History YMMV / Scream

** We have [[spoiler:Creator/SkeetUlrich as Billy Loomis in the first movie, Creator/TimothyOlyphant as Mickey Altieri in the second, Creator/ScottFoley as Roman Bridger in the third, Creator/EmmaRoberts as Jill Roberts in the fourth, Creator/MikeyMadison as Amber Freeman in the fifth, and Creator/LianaLiberato, Creator/JackChampion, and Creator/DermotMulroney as the Bailey family in the sixth]].

** When deducing who killed whom, some fans theorize that each Ghostface has their own unique knife technique [[IdenticalTwinIDTag to differentiate themselves from their partner]]. In reality, kill confirmations made by the killers InUniverse, [[AllThereInTheScript the script]], or WordOfGod all disprove the kill style theory.[[labelnote:For example]]The kill style theory for the first movie proposes that Billy holds the knife with one hand when attacking whereas Stu holds the knife with both hands and thus concludes that Billy killed Casey since Casey's attacker gripped the knife with one hand when stabbing her. However, Kevin Williamson [[https://archive.is/AG7BC confirmed]] that Stu killed Casey, and the movie itself gives Stu a personal motive for killing Casey since Casey dumped him for Steve. Furthermore, Stu grips the knife with one hand when killing Kenny, which further debunks the kill style theory.[[/labelnote]] In addition, while director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson explained in the DVDCommentary of the first ''Scream'' that they kept track of the two killers' locations so that at least one of the killers was available for every one of Ghostface's attacks, neither of them ever bring up kill style to distinguish the two Ghostfaces. Likewise, the later ''Scream'' movies made by Radio Silence don't follow the kill style theory either.[[labelnote:Explanation]]For ''Film/Scream2022'', some fans believe that Richie goes for a OneHitKill on his victims by aiming for [[ImpromptuTracheotomy a single knife attack to the throat]], while Amber stabs her victims multiple times for [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill an overkill]], which leads to the same fans concluding that Richie and Amber had an even 3-3 kill split since three of Ghostface's six fatalities died from throat injuries. However, Radio Silence confirmed in an [[https://www.fandom.com/articles/scream-5-spoilers-killers-victims interview]] that Amber has the majority of the kills, which means an equal 3-3 kill split is impossible. On top of that, the script clarifies that Amber killed the hospital guard, who died from a knife slash to the neck, and scriptwriter James Vanderbilt indirectly [[https://twitter.com/jamesthevan/status/1499578177491849218 confirmed]] that Richie murdered Judy, who died from multiple stab wounds, further proving that neither Amber nor Richie has a consistent way of killing.[[/labelnote]]

** When deducing who killed whom, some fans theorize that each Ghostface has their own unique attacking style with the knife [[IdenticalTwinIDTag to differentiate themselves from their partner]]. In reality, kill confirmations made by the killers InUniverse, [[AllThereInTheScript the script]], or WordOfGod all disprove the kill style theory.[[labelnote:For example]]The kill style theory for the first movie proposes that Billy holds the knife with one hand when attacking whereas Stu holds the knife with both hands and thus concludes that Billy killed Casey since Casey's attacker gripped the knife with one hand when stabbing her. However, Kevin Williamson [[https://twitter.com/search?q=@Jamie_M39%20@kevwilliamson&src=typed_query confirmed]] that Stu killed Casey, and the movie itself gives Stu a personal motive for killing Casey since Casey dumped him for Steve. Furthermore, Stu grips the knife with one hand when killing Kenny, which further debunks the kill style theory.[[/labelnote]] In addition, while director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson explained in the DVDCommentary of the first ''Scream'' that they kept track of the two killers' locations so that at least one of the killers was available for every one of Ghostface's attacks, neither of them ever bring up kill style to distinguish the two Ghostfaces.

* MagnificentBastard: [[spoiler:The imagined version of [[ImaginaryEnemy William "Billy" Loomis]] is [[Film/Scream2022 introduced as]] the darkly charismatic manifestation of his daughter Samantha "Sam" Carpenter's [[TheKillerInMe inner darkness]]. To protect Sam and her half-sister Tara, Billy sways Sam to tell Tara the truth and trust no one else, also demanding she hunt down and murder the [[Characters/ScreamGhostface Ghostface]] killers. Heeding Billy's advice, Sam frees a captive Tara to subdue the one half of the Ghostface duo and later Billy draws Sam's attention to a hidden blade to murder the other one. Proud of Sam for surviving, Billy stays by her side to watch over her [[Film/ScreamVI next outing]] with Ghostface]].

* FanNickname: Ghostface sometimes is referred to as “Ghosty”/“Ghostie” as an affectionate nickname.

* [[CruelAndUnusualDeath/{{Scream}} Cruel and Unusual Death]]

* [[Monster/{{Scream}} Monster]]

* TheWoobie: Just about everyone aside from the killers and a select few, for obvious reasons. [[Woobie/{{Scream}} Has its own subpage.]]

