happily Married: With Gale in Scream 4. While there is some friction due to Dewey not wanting to involve Gale in police business and Deputy Judy Hicks flirting with Dewey, the latter is just as in love wit her as he was in the previous film and rushes to her aid after she's attacked by Ghostface.
• Happy Ending Override: The fourth film, the last directed by Wes Craven, ends with an injured Dewey having survived the latest killing spree while retaining his marriage to Gale and his position as sheriff. In the fifth film, Dewey has lost both his marriage and position in the years since, and ultimately loses his life to one of the new killers.
• The Hermit: Implied. In the fifth film, Dewey lives alone after choosing to end his relationship with Gale and his demeanor toward Sam and Richie hints that he is not used to getting visited by others.
• The Hero Dies: One of the principal protagonists of the original four Wes Craven-directed films, and arguably the one with the most character development in both the third and fifth films, and he dies before the climax of the fifth film. The first five Scream films chronicle his journey from a deputy naive to the terrors of Ghostface to a married sheriff to a retired, but Experienced Protagonist ready to help those in need even when it's no longer his job.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In the fifth film, despite having time to leave the hospital floor with Sam, Tara, and Richie and knowing the possibility of Ghostface killing him, Dewey chooses to stay in order to finish off Ghostface. This results in his death, though ultimately he did manage to save Tara... who ends up being the one to finish off Dewey's murderer, Amber.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Dewey is this to the sheriff in the original film, as he stays close to Sidney (per the sheriff's orders) and all of his actions are directed toward keeping her safe until he is knocked unconscious. Even though Sidney ultimately saved herself, Dewey still was of more help to her than any other member of law enforcement in the film.
• Idiot Ball: Dewey, after years of surviving Ghostface attacks that usually saw multiple casualties from the victims being targeted when they were alone, decides to confront the seemingly unconscious killer by himself and, while pointing his gun at Ghostface, stands close enough for the killer to strike him.
• Ignored Expert: In Scream (2022), he correctly identifies Richie as one of the killers within minutes of meeting him, on the basis that you should never trust a Love Interest when Ghostface is around. Unfortunately, Sam doesn't listen.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: In Scream 4, amid the new Ghostface murder spree, Dewey declares that he and his officers have everything under control right before the bloody corpse of the recently-deceased Rebecca falls from the garage.
• Joke Item: His gun becomes this in the original film when Ghostface calls his home to taunt Sydney and he rushes to the room with his pistol, which is comically completely useless in this scenario.
• Jumped at the Call: In the original film, Dewey does everything he can to make sure Sidney is safe from Ghostface, even comically rushing to a phone with a gun in a belated attempt to answer the killer and sticking to her even more when assigned to protect her by the Woodsboro sheriff.
• Just in Time: Just as Ghostface is about to kill Tara in the fifth film, Dewey and Sam arrive on an elevator and Dewey shoots at Ghostface, causing the killer to rush away.
• Lame Comeback: In the second film, after Gale calls Dewey a "bonehead" after he mentions they were all involved with Woodsboro, he hesitates before calling her a "phonehead" after her phone rings.
• Legendary in the Sequel: He goes from being a little-known deputy in the original film to gradually becoming famed for his role in the Ghostface murders that he is portrayed in the Stab films. His survival skills and heroism become so distinguished as for Sam and Richie to visit him at his home for help on the matter.
• Leitmotif: "Dewey's Theme". It was originally used as the theme for Broken Arrow before being repurposed by composer Marco Beltrami for Scream 2. The tune makes a welcome return when Dewey comes out of retirement to help Sam and Richie in 5, and again when Gale indirectly mentions Dewey while consoling Sam in VI.
• Like Brother and Sister: He has this dynamic with Sidney, the latter even describing him as her surrogate big brother in the second film after their reunion.
• The Lost Lenore: Both at the end of Scream (2022) and in Scream VI, Gale is shown to be deeply affected by Dewey's murder at Amber's hands — to the point that when she's confronting Amber directly, Sidney passes Gale the gun to try to finish her off on behalf of Dewey too. In the sixth film, not only does Ghostface taunt Gale about Dewey over the phone, she chose to write about the previous killings to avoid writing about Dewey, still has the picture of the two of them together right next to her gun safe, moved on with a Red Shirt to further avoid her grief for Dewey, and is clearly feeling the guilt when Sam and Tara call her out for dishonoring his memory too.
