THE DEATHS OF SCREAM
In just a few weeks the MTV TV series Scream, based on the movies (Editors Note: allegedly) will debut.
I am personally not hopeful that this show will be a quality incarnation of the film franchise. I will be giving the premier episode an hour of my time. Curiosity killed the cat! In anticipation of this premiere, I decided to review the Scream movies and choose my ten favorite death scenes. Here they are in no particular order:
Scream / Stu – I’m am fan of this character as well as his death. Stu wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer as we learn by the end of the film. He was bumbling and silly and one of the happiest murderers I have ever come across in a horror movie. It is suiting then that Stu met his end when Sidney dropped a large television on his head! Oh how I love the TV smashed over the head death which also appears in Halloween (2007) and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.
Scream / Tatum – Poor Tatum! She makes it through most of the movie only to murdered on a beer run. This is one of the more creative deaths in the franchise. After being slashed and chased around the garage she decides to try and escape through the doggie door. Unfortunately, while she is in the midst of this Ghostface raises the garage door smashing her head in the process. Rose McGowan learned she could actually fit through a doggie door while filming this scene.
Scream / Casey – In what has to be one of the most iconic death scenes in a horror movie, Drew Barrymore is murdered in the first 15 minutes of this film. After Ghostface murders her boyfriend in front of her, he chases her around her house. Casey is eventually stabbed repeatedly in her yard. She is then hung, disemboweled, from a tree for her parents to find. Drew was originally cast as Sidney but insisted she play Casey so viewers would be shaken by her death and believe anything could happen through the rest of the movie.
Scream 2 / Randy – Oh so sad. Our loveable Randy. He knows the rules better than anyone yet he is murdered in part 2! He was grabbed by Ghostface, dragged into a van and butchered off screen. Although not particularly creative, this was a creepy scene. One of main characters murdered in broad daylight! I was surprised Randy was gone so soon. I’m pretty sure Jamie Kennedy was also surprised and at this point probably pissed since the other mains have lived through four films.
Scream 2 / Maureen – Good old Maureen didn’t know her boyfriend had already been murdered in the bathroom. While watching the movie Stab, someone in a Ghostface costume stabs her. The theater is packed with Ghostfaces so the real one leads Maureen to the front of the theater unnoticed where she dies in front of the movie screen.
Scream 3 / Roman – The death of a Ghostface. I enjoyed the scene where once again Sidney is the heroine and takes down at least one of the killers. Sidney and Roman take turns trying to murder one another once the cat is out of the bag and we learn Roman is the bad guy. She finally manages to stab him multiple times including a good one to the chest. Of course she turns her back and Roman hops up and prepares to run at her with a knife. Dewey has to come to the rescue — kind of. He shoots Roman several times which does nothing until finally Gale and Sidney suggest a shot to the head. Wow — was Roman on PCP?!
Scream 3 / Jennifer – Poor Jennifer just wanted a movie career. Apparently, acting gigs can be deadly. She is cast as Gale Weathers in Stab 3 (the movie within the movie). However, there is a real killer and they mean business! Everyone cast in Stab 3 starts getting murdered on the set and Jennifer is no exception. After seeing Ghostface go after Tyson, she makes her attempt at escape. She winds up on the wrong side of two way mirror with Ghostface right behind her. She can see Gale and Dewey but they cannot see her and begins beating on the mirror. Dewey shoots at the mirror and Jennifer ‘s body finally crashes through but it’s too late!
Scream 4 / Jill – Jill is such an unlikely killer. I’m not sure I thought her motive for murdering all her friends made much sense but hey maybe she is just nuts!
I am sucker for murders that are committed using unconventional weapons and her death qualified. She thought she had the upper hand after killing most everyone but Dewey, Gale, and Sidney. Unfortunately, she was a little too confident. While trying to murder the few people left, she was taken down by Sidney via defibrillator paddles. Not quite dead, she popped back up and was shot by Sidney.
Scream 4 / Rebecca – Sidney’s agent, Rebecca, met a dramatic end. Perhaps it suited her since she was a self absorbed bitch. After being fired by Sidney, she gets a call from the killer while walking through a parking garage. She makes a valiant attempt to save herself, but is stabbed while trying to exit the garage. Her body is then tossed onto the street landing on the news van in the midst of Dewey explaining to a bunch of reporters that the situation with the murders is “under control”. Um, I don’t think so…
Scream 4 – Deputies Hoss and Perkins
What good are the cops in horror films if they are always getting murdered? ! These bumbling fools cannot protect us if they are dead! While the deaths of Hoss and Perkins are not the most creative, they are comical. In less than a minute (I timed it), Ghostface has quickly dispatched them both. Perkins who was stabbed in the forehead spends his last seconds swiping at the air and cursing. Thanks for making us feel so safe!
There you have it. Ten of my favorite Scream death scenes. I’d love to hear your favorites. Feel free to share in the comments section below!