* [[Woobie/{{Scream}} The Woobie]]

* FirstInstallmentWins: The first movie is still the best regarded, for its {{Deconstruction}} and {{Reconstruction}} of the slasher genre and renewing the genre as a whole. While ''Scream'' have a good record in term of sequels, they never reached the height of the reputation that the first one got.

** We have [[spoiler:Creator/SkeetUlrich as [[BeautyIsBad Billy Loomis]] in the first movie, Creator/TimothyOlyphant as Mickey Altieri in the second, and Scott Foley as [[TallDarkAndHandsome Roman Bridger]] in the third]].
** And we have [[spoiler:Creator/EmmaRoberts as Jill Roberts in the fourth and Creator/MikeyMadison with her BoobsOfSteel as Amber Freeman in the fifth]].

* MagnificentBitch: [[spoiler: Sam Carpenter, the new protagonist of the series. She is revealed to be the illegitimate daughter of Billy Loomis and despite this knowledge and reputation wearing her down mentally, she overtime learns how to use the darkness inherited from her father for good by manipulating, exploiting and killing the psychopathic Ghostfaces who come after her, Tara, Mindy and Chad. It is even greatly shown when she brings KarmicDeath upon Detective Bailey in the sixth film.]]

* MagnificentBitch: [[spoiler: Sam Carpenter, the new protagonist of the series. She is revealed to be the illegitimate daughter of Billy Loomis and despite this knowledge and reputation wearing her down mentally, she overtime learns how to use the darkness inherited from her father to manipulate, exploit and kill the psychopathic Ghostfaces who come after her, Tara, Mindy and Chad. It is even greatly shown when she brings KarmicDeath upon Detective Bailey in the sixth film.]]

** Ditto for Kirby in ''Scream 4'', [[spoiler:to the point that a ''massive'' chunk of the fanbase believes she's NotQuiteDead (which was confirmed in the following film via FreezeFrameBonus)]].

* ContestedSequel: Many fans rank the first film as a classic, the second film as a worthy sequel, and the third film as a mediocre cash-in. However, there are quite a few who feel that the third film is better than the second, and there's even a small camp (which includes, among others, Richard Roeper and WebVideo/{{Welshy}}) who feel that the second film is the best in the whole series. The fourth film, meanwhile, holds a "middle" position according to fans -- not as good as the first, but stronger than the second/third (whichever one the fan in question thinks is the weaker entry of the two). Finally, you will find very few fans of the movies who will defend the TV series as anything more than SoOkayItsAverage.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Many times, the sequels attempt to fix criticized elements of previous entries:
** The death of [[spoiler:Randy]] in the second film is easily one of the writers' biggest regrets. They even considered bringing him back, but eventually settled for giving him a [[VideoWill posthumous role via a video tape]] in ''Scream 3''. He is also mentioned in the fifth film.
** [[spoiler:Tatum]] being forgotten after her death, even by her protective older brother, is seen as quite jarring. The fifth film shows that Dewey keeps her ashes at his house, along with a picture of her.

* MemeticLoser: Ghostface in general, as many fans have noticed that being a generally more human character means they're [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zembfSIPoiI far more subject to getting physicality hurt]] compared to other movie slashers.

** The death of [[spoiler:Dewey]] in ''Scream (2022)''. Half the base sees it as a good tension builder [[spoiler:and a worthy send-off to a beloved character, and were happy to see one of the series' central PowerTrio finally lose his PlotArmor to once more establish that AnyoneCanDie]]. The other half, however, sees it as a JumpingTheShark moment that was only there for shock value.

** Some fans believe that each Ghostface has their own unique attacking style with the knife [[IdenticalTwinIDTag to differentiate themselves from their partner]]. In reality, kill confirmations made by the killers InUniverse, [[AllThereInTheScript the script]], or WordOfGod all disprove the kill style theory.[[labelnote:For example]]The kill style theory for the first movie proposes that Billy holds the knife with one hand when attacking whereas Stu holds the knife with both hands and thus concludes that Billy killed Casey since Casey's attacker gripped the knife with one hand when stabbing her. However, Kevin Williamson [[https://twitter.com/search?q=@Jamie_M39%20@kevwilliamson&src=typed_query confirmed]] that Stu killed Casey. Furthermore, Stu grips the knife with one hand when killing Kenny, which further debunks the kill style theory.[[/labelnote]] In addition, while director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson explained in the DVDCommentary of the first ''Scream'' that they kept track of the two killers' locations to not cheat viewers rewatching the movie, neither of them ever bring up killing style to distinguish the two Ghostfaces.

* RewatchBonus: Every movie contains hints as to the identity of the killer that are easier to spot upon repeat viewing.

** Gale Weathers may have been an old-media tabloid journalist, but the arc of her career in the first two films, in particular her IfItBleedsItLeads nature, is arguably more relevant than ever in a time when the TrueCrime genre has seen a resurgence of popularity in the form of podcasts and documentaries, especially with the films' exploration of how Sidney was affected by the media circus that Gale's books generated, and with how [[spoiler:Mickey's motive in the second film, and Jill's in the fourth, is to [[AttentionWhore chase the media attention]] that comes with it]].