• Made of Iron: Stabbed in the back in the first film, stabbed multiple times in the second one, beaten almost to death with a bedpan in the fourth one... and still alive. His luck finally runs out, however, in the fifth film, where getting stabbed with two knives at once and gutted seems to do the trick.
• Make Sure He's Dead: In the fifth film, he goes back to the unconscious Ghostface with the intent of ensuring the killer is deceased.
• Manipulative Bastard: Invoked, as during their first encounter in Scream 2 when he chides her for her description of him in her book, Dewey asks Gale how she knows his "dim-witted inexperience isn't merely a subtle form of manipulation used to lower people's expectations thereby enhancing my ability to effectively maneuver within any given situation?"
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Falls victim to the Han Solo treatment in 5, as the experienced legacy character who gets the most focus of the original Power Trio and dies a tragic death partway through the film while helping the younger heroes.
• Meta Guy: Dewey becomes this in the fifth movie and informs Richie and Sam the rules of surviving a Stab movie.
• Missed Him by That Much: In the second movie, Dewey comes close to meeting Debbie Salt face-to-face multiple times, notably in the aftermath of Cici's death and his meeting with Chief Hartley. If Dewey got a good look at Salt's face, he would have recognized her as Billy's mother and thus figure out one Ghostface's identity.
• Mistaken for Murderer: After Dewey notes the time discrepancies between Ghostface's arrival and Derek's, the latter notes that Dewey got there too late and only after Derek was attacked, implying that Dewey himself might be the killer. They both turn out to be wrong about each other.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye:
  • In the original film, the last time Dewey sees Tatum is when he arrives at Stu's house with Gale, and is seemingly only made aware that she died after surviving his own near-death experience.
  • With Judy. The two had a great-working relationship (as depicted in the fourth film) and Judy even succeeded Dewey as sheriff. When she dies in the fifth film, Dewey comes to the scene of her murder.
• Nice Guy: Dewey is a good-natured guy who lives to help others.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Dewey dies by Ghostface after making the selfless decision to go with Sam to the hospital to help her protect her sister Tara from Ghostface.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Dewey usually does not waste time trying to take out a Ghostface. In the original film, an armed Dewey heads to Stu's home with a gun and is only defeated by a sneak attack from Billy. In 2, after Ghostface attacks Sidney, Dewey rushes to her aid and goes to chase the killer down before realizing Ghostface has already left. In 3, Dewey tries shooting Roman over and over until finally killing him with a shot to the head.
• Not Quite Dead: This is his fate in both the original and 2. In the first film, he appears deceased when he is stabbed in the back, and the second sees him attacked in the same way. Both times, he clings to life long enough to be taken by an ambulance for a recovery.
• Odd Friendship: With Randy Meeks in Scream 2. The soft-spoken deputy has little in common with the boisterous, movie-obsessed student.
• Official Couple: With Gale Weathers, in-between the second and third films and Scream 4.
• Offscreen Breakup: With Gale between Scream 2 and Scream 3. They get back together by the end of the third film. They then divorce a few years before the events of the fifth film.
• Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Most of the Ghostface killers are younger than Dewey. Dewey, 25 in the original film, is older than the teen killers Billy and Stu, and is older than every killer in the sequels except for Roman (who is about the same age) and Mrs. Loomis.
• Older Than They Look: In the original film, Gale is surprised by him being a deputy due to his youthful appearance.
• Once per Episode: Dewey tends to get assaulted in some way that leaves him incapacitated and either assumed dead or at the mercy of the killer. He gets stabbed in the back in the original, struck in the back and left to bleed out in the second film, falls down a staircase after being hit in the forehead with a knife in the third film, and knocked unconscious by repeated blows to the head with a pan in the fourth film.
• One Last Job: In the fifth film, Dewey is retired and only becomes involved in solving the new Ghostface murders after having a Change Of Heart following a conversation with Sidney, Dewey even telling Sam that he is temporarily assisting. True to this trope, he dies later on in the movie.
• Opposites Attract: In the original film, Dewey and Gale could not be more different from each other. Dewey is a little-known, law-abiding deputy who just wants to be more respected per his job title and make sure that Sidney is okay. Gale is a well-known reporter who will do anything to further her career and is more interested in getting a scoop than saving anybody. They are connected through trying to solve the Ghostface murders (albeit for very different reasons) and both having some level of moral compass that aids Sidney in the final act.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Implied. In 3, Dewey shoots Roman over and over in unsuccessful attempts to finish him off so that he can no longer terrorize Sidney, seemingly having no problem littering his body with bullets for killing the various actors from the Stab film and only stopping when he realizes it is not hurting Roman thanks to the latter's bulletproof vest.
