If there's one question that horror fans must ask themselves, it's this: Who was Ghostface in each Scream movie? The twist in most of the Scream films is usually that two people who are close to Sidney Prescott are actually the ones slashing up her friend group - but which character is wearing the Ghostface (or Father Death, for the real fans) outfit during which kill?
The Scream franchise doesn't make it easy to determine which characters are wearing which costumes at which times. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson says it's not something he really thought about during the production of the initial film, but there are still clues as to who did what.
Judging from the size of Ghostface in a particular scene and the location of the other killers, it's actually pretty easy to figure out which unhinged horror movie fan is using a kitchen knife to make Sidney Prescott's life a living hell.
Spoilers for all Scream films, including ScreamVI (2023), below.
As far as we can tell, Stu only committed two murders during the events of Scream. In response to a fan tweet, Williamson revealed that Stu is behind Steve's gruesome death that starts the movie. Aside from Williamson's tweet, the film provides a clue later on when Stu's girlfriend, Tatum, mentions that Stu and Steve both dated Casey Becker prior to the events of the film.
Stu's next victim is Kenny the cameraman, an unfortunate character who bleeds out all over the windshield of his news van. It might be the best kill of the movie, and we know Stu made it happen because Billy is playing dead in Sidney's room at the time.
Billy is a busy boy. Even though he and Stu share phone privileges, Billy does much of the heavy lifting during the first Woodsboro killing spree. Observant fans believe that Billy is the person who kills Casey in Scream's cold open. Not only does he choke Casey the same way that he chokes Sidney later on, but the way he raises his knife to plunge it into his victim is also matched later in the film.
Williamson has said he intended for Stu to be behind Casey's death, but judging from the way Wes Craven directs Billy's scenes, it's pretty clear he's the guy who disembowels her.
Principal Himbry's case is pretty cut and dry. Aside from the fact that Billy loves stabbing people, Stu is busy getting ready for the party during this specific murder. Finally, the sad death of Tatum comes at the hands of Billy while Stu is hosting the party. After the deed is done, the two even exchange a knowing glance.
Billy also likely killed Sidney's mother a year before the movie starts.
As a character, Mickey is hard to like. First, he's got that whole "annoying film school student with a Tarantino fetish" vibe, and, second, he's a cold-blooded killer. Mrs. Loomis hires him to get revenge on Sidney for killing her son, Billy, and boy, does Mickey deliver.
The film buff commits most of the murders in Scream 2. Not only does he have a larger build than Mrs. Loomis, but he's also left-handed, and that's pretty hard to miss. He opens the film by offing Phil in the bathroom before stabbing Maureen to death in front of a live audience. There's just no way Mrs. Loomis could have pulled that off.
When Cici is thrown off the balcony at the party, Mickey is the only killer with the upper body strength to do so, and he doesn't show up to the festivities until after her death.
Mickey's piece de resistance occurs when he takes out Sidney's bodyguards and her best friend Hallie in an extremely tense scene ending in a car crash. Mickey is then knocked out by the steering wheel, but not for long. He sneaks up on Hallie and gives her the ol' grab and stab moments before she and Sidney can escape. Judging from size alone, this is clearly Mickey, but during the film's climax, a gash can be seen on his head where he was hit with the steering wheel.
Mickey's final kill is pretty clear: With no mask or even a hint of Ghostface, he pulls the trigger on Derek in plain view of Sidney.
Mrs. Loomis only gets in one kill during her tenure as Ghostface, but it's a good one. After Randy Meeks mouths off about her son, she pulls him into a news van and disembowels him. It's a gruesome end to a character who a lot of fans have a genuine affinity for.
To make things clearer, she admits during the climax of the film that her love for Billy is what led her to pick up the mantle of Ghostface and get revenge on Sidney.
In an odd break from the rest of the films in this series, Scream 3 only features one killer under the Ghostface mask putting the hurt on all of the victims. And hey, it's Roman.
That's something about Scream we can all agree on, right?
Jill may be the mastermind behind the first reboot of the Woodsboro killings, but she mostly keeps her hands clean - aside from two people who get in her way.
After revealing that she and Charlie are the killers, Jill pulls Trevor out of a closet and shoots him in the head at point-blank range. She explains that her goal is to frame Trevor for the crimes, then she kills Charlie so she can be the sole survivor of the 15-year anniversary of the Woodsboro tragedy.
It's unclear whether or not Jill takes care of her mother or if she leaves that messy business to Charlie. When bickering with Charlie, she says, "For f*ck's sake, my own mother had to die," and not "I had to kill my mom." That's not a solid answer either way, but we wouldn't put it past her.
