Hello, Sidney...
Scream VI is officially in theaters! I hope everyone had a chance to see it this past weekend, because there are going to be MAJOR SPOILERS in this post. Ghostface is one of the many things that make the Scream movies fantastic. The whodunit element is always so much fun, and I absolutely adore Roger L. Jackson's soothing but terrifying voice on those phone calls. The big Ghostface reveal at the end isn't ever terribly surprising, but it's still fun nonetheless. Anyways, I thought it'd be fun to rank the Ghostfaces. This is essentially the Scream villains ranked, but it's more fun to call them Ghostfaces, because that's what they are. That said, here's my ranking.
12. Roman Bridger (Scream 3)
LAME. While I think it's a cool idea to have only one Ghostface (ambitious too), Roman Bridger is such a lame reveal and character. Not only is he barely in the movie before this, but they try to sell us some story about him being Sid's half-brother and orchestrating the first Scream film. He is the big bad of the franchise. He started it all. If you're going to do that, make the character cool. Fun. Memorable. Roman is none of those things. I also hate his magic voice changer that can imitate anyone's voice. It completely eliminates any credibility from the film. I hate this character. He's one of the many things that make Scream 3 the worst of the franchise.
11. Mickey Altieri (Scream 2)
Like Roman, Mickey is kind of a lame Ghostface. He disappears for a gigantic chunk of the movie before ultimately revealing himself in the finale. He feels like a bad re-imaging of Stu that has all of the fun Matthew Lillard craziness replaced with Timothy Olyphant trying to replicate that. The thing that saves him from last place is that he isn't our main Ghostface. He's the secondary antagonist, so he's just there to add another little surprise. His reveal is underwhelming, but it's saved by the second reveal that we will get to later on this list. I don't hate this character as much as Roman, but he definitely is not a good villain.
10. Charlie Walker (Scream 4)
I've never really hated Charlie as a Ghostface. I think it's a fun idea to make our movie rules guy be one of the killers. I like Rory Culkin. I think he brings a different type of creepy energy. Where this character doesn't work is the motivation. He decides to go on a murder spree because a girl doesn't like him back...even though she actually does? That's a really, really weak motive to go kill a bunch of people. I'm not a fan.
9. Ethan Landry (Scream VI)
There's only so many characters that could actually be Ghostface in the Scream sequels. Scream VI has three Ghostfaces, so at least one of them had to be predictable. Ethan was the obvious choice. He's Chad's suspicious roommate that no one actually likes. He only stays with the group half the time. It feels like a lazy choice to make him the killer in this movie, but it's redeemed by the fact that they decided to have three Ghostfaces. By far, though, Ethan is the weakest one.
8. Quinn Bailey (Scream VI)
I liked what they did with Quinn. They made her feel like a typical horror movie college girl. She acts really dumb and just goes along with the crew until she gets killed. The reveal of her being Ghostface would've been much more surprising if she wasn't the daughter of Detective Bailey. As soon as he and Ethan are revealed to be the killers, it becomes very clear that Quinn was in on it too and actually wasn't dead. Detective Bailey also said he swapped out her body for a fake, which just doesn't make sense, because an autopsy would quickly uncover that secret. I think there was some wasted potential here, but that doesn't make Quinn bad. She was fine. Should've been better.
8. Jason Carvey (Scream VI)
The opening scene of Scream VI has grown on me. Initially, I wasn't sure about it, because I thought they were revealing who our actual Ghostface is. But it was actually pretty cool to see how a Ghostface operates immediately after they kill someone. As soon as Jason gets home, he receives a phone call, and the usual Scream opening plays out from there. It's a really fun sequence elevated by Tony Revolori's dismissal of the danger he's in, because he thinks that it's just his partner pranking him. I really, really dug this intro and I had fun with the character for the limited amount of screentime he has.
7. Detective Bailey (Scream VI)
Detective Bailey's motive is simple: revenge. Much like Scream 2, the original killer's parent comes back for the sequel to get revenge on the hero that killed their child in the previous movie. This reveal felt like a little bit of a gut-punch at first, because I really liked Detective Bailey. He works as a Ghostface because he has an actual plan. He doesn't just want to kill everyone. He plans on framing Sam and making Richie seem innocent. I think that makes an otherwise mediocre Ghostface actually good.
6. Amber Freeman (Scream 2022)
I think Amber has one of the best killer reveals in the whole franchise. That automatically elevates her character. And, unlike some of the Ghostfaces lower on this list, she feels like a good retread of Stu. Mikey Madison brings the right amount of sanity and then utter insanity once she's revealed to be the killer. Like half of these characters, though, she acts as the secondary villain here, so she isn't as interesting as the main one. Still a fun character, but not one of Scream's best.
5. Mrs. Loomis (Scream 2)
Mrs. Loomis made for one of the most interesting reveals in the entire franchise. It makes sense that Billy's crazy mother would come for Sidney after learning that she killed him. She's is a fun character, because she's a Ghostface that most didn't see coming. She isn't introduced as Billy's mother. She isn't a very prominent character, so her reveal is definitely surprising. I think that hurts her character a bit, though. The best Ghostfaces are the ones that are main characters in the movie only to betray everyone and be revealed as the killer. So, while she is definitely a good character, I wouldn't quite call her great.
4. Richie Kirsch (Scream 2022)
Scream (2022) was all about going back to the original. So, of course, that meant that the killer was the boyfriend. I think Richie's reveal was predictable, but Jack Quaid makes the most out of this character with a charming performance that turns terrifying once he's revealed to be the killer. I loved how his legacy lasts on and very much affects Sam's life and the Ghostface motivations in Scream VI. He feels like the Billy of this new legacy chapter of the franchise, which I really, really enjoy.
3. Jill Roberts (Scream 4)
Jill was a really clever subversion by Kevin Williamson. She's setup as Sidney's cousin. It seems like she's the new final girl. Scream 4 feels like it exists to pass the torch on to her. And then it's revealed that she is actually framing it to be like that and is the true killer. That's a really cool idea. Make it seem like you're introducing a new final girl only to have her be the villain but making it seem like she's the victim. Emma Roberts does a really good job portraying this evil, conniving sociopath that can act really vulnerable and sympathetic at times. She's one of the strongest parts of Scream 4 and the best killer since the original two.
2. Stu Macher (Scream)
Stu is one of my favorite characters in the whole franchise. Matthew Lillard plays this typical high school jock that has parties and gets drunk while there's a killer on the loose. Once we move into the finale, though, it's revealed that there's not only one Ghostface, but two. And Stu is one of them. All of the sudden, Lillard's performance goes from funny to absolutely bonkers. And it works entirely. The finale of Scream is intense. You feel the danger. But Stu brings a great amount of comedy that constantly makes me laugh out loud whenever I'm watching this movie. He's the perfect foil to Billy. I love him. And, if they explain it well, I wouldn't mind if he came back.
1. Billy Loomis (Scream)
Is it a little bit obvious that Billy is the killer? Yes. They throw suspicion onto him as soon as he's introduced. But they do just enough to convince you that it isn't him so that once he is revealed, it's still surprising. His motivations make sense and feel right, but what really makes this character the best Ghostface of them all is his true, undeniable evil. This dude is screwed up, and that just makes him fun. I also love the way that they used him in Scream '22 and Scream VI. It's fun to make him this anti-heroic devil on Sam's shoulder. Billy is the original Ghostface. And he's still the best.
Σχόλια