• Pitbull Dates Puppy: The Puppy in his relationship with the abrasive and temperamental Gale. This is lampshaded by Judy in a deleted scene, when she says that everyone has a dark side except Dewey, which is why he had to marry one.
• Plot Armor: Dewey arguably suffers the most punishment of the three principal characters throughout the series, constantly getting the crap beaten out of him by each new killer, but he always survives to fight another day. Sadly, though, this is subverted in the fifth film, when his armor finally evaporates and he dies fighting Ghostface.
• Positive Friend Influence: Dewey is this to Gale throughout Scream 2. Their first scene together has him critiquing her for her book and fame-seeking ways in general. While the two are united in wanting to catch Ghostface, his influence brings out her compassion toward others, as she screams in terror upon finding Randy's corpse and even apologizes to Dewey later on. This also leads to the furthering of their romance and her decision to be with Dewey as he is being taken by an ambulance instead of reporting on it solidifies his impact on her.
• Posthumous Character: As explained in details below, his death in the fifth film is brought up in the climax. He is also mentioned and appears in photos in Scream VI.
• Present Absence: Despite being deceased, Dewey has a heavy presence during the showdown at Stu's house in the climax of the fifth film, as he is mentioned by Richie, Amber, and Gale. The former pair make gleeful references to his murder, with Amber even relishing the thought of killing both members of the Riley couple as she attacks Gale, and Gale mentions him when refusing to spare Amber's life.
• The Promise: After Gale is attacked by Ghostface in Scream 4, the former gets Dewey to promise her that he will catch Ghostface. Not only is he the only person who deduces who the killer is without them revealing their self, he plays an important role in stopping them from killing Sidney thanks to moving the latter from Kirby's house and to the hospital.
• Properly Paranoid: As someone who personally witnessed several Ghostface sprees, Dewey is very wary of all possibilities and consults Randy in the second film about various potential killers.
• Rage Breaking Point: Subverted. When it appears that Dewey is getting angry at Jennifer's bodyguard for rudely mentioning his sister's death during a call between the pair, it turns out to be Ghostface impersonating him before he kills the latter.
• Really Dead Montage: After Dewey is killed, we get a Dies Wide Open shot of him. Then we see his body being taken out of the hospital in a bodybag by coroners, while Gale screams and cries and tries to run towards him, only to be held back, with no dialogue and everything in slow-mo. All of this hammers into the audience that this time, Dewey isn't going to miraculously pull through like he did in the other movies — he really isn't coming back.
• Red Is Heroic: Wears a red shirt for a large chunk of Scream 3.
• The Redeemer: While Gale was never a villain, Dewey's relationship with her brought out her more positive qualities of volunteering to help solve the Ghostface murders to prevent innocent people from getting harmed instead of trying to make herself more famous from her involvement.
• Refusal of the Call: When Sam tells him to help her solve the mystery of the newest Ghostface, Dewey initially declines on the grounds of his injuries from surviving previous murder sprees.
• Sacrificial Lion: His death in the fifth film serves to show that not even the original trio are safe this time.
• Save the Villain: Dewey unintentionally does this when he comes to Kirby's house and takes the very-wounded Jill and Sidney to the hospital, as he was not aware that Jill was the killer at the time.
• Secret-Keeper: He's the only major character in Scream 3 to know where Sidney is before Ghostface draws her out of hiding.
• Senseless Sacrifice: While Tara ultimately survives the ordeal, Richie and Amber never intended on killing her as they were using her to get Sam closer to them, and Amber did not intend to kill Richie as he was the other killer, meaning that Dewey arguably could have not intervened and the same result would have occurred.
• The Sheriff: He's been promoted to this in the fourth film.
• Shipper on Deck: He seems to be supportive of the relationship between Sidney and Kincaid, asking how the latter is during his phone call with Sidney in the fifth film.
• Sibling Team: While they do not face the killers together, Dewey and Tatum work for the same purpose of being supportive toward Sidney. They mutually support having her stay with them in her dad's absence and accompany her to Stu's home.
• Single-Target Sexuality: While he has flirtations with Jennifer and Judy, Gale is the only woman he has ever loved, and his strong affection for her persists even during the periods where they are not together.
• Staircase Tumble: Dewey has one in Scream 3 after being hit in the head by the butt of a knife, which renders him unconscious and allows for Ghostface to use Gale and him as bait to lure Sidney.
