Warning: Spoilers ahead for Scream 6!
Scream 6 explored new territory that the first five films never touched, one of them being a record number of Ghostfaces in one movie. One thing that sets Scream apart from other slasher franchises is that most Scream films have more than one killer, and the killer is different every time. Films like Halloween follow the same killer, Michael Myers, as he perpetually goes after Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis.) Scream‘s concept of several copycat Ghostfaces appearing has allowed the franchise to reinvent itself repeatedly. Scream 5 introduced a new generation, allowing Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) to fill Sidney Prescott’s shoes.
This also allows Scream to switch things up constantly. The first two Scream films included two killers working together against Sidney and her friends. However, when the Scream franchise returned for its third film, there was only one Ghostface. The ever-changing Ghostface count is fun for audiences trying to discover who the killer is throughout the film and stays true to slasher movies’ biggest rule, one of the few ones Scream follows, trust no one. But, of course, Scream 6‘s New York City setting wasn’t the only thing taking the film to the next level.
Scream 6 Breaks The Franchise’s Record For Most Ghostface Killers (By A Lot)
Until Scream 6, there have never been more than two Ghostfaces in one movie. However, the film sets a new record with five total Ghostface killers. The first Scream saw Billy Loomis team up with his best friend, Stu Macher, to take down Sidney Prescott because her mother had an affair with Billy’s dad, which destroyed his family. Billy’s mother sought revenge for Billy’s death with help from a fellow film student in Scream 2. Scream 3 had Sidney’s half-brother Roman Bridger as Ghostface, and Scream 4 welcomed Sidney’s cousin Jill Roberts and her boyfriend, Charlie Walker, as the new killers.
Scream 5 continued the two-killer trend with Amber Freeman and Sam’s boyfriend, Richie Kirsch, perfectly setting up Richie’s father, Wayne Bailey, his sister, Quinn Bailey, and his brother using the alias Ethan Landry, to be the killers going after Sam in Scream 6. However, there were also two other Ghostface killers earlier in the film. For the first time, Ghostface, in the iconic opening scene that every Scream film has, revealed himself immediately after murdering his victim. Shortly after, he was killed by a different Ghostface, setting Scream 6 up as a game-changer.
Why Scream 6 Has FIVE Ghostfaces
December 2023 will mark 27 years since Scream premiered, and with a sixth film, things would get boring if they weren’t constantly changing. Scream‘s New York City location gave the franchise and its characters a fresh start, but increasing the number of Ghostfaces did too. Having Richie’s dad be the killer ties the requel’s sequel to Scream 2, where Billy’s mother tried to kill Sidney to avenge her son’s murder. However, having his two other children help him increases the number of Ghostfaces to three and throws fans off course. Scream fans are used to two killers, but three made it harder to solve the mystery until the end.
It also allows the film to confuse fans at the beginning and reinvent the way the Scream intro goes. Jason Carvey set out to kill his film professor, Laura Crane, as he and his friend Greg, another Ghostface killer in Scream 6, wanted to continue the slasher film Richie was working on before his death. Unfortunately, Jason didn’t know Richie’s father and siblings had the same plan, and they killed him in his apartment. This was the first time a Scream movie revealed a Ghostface killer in the opening scene.
Can Scream 7 Outdo Scream 6’s Ghostface Killer Count?!
With a potential Scream 7 happening in the future, the filmmakers must devise a way to shock fans again with their Ghostface reveals. While increasing the number of Ghostfaces in Scream 6 worked because it hadn’t been done before, increasing them more in Scream 7 might not be the best choice. It can potentially make the film messy and make it harder to tie up all the loose ends by the final scene. If anything, Scream 7 should take a page out of Scream 3‘s book and decrease the killers to just one Ghostface and allow Scream 6 to hold its record.
