Is It Time for the Scream Franchise to Establish a Recurring Ghostface?

When Scream was released in 1996, it was something fresh. A generation of horror fans had just grown up on the slasher movies of the ’70s and ’80s, and now here was a new slasher movie that played into our shared knowledge of the sub-genre, pointing out and having fun with the formula and clichés. That film spawned a franchise – and the deeper into sequel territory we get, the more Scream has become just another cliché-ridden, formulaic series. And for me, one of the most irritating elements of its formula are the over-the-top endings where the latest Ghostface killer is (or killers are) revealed so they can monologue about their motivations. These scenes have gotten so tired and ridiculous, it made me wonder: if Scream is going to continue (it is), is it time to establish a recurring Ghostface killer?

I haven’t seen Scream 7 yet, but JoBlo’s reviewer Tyler Nichols says it has the worst final act in the franchise’s history. (You can read the review HERE.) Without revealing spoilers, he said that the film’s killer reveal is “easily the weakest and I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. It feels like they’re doing something a bit different and then it all devolves into one of the sillier killer monologues yet.” I’m not surprised to hear this, because I already thought the killer reveals in both Scream (2022) and Scream VI ranged from lackluster to terrible. They weren’t the first offenders (that would be Scream 3), but the more sequels we get, the more diluted the formula gets. So, how do we rescue the franchise from these diminishing returns? Establishing a recurring villain could be the way.

Ghostface has always been one of our weaker genre icons. The character has a cool costume and can make creepy phone calls, but too often they have been made to look like a bumbling fool when pursuing potential victims, getting knocked down and flipped over easily while tripping over every piece of furniture in sight. Only a couple of times have we been teased with the idea that the latest Ghostface could be a capable, formidable character. Stop teasing us. Give us a character who has an interesting motivation and, when they’re in the Ghostface costume, make them a terrifying force that isn’t going to stumble and bumble across the room. And in the end, let them get away with it so they can come back for at least one sequel, if not multiple.

The amount of people who have decided to go on killing sprees and mess with Sidney Prescott and her friends while wearing Ghostface costumes has passed the point of absurdity. Within the first six movies, there have been fourteen different Ghostface killers! (Two in the first movie, two in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth, two in the fifth, two who get taken out early in the sixth, and a trio unmasked at the end of the sixth.) It’s also feeling really dumb that it’s almost always people operating in teams.

So just give us one really worthwhile, scary Ghostface and keep him (or her) around for a while. Save us from the bad killer reveals and motivation monologues.

Do you think there should be a recurring Ghostface killer, or do you like getting new killer reveals in every sequel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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