Scream 4 Spoiler

The Scream film series is a series of horror films directed by Wes Craven, written by Kevin Williamson and Ehren Kruger, and inspired by the Halloween film series and the Gainesville Ripper murders of 1990. The main plot involves a psychopathic serial killer wearing a Halloween costume attempting to kill Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and various other characters involved in her life. Each film begins with the gory murder of a couple before showing the whereabouts of Sidney. It takes off from there leading to the revelation of the killer's identity and the final battle between Sidney and the killer. They revitalized the slasher film genre in the mid 1990s, in a similar way to Halloween (1978) in the 1970s, by using a standard concept with a tongue-in-cheek approach that successfully combined straightforward scares with dialogue that satirized slasher film conventions. The first film became a major commercial success upon its release, and was one of the highest grossing films of 1996. It was also highly acclaimed by many critics worldwide, who appreciated the film's tongue-in-cheek approach.

Plot summary

Throughout the series (specifically the first and third film), parts of a back story were uncovered that occurred before the first film's timescale. It is revealed that Maureen Roberts (Lynn McRee) spent time in Los Angeles trying to become an actress. She appeared in three horror films using the pseudonym of Reena Reynolds. At a Hollywood party, she was gang raped by movie insiders and became pregnant with Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). After giving birth, Maureen gave her son up for adoption and left Los Angeles. She then went back home to Woodsboro, where she met and married Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht). They went on to have a daughter named Sidney (Campbell). Neither Neil nor Sidney were told of the existence of Maureen's son. Meanwhile, Roman grew up wondering what had happened to his mother.

When Sidney was about 16 years old, Roman found Maureen (Reena) and went to her hoping to spend some time with her only to find out Reena Reynolds was "dead" and that she had a new life, with no interest in digging up old secrets. She also tells Roman that he was Reena's son, not hers, and she wanted nothing to do with him. The rejection enraged Roman who followed her incessantly, (sometimes recording her activities) learning that she wasn't the perfect wife and mother she pretended to be. She was engaged in several affairs with local men, including Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) and Hank Loomis (C.W. Morgan), father of Sidney's boyfriend Billy Loomis. Roman later revealed the affair to Billy (Skeet Ulrich) which enraged him and, using his creativity as a director, Roman persuaded him to kill Maureen and frame Cotton. With the help of Billy's best friend, Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Billy does as instructed, and together they murder Maureen. Sidney, having witnessed someone wearing Cotton Weary's jacket, testifies that she saw Weary leave the house and Cotton is subsequently convicted of the crime and sentenced to death.

As the first film begins, Billy and Stu continue their murderous rampage, stalking other people who they feel have wronged them such as Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) who previously dumped Stu for another guy. They begin killing Sidney's friends as part of a game whereby their actions mimic the cliche "rules" of horror movies, and although they intend to isolate Sidney and kill her as well, they are discovered by reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) who manages to help Sidney thwart and kill her attackers in a showdown at the Macher house. In the second film, Billy's mother (Laurie Metcalf) is the killer, seeking revenge on Sidney and Gale, and she coerces one of Sidney's film student friends, Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant), a psychopathic serial killer seeking celebrity status, into helping her by paying for his school tuition. The events are mimicking the plot of a newly released film Stab depicting the events of the first Scream film. In the end, both Mrs. Loomis and Mickey are killed by Sidney. In the third film, while filming of the latest Stab movie commences in Hollywood, Roman, who also happens to be the director of the film, is dissatisfied that Sidney is still alive, and begins slaughtering members of the film crew in order to draw Sidney out of hiding, and seeks retribution for the life that he believes should have been his. Sidney mortally wounds him, and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) finally ends his life by shooting him in the head. With the last of the original masked killers dead, Sidney apparently found the strength to move on with her life.

Character Film
Scream Scream 2 Scream 3 Scream 4
Dewey Riley David Arquette[1]
Sidney Prescott Neve Campbell[1]
Gale Weathers Courteney Cox Arquette[1]
Randy Meeks Jamie Kennedy
Cotton Weary Liev Schreiber
Ghostface Roger L. Jackson (voice)
Neil Prescott Lawrence Hencht (character mentioned in Scream 2) Lawrence Hencht
Hank Loomis C. W. Morgan C. W. Morgan
Reporter Nancy O'Dell
Maureen Prescott Lynn McRee Lynn McRee Lynn McRee
Billy Loomis Skeet Ulrich (character mentioned in Scream 2) Skeet Ulrich
Stuart "Stu" Macher Matthew Lillard (character mentioned in Scream 2) Matthew Lillard
Tatum Riley Rose McGowan (character mentioned in 2 and 3)
Casey Becker Drew Barrymore (character mentioned in Scream 2)
Kenneth "Kenny" W. Earl Brown (character mentioned in Scream 2)
Steven "Steve" Orth Kevin Patrick Walls (character mentioned in Scream 2)
Principal Himbry Henry Winkler (character mentioned in Scream 2)
Mrs. Loomis (character mentioned in Scream) Laurie Metcalf
Derek Jerry O'Connell (character referenced in Scream 3)