In just a few weeks, a new decade means brand new rules as Scream makes its big-screen return with Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley joining a new set of characters in the quiet town of Woodsboro, California. Once again, the small town is being rocked by another set of grisly murders; however, the targets are a group of teenagers who are a key instrument to Woodsboro’s deadly past. This article will revisit the history of Scream and list the top five characters that have been apart of the popular horror franchise. To stay away from the obvious, Sidney, Gale, and Dewey are exempt from this list. They’re awesome, and I’m sure there are plenty of articles detailing how great they are. Also, this article will only focus on the movies, not the television series. Let’s get started with the first character.
Billy Loomis & Stu Macher
Ok, so this is cheating, but they’re the serial killers of the iconic first movie so it kind of works. What Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson did so masterfully was play on the suspicion that Billy was the killer. Both men knew that fans were wise when it comes to these types of slasher flicks, so they decided to toy with everyone’s emotions until the Billy reveal. Craven and Williamson made it so obvious that it was Billy that audiences dismissed the notion until the shock of him truly being the killer was announced! Billy is likely the most disturbed of all the killers. Loomis is clearly a psychopath who’s been scarred by his mother leaving him; however, cheating doesn’t explain why he’s such a murderous bastard. There’s something sinister about Billy and the mystique of why he is the way he is what makes him intriguing. The Scream 3 twist of Roman Bridger actually convincing Billy to commit these crimes does ruin what made Billy a compelling character. Stu is the one that’s truly shocking. Stu is the eccentric goofball, but for him to go along with the murders including his ex-girlfriend does create some fun theories about who his character really is. With no tragic backstory like Billy, does Stu represent the meaning of someone who’s nothing but pure evil? Sure seems like it.
Maureen Prescott
A character that’s never made her live debut onscreen, but is still an intriguing figure, nevertheless. It could be argued that Maureen is the antagonist because she an integral part of all this bloodshed, but what makes her an interesting character is her troubled past. Scream 3 explores Mrs. Prescott a bit more and she’s painted as more of a victim then in the past couple of films. We understand the hell that she went through during her time in Hollywood and the reasoning she got rid of Roman makes sense, but it’s her story prior to her Hollywood stint that raises some interesting questions. She’s deemed a slut in the films, but is there something more sinister about Maureen past? Why did she hook-up with Mr. Loomis? Why did she leave for Hollywood? What was her life before the scandalous affair? There are obvious answers to these questions, but there’s also an interesting route to take the character. As I previously mentioned, she could be seen as the antagonist of the Scream franchise, and despite never making one live appearance, she’s easily one of the more interesting characters.
Cotton Weary
To be fair, the main purpose of Cotton Weary’s character is to point the finger in a different direction in the original Scream. Once it was revealed that Cotton was an innocent man, the writers didn’t really do anything with until he was killed in part III. Again, there’s an interesting layer about Cotton’s character that wasn’t truly explored. He was the opportunist who took advantage of his newfound fame and that could’ve been a cool direction played out during the series. Why out of all of Maureen’s supposed lovers, was Cotton the one chosen to be the fall man? Does he have real skeletons in his closet? Cotton is likely the biggest missed opportunity of the franchise, but he’s still one of the more notable victims of the series.
Randy Meeks
Randy is the fun comedic sidekick that brings a nice laugh every time he’s on screen. He doesn’t have the interesting or mysterious backstory of the other three listed here, but he’s simply an enjoyable presence that’s often needed in horror films. Him being a horror fanatic brought a different layer that separated him from the other characters, but like Cotton, the main point of his character was to point the finger in different directions.
Jill Roberts
The climax of Scream 4 is what truly makes Jill Roberts standout. She’s insane, but not in the way that Billy Loomis or Stu Macher is, as her antics are over-the-top, but admittingly, her staging the whole incident was freaking hilarious. Jill actually comes with a nice commentary about society and the obsession with fame. It’s one of the rare few movies that updates the franchise for modern audiences and has something decent to say. Of course, Emma Roberts performance shouldn’t be ignored as the actress committed nicely to the absurdity of her character. Like Billy, Stu, and Cotton, there’s an air of mystery over her past and why she’s so fame hungry, making her one of the better villains in the franchise.
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