Horror fans love slashers so much because there’s always a recognizable and familiar villain who appears in the entire franchise. From Freddy Krueger killing teens via dreams inA Nightmare On Elm Streetto Michael Myers terrorizing Haddonfield inHalloween, these killers are terrifying because they’re so familiar.
Screammay be a slasher franchise, but it deviates from the typical formula as there isn’t one killer throughout every movie. Instead, the slasher villain is mysterious, with several characters adopting the costume and killing spree of Ghostface, depending on their motive. This is a brilliant move that works so well and keeps fans interested in each film.
RELATED:Will Scream 6 Have Too Many Characters?
TheGhostface killers inScreamare excellent and if there was just one villain throughout the slasher franchise, the story would feel completely different. It works perfectly thatfinal girl Sidney Prescott(Neve Campbell) has no idea who each killer is, as this allows her to investigate the mystery each time. Since the killers are always tied to Sidney, her mother’s terrible death, or the desire to become famous, it makes sense that there have been 10 Ghostfaces. There’s a common thread connecting the entire story and making fans want to keep watching.
The slasher whodunnit formula ofScreamonly works because there are different killers in every movie. If the exact same Ghostface was targeting Sidney and other characters in five movies, it would seem like Sidney was weak and could never fight back properly. That isn’t the case at all. Sidney is one of thebest horror movie main charactersbecause she absolutely hates the typical “damsels in distress” who appear in these types of films. Sidney always figures out who is going after her and that makes her an unforgettable character.
Ghostface is a perfect villain as the characters playing him always talk and joke around, which makes them more entertaining to watch than most. It’s also fun that there are always two killers, and even if fans guess one of them, it’s tough to guess both every single time. The big Ghostface reveal is always one of the most memorable parts of each movie. Matthew Lillard’sStu Macher is the best Ghostfacebecause he falls apart and cries about his parents being angry. That kind of humanity doesn’t exist with other slasher villains.
While Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, andJason Voorhees fromFriday the 13thare fun to watch and their place in the genre will never go away, it’s exciting and interesting that no one really knows who each Ghostface is. This creates a haunted atmosphere that proves that Sidney can never really run away from her tough past and that someone new will always take up the killing spree.
The mostpopular slasher franchisescan feel tired after a while because the movies feel like they are simply repeating the same formula. WhileScreamabsolutely follows a formula, the fact that there are new killers breathes fresh new life into the genre with every new movie. EveryScreammovie offers something else that hasn’t been seen before, from Sidney starting college inScream 2to a newStabfilm being made inScream 3. While some say thatScream 4andScream (2022)feel similar because bothScreammovies explore the idea of being a fan, the movies are still unique enough, focusing on Sidney coming back home to Woodsboro as a published author and then Sidney returning to help a new group of teenagers.
TheA24 slasher movieBodies Bodies Bodiesuses this formula in a great way, as a group of friends gather at a house in the country to party. When one dies, everyone becomes a potential killer, and the rest of the film becomes a mysterious journey to figuring out who the murderer is.Screampaved the way for this type of story and when done properly, with fun characters and jokes and enough really scary moments to keep audiences interested, it can be the best type of horror film.Bodies Bodies Bodiesis just as hilarious as theScreamfranchise but keeps a sense of intrigue throughout as well. Clever, intelligent quotes add something special to the scary films full of unexpected moments.
With questions about whether theslasher genre needs to be elevated, following theScreamslasher whodunnit formula and creating a new mystery in each film is a great way to go. Audiences are excited forScream 6because while they know that there will most likely be two Ghostface killers, it’s the journey, not the destination, that is the most compelling part. It seems possible forScreamto continue for a long time because the murder mystery genre is always something that horror fans want to see.
