Scream 6 is one of the goriest and most brutal entries in the film franchise. As was teased in advertisements, the Scream 6 killer is “something different.” Of course, there isn’t just one killer in the latest Scream film. In fact, it was a whole family of three.
Detective Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) was the criminal mastermind behind the entire plan, but he had help in the form of his children, Quinn (Liana Liberato) and Ethan (Jack Champion). This list acts as a timeline for who killed whom, as well as a breakdown of how they really made all of it happen.
Read on below for a comprehensive explainer of the action-packed third act of Scream 6. Then, you can head over to your favorite streamer or VOD to watch the movie again, and look out for any clues that could have hinted toward this ending.
Photo: Scream VI / Paramount Pictures
Who Is The Scream 6 Killer?
For the first time in the film franchise, there are actually three Ghostface killers, revealed to be Detective Bailey, Quinn Bailey, and Ethan Landry. The film also began with a murder by Jason Carvey (Tony Revolori), but he wasn't the real deal, and is dispatched quite quickly.
The Detective, Quinn, and Ethan are actually the remaining family members of Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid), the Ghostface who was killed by Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) in Scream (2022). They wanted to make Sam suffer for taking away their son/brother.
Ethan did juke the roommate lottery, and Quinn was the one who started the rumors that Sam was the mastermind behind the recent Woodsboro killings. Detective Bailey used his position to trick everyone into thinking Quinn was dead, as well as to help stock Richie's Ghostface shrine with evidence.
Photo: Scream VI / Paramount Pictures
Jason Carvey Kills Laura Crane
You may have been surprised to see a Ghostface reveal so early on in the movie, but that's because Revolori's Jason is just a fan, one of Richie Kirsch's college friends who wanted to finish his movie.
He and his roommate Greg planned to kill Tara (Jenna Ortega) and Sam for their late friend, but sociopathic Jason just can't seem to wait. He brutally murders their film teacher at Blackmore University, Laura Crane (Samara Weaving), for giving him a C on a paper.
Photo: Scream VI / Paramount Pictures
Detective Wayne Bailey Kills Jason And His Roommate Greg
Detective Wayne Bailey definitely did the heavy lifting when it came to avenging his son, but it was also his plan, so it makes sense. After framing Jason and Greg for the Ghostface shrine, Wayne murdered and dismembered Greg, and left him in their apartment fridge.
Afterwards, he followed Jason, watched as the college student killed his professor, and then gave him a taste of his own medicine, taunting him with a Ghostface call, stabbing him multiple times, and then dealing one last blow after saying, “Who gives a f*** about the movies?” Wayne then leaves Sam's ID at the crime scene to try and frame her for their murders. He leaves the Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison) Ghostface masks behind.
Photo: Scream VI / Paramount Pictures
Wayne Kills Three At The Bodega
It was a busy night for Wayne, because after that, he used the ID as a way to lure Sam outside, by saying she had to come to the police station. Once they were outside, he attacked Sam and Tara, chasing them into a Bodega, in one of the film's most stressful scenes.
He kills two customers, before stealing the Bodega clerk's shotgun, and getting rid of him as well. Sam and Tara manage to run outside, and the police arrive, so Wayne runs out the backdoor, leaving the Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) and Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) Ghostface masks behind.
His plan to frame Sam for the murders of Jason and Greg is thwarted when he realizes she was with her therapist, Dr. Christopher Stone (Henry Czerny), at the time of the crime.
Photo: Scream VI / Paramount Pictures
Detective Bailey Kills Dr. Christopher Stone
After learning of Sam's alibi, Wayne goes to Dr. Stone's house, and stabs him in the nose, right through the window of the his door. He breaks in, finishes the doctor off, and then steals Sam's file. He leaves Roman Bridger's (Scott Foley) Ghostface mask behind.
He later tries to blame that on Sam, too, but FBI agent Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), who is helping him on the case, is not buying it, asking, “So Sam kills her own alibi and steals her own session notes?”
Photo: Scream VI / Paramount Pictures
Ethan Landry Stabs 'Paul 2.0' And Anika Kayako
Ethan Landry tells Chad (Mason Gooding) he has econ, while everyone else heads back to Sam and Tara's apartment. That night, Ethan sneaks into the apartment, and is spotted by Danny Brackett (Josh Segarra) across the alley, who tries to warn Sam. Ethan brutally kills Quinn’s date, “Paul 2.0,” leaving him in the bathtub.
He throws Quinn’s “dead body” onto Anika (Devyn Nekoda), surprising the group. At this point, Wayne had already swapped in a decoy for Quinn’s body, so everyone else thought she was dead. He also began acting emotional about his whole family being dead, so no one would catch onto the fact that he is the mastermind.
Things get really sad, really fast, as Ethan slices Mindy’s arm, before stabbing her girlfriend, Anika Kayako, in the stomach. She, Sam, and Mindy run into the bathroom - where they see Paul’s body - before barricading themselves in a bedroom. Danny holds a ladder across their two windows, and Sam and Mindy successfully make it across.
As Anika is trying to climb across, while bleeding out from the wound in her stomach, Ethan finally forces his way into the bedroom, and begins shaking the ladder. As Mindy watches, unable to do anything to help her, Anika falls to her death.