• Suggestive Collision: In the original film, Dewey and Gale are narrowly run over and end up falling to the ground in a position where Dewey is on top of Gale. It doesn't take long after for the duo to share their first kiss.
• Take Up My Sword:
  • Following his retirement, Judy Hicks succeeds him as the Woodsboro sheriff.
  • After his death, Sidney and Gale become involved in helping Sam confront Ghostface and save her sister.
• Targeted to Hurt the Hero: After Roman subdues Dewey in 3, he keeps him (and Gale) captive at his home and threatens Sidney with their demise if she does not come. Roman can be heard hitting someone during his call to Sidney, and Gale calls out Dewey's name, implying that it was Dewey who was struck.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • With Gale initially in Scream 2, as he is mad at the latter for both her description of her in her latest book and for trying to get Sidney to do an interview with Cotton, even admitting that he had misjudged her. The pair's relationship gradually improves as Gale's motive changes to just wanting to catch the killer.
  • To a lesser extent with Cotton in the same film, as Dewey speaks negatively of Cotton while the latter never expresses an opinion on him. Ironically, Cotton finds the critically-injured Dewey after his attack by Ghostface and saves his life.
  • With Steven Stone in Scream 3, as both are in charge of protecting Jennifer due to Stone being her personal bodyguard and Dewey being a regular cop. Stone looks down on Dewey and even suggests the latter take orders from him.
• Tempting Fate: In the original Scream, Dewey says "I'll be right back" , a big no-no according to Randy's rules. This is played with in that Dewey says this while in a police station full of cops, meaning he is completely safe, at least in the police station.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: For all of his troubles, including his near-death injuries and general mistreatment, the original four Wes Craven-directed Scream films always gave him a conclusion of surviving and an arc of gradually moving up from a lowly deputy with a budding romantic interest in Gale to a married sheriff.
• Together in Death: Billy invokes this as he prepares to shoot the unconscious Gale, who fell on Dewey (also unconscious but thought dead), only to be interrupted by Stu alerting him that Sidney has fled.
• Took a Level in Badass: In Scream 4, he's much sharper and competent at his job than ever before, and correctly deduces that Sidney's cousin Jill is the Ghostface killer after she makes a small comment about Gale's injury that no one else would've known about unless they were present or inflicted it themselves.
• Tragic Hero: Dewey starts off as a normal deputy who joined the force for the sake of protecting innocent people and just happens to be the brother of the best friend of the girl whose mother was murdered the previous year. His desire to help innocent people, including Sidney but extending to others that are targeted by Ghostface, gets him multiple injuries and years of physical pain until he retires. Even in his retirement, he still cannot fully get away from wanting to help others, including those that he just met (such as Sam and Tara), leading to his trip with Sam to the hospital that ends with his demise.
• Two First Names: "Dewey" and "Riley" can both be used as first names.
• Two Girls and a Guy: The guy in this dynamic with Sidney and Gale that starts with Scream 2 but fully-materializes in the third film as the trio face off against Ghostface together in the climax. This is also his dynamic with Tara and Sam at the hospital against Amber as Ghostface, and Richie, who Sam and Tara would later discover was the other killer.
• Undying Loyalty: To Sidney. Even when he gets used as bait by Roman to lure Sidney to the former, Dewey tells her not to come.
• The Unfought: As Billy was the one who stabbed Dewey in the back when he entered Stu's house and Stu hung up the phone before Dewey could answer with his gun, Dewey does not have an encounter with Stu as Ghostface.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: In 4, Dewey realizes that Jill is the killer and rushes to Sidney's room to help her. Jill, hiding from him, sneak attacks Dewey with a pan until he falls unconscious. This allows her to both arm herself with his gun and use him as leverage to get Judy and Gale to comply with her requests.
• Villain Killer:
  • Kills Roman Bridger after listening to Sidney's advice to aim for his head in Scream 3.
  • Subverted in the fifth film. He tries to kill Amber with a gunshot, but is struck when distracted by his phone and killed instead.
• What the Hell, Hero?: On the receiving end of this from Jennifer in Scream 3, as she chides him for not protecting her when she has housed him before assaulting him.
• Wrestler in All of Us: During his sole encounter with Ghostface in the fifth film, the killer pushes him up against a wall before Dewey does the same in return and then spins Ghostface to the ground.

---

Sam: Dewey, who gives a fuck?

Dewey: I do.