It is allowed to scream again in the cinema! The fifth part of the “Scream” series soon teaches viewers fear. But what is really important from the four previous films? We have a quick overview.
After Michael Myers from “Halloween”, another murderous horror legend returns: Ghostface will again cause horror on the screen, because “Scream 5” is coming up. The series continues on January 13, 2022, which first unsettled a whole generation of horror fans in 1996. And not only Ghostface is back, three of the main characters from back then are also back in the fifth part: Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox).
So it is advisable to watch the four previous films again before “Scream 5”. But that is a considerable investment of time. For those who prefer to know quickly what is important, we have a short overview ready that reveals what happened to the three characters in “Scream” Part 1 to Part 4. It goes without saying that we are for it spoil will.
Scream: The original first film
The original Wes Craven film “Scream” tells the story of Sidney Prescott, who lost her mother Maureen to a murder in 1995. Her lover at the time Cotton Weary was arrested at the time, and Sidney was present as a witness in court. A year later, classmates are murdered by her in the same style as her mother, and she is also attacked by the anonymous killer Ghostface. It turns out her boyfriend, Billy Loomis, was behind the murders. He and his psychopathic classmate murdered Stu Sidney’s mother because one of their affairs broke up his parents’ marriage. Unsatisfied by this, they continued to murder and planned to blame all of Sidney’s father’s murders. However, they are outwitted and killed by Sidney.
Gale Weathers is a successful gossip reporter at the time who has written a book about the murder of Maureen Prescott. She is certain that Sidney accused the wrong man in court – which turns out to be correct. During her research, she first met Sergeant Dewey Riley, whose sister Tatum was a victim of Ghostface. Dewey gets a knife in the back in the finale of the film and collapses, while Gale even saves Sidney’s life at one point: the basis for the two women’s future “friendship”.
Scream 2: All over again, and yet different
There are also two people behind Ghostface in “Scream 2”, but more on that in a moment: Two years after the events of the first film, Sidney enrolls as a theater student at Windsor College. Shortly thereafter, her fellow students, her boyfriend and a former classmate are murdered by Ghostface. This time, behind the deaths is Debbie Loomis, the mother of Billy Loomis from Part 1, who Sidney blames for the death of her son. She got support from Mickey Altieri, a killer she hired over the Internet. Debbie finally shoots Mickey when she no longer needs him. Shortly afterwards, she is killed by Cotton Weary, who has since been released from prison as his innocence has been sufficiently proven by the events of the previous film.
Gale has meanwhile written a new book from the murders of the first film, “The Woodsboro Murders”, which was even made into a film under the title “Stich” … A meta-gag by director Wes Craven, who is making fun of his own film. Incidentally, Dewey survived the first film, seriously injured, and is not at all happy that Gale’s book doesn’t come across as heroic. He’s still not lucky because he was stabbed in “Scream 2” too. In the end, Gale comes to Sidney’s help again, and together with Sidney she kills Mickey Altieri, who turns out to be still alive. Basically everything is the same as in the predecessor, only somehow different.
Scream 3: New Killer, Old Heroes
Of course, the events of “Scream 2” within the universe were also filmed as “Staff 2”. In “Scream 3” three years later, due to its success, “Stab 3” is to follow, a fictional sequel. When a mysterious psychopath in a Ghostface costume kills members of the cast and Cotton Weary on the film set, Sidney gets back on the scene. She had spent her life in isolation for fear of the next series of murders, but now she is taking action herself and hunting down the new Ghostface. We learn that Gale and Dewey were a couple in the meantime, but are now separated. Especially bitter for Gale: Dewey got together with actress Jennifer Jolie, who embodies Gale of all people in the “Stab” films.
When Jennifer is murdered by Ghostface, Sidney, Gale and Dewey work together as a trio. The killer is just one person this time: Roman Bridger, the director of “Stab 3”. He is actually Sidney’s half-brother, and was born from rape when Sidney’s mother tried her hand at actress in dubious films and was abused by her producer. He was given up for adoption but found his mother years later. When she didn’t want anything to do with him, he instigated Billy and Sid from Part 1 to kill Maureen. Sidney wins a duel against Roman, he is finally shot by Dewey. Sidney can finally breathe a sigh of relief, Gale and Dewey want to get married.
Scream 4: The new generation
Just in time for the fifteenth anniversary of “Scream”, Wes Craven released “Scream 4”, his last film as a director before he died in 2015. The film is also set 15 years after the original. This time Sidney has written a book about what happened back then and is promoting the book in her old hometown of Woodsboro. Unsurprisingly, the next series of murders begins. In Woodsboro, Dewey is now the chief of police and happily married to Gale, who tries unsuccessfully as a novelist. Against her husband’s wishes, she is at the forefront of the investigation into the new series of murders. This time teenagers are murdered around Sidney’s young cousin Jill Roberts.
The resolution is shocking for Sidney: Jill herself is behind the murders. She grew up in Sidney’s shadow all her life and always wanted to be as famous as her cousin. So, together with the horror film fanatic Charlie Walker, she committed new murders herself as Ghostface in order to present herself as the only survivor – just as Sidney once was. She even murders her friend Charlie, seriously injures poor Dewey again, and finally wants to kill Sidney. But Sidney gets ahead of her, defeats Jill and shoots her. Ghostface is defeated again. But of course that’s not the end …
Scream 5: To be continued
“Scream 5,” directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, was long planned and is now finally here to terrify the world again. It is set 25 years after the original, again in Woodsboro. At the center of the new series of murders are teenagers, each related in their own way to the victims of the first film. Dewey, Gale and Sidney already know what to do – and show the Young Guards how to defend themselves. In the trailer for the film, Dewey asks on the phone: “Sidney, do you have a gun?” And she replies, “I’m Sidney Prescott. Of course I have a gun.”
A new Ghostface is now being fought with exactly this energy. The answer as to who and how many are behind the mask will be available in cinemas from January 13, 2022.