Scream: Every Recurring Character From The Franchise, Ranked

Scream 2022 truly resurrects the beloved horror franchise and introduces a whole new generation of fans to the legendary Ghostface. With several of the new characters left alive at the end of the latest installment, it can only be presumed some of them will be back for the recently announced sixth movie.

Due to the nature of the genre, most slasher franchises feature very few recurring characters between installments. That being said, Scream features a number of iconic characters, some of which have been fighting off Ghostface since 1996.

10 Neil Prescott (Scream And Scream 3)

Although Neil is the main protagonist’s father, his appearances within the Scream franchise are limited. After his wife’s death, Neil formed a strong bond with his daughter, Sidney due to their shared trauma. His lengthy absence during the first movie leads to him becoming the prime suspect in the first murder spree; however, he has actually been kidnapped by the real killers.

Neil briefly reappears in the third movie when he visits Sidney and tries to persuade her out from her self-imposed isolation. While he doesn’t get much screen time in the series, he is an important anchor for Sidney and integral to understanding her mother’s past.

9 Martha Meeks (Scream 3 And Scream 2022)

An unexpected reappearance from a past character in the latest Scream is Randy’s sister, Martha. In Scream 3, Martha visits Sidney and co to deliver a warning tape from Randy. Although the character herself is fairly minor here, it’s a great treat to see Randy again after his death in the previous installment.

Fairly early on in Scream 2022, two of the new main characters, Chad and Mindy are revealed to be Randy’s nephew and niece and the children of Martha. She makes another brief appearance here and it’s clear she’s never forgotten her brother as she has a shrine dedicated to him in her home.

8 Cotton Weary (Scream, Scream 2 And Scream 3)

Cotton is accused of Sidney’s mother’s murder and is one of the best red herring characters in the Scream franchise. Despite his innocence, Cotton is far from the most moral character in the series and is unpleasant and almost threatening towards Sidney after his release. He also makes the most of his moment in the spotlight and even goes on to have his own talk show.

Although he comes under suspicion again in the second movie, he saves Sidney by shooting Mrs. Loomis but is eventually killed by Ghostface in the opening of Scream 3. While Cotton is far from likeable, it’s refreshing to have a character in the franchise who isn’t the killer but is still morally dubious.

7 Judy Hicks (Scream 4 And Scream 2022)

Another Scream character who returned for the latest outing is Judy Hicks. Police officer Judy acts as a red-herring in her original appearance and has an amusing rivalry with Gale due to her affections for Dewey.

While she became well-loved within the fandom for her “lemon squares,” her return to the franchise is quite unexpected. As she’s one of the few characters to ever return outside the main three, Judy’s death in Scream 2022 is particularly shocking. The character is killed outside her home and in daylight which makes this death all the more unexpected.

6 Billy Loomis (Scream And Scream 2022)

Billy is the original killer of the franchise and arguably, the scariest of the Ghostface killers. His murder of Sidney’s mother kick starts the whole franchise and despite his death in the first movie, his legacy certainly lives on. Billy’s mother continues his killing spree in the second movie and Roman uses a voice-changer to impersonate him at one point in Scream 3. 

In the latest movie, Samantha is revealed to be Billy’s daughter and sees visions of him in reflections at several points. At times, these visions of Billy interact with Samantha and eventually spur her on to kill the latest Ghostface, Richie. Although the character is killed early on in the series, his dark legacy is key to every movie in the franchise.

5 Randy Meeks (Scream, Scream 2 And Scream 3)

Another character who leaves a lasting impact on the series is the original “expert,” Randy Meeks. He is a school friend of Sidney’s and explains the rules of horror to his classmates when the original killings are taking place.

Randy does narrowly make it out of the original movie in order to return for the sequel, but his luck sadly runs out and he is killed by Ghostface. Despite this death, the character does return in the following movie via a video tape in order to bestow more horror wisdom on the latest bunch of victims. In Scream 2022, his niece, Mindy takes over his role as the horror expert which shows his legacy lives on within the franchise through this next generation.

4 Dewey Riley (All 5 Movies)

Even though he has finally been taken out, Dewey has to be celebrated for taking on Ghostface as many times as he does. As a member of the police department, he is charged with protecting Sidney in the original movie. Despite the loss of his sister Tatum to Ghostface, he goes on to protect Sidney several times throughout the series.

Dewey is stabbed and almost killed numerous times within the franchise and even takes out one of the Ghostface killers, Roman from Scream 3. He also has a very up and down romance with Gale but it’s clear how deeply they both care for each other. When Dewey finally meets his maker, it is tragic and brutal but also a fitting ending for one of Ghostface’s strongest enemies from the Scream franchise.

3 Gale Weathers (All 5 Movies)

Out of all the recurring characters in the Scream franchise, Gale certainly has the most development. When she is first introduced, she is ruthless and will go to any lengths to get a good story. However, despite her tense relationship with Sidney in the first movie, she tries to save her from Billy and Stu and they become strong allies going forward.

Gale plays a key role in catching several of the killers in the franchise and almost falls victim to Ghostface during the tense barn scene in Scream 4. Despite losing her ex-husband and soulmate, Gale still manages to survive her fifth killing spree in the latest movie and it’s highly likely fans will see her again in the sixth installment.

2 Sidney Prescott (All 5 Movies)

Sidney is the main protagonist of the Scream series and is one of the best horror movie final girls of all time. Despite being targeted by 9 killers across the franchise (so far), she always lives to tell the tale. Billy and Stu’s murder spree began with Sidney’s mother and she is closely linked to most of the killers’ motives.

Even with all the trauma and loss she experiences, Sidney is brave and resilient and is one of the few people who can outwit Ghostface. Unlike some other final girls, she is never a victim and has to put up a strong fight in order to survive. Although Scream 2022 introduces many new characters, fans will be hoping and expecting Sidney to be back for round six.

1 Ghostface (All Five Movies)

Although each movie in the series features someone different behind the mask, The Ghostface persona is the primary antagonist of each installment. While Ghostface has many different identities, the mask is always the same and so is the now-iconic voice.

Roger L. Jackson voices Ghostface in every Scream movie and despite the different killers, the persona is pretty much the same throughout. There are also some subtle differences though like in Scream 2022 when he disguises his voice when first talking to Tara. A total of nine killers have assumed Ghostface’s identity which means the masked villain has amassed a large number of victims over the years. Whatever direction the franchise goes in, no Scream movie would be complete without Ghostface so fans will be highly anticipating his sixth killing spree in the next movie.

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