Movies
Every Ghostface From ‘Scream’, Ranked
Ghostface and Gale Weathers have returned to us again with Scream VI, and the fandom couldn’t be happier. And with the newest installment comes new killers, new motives, new phone calls, and new kills.
Scream fans are thriving.
This newest installment was no less fun or brutal, no matter where you place it in your ranking. The biggest thing that sets Scream apart from other horror franchises is that while the Ghostface mask remains mostly the same, every movie has a different killer behind the mask. And while there are no bad Scream movies, only ones I like less than others—the same goes for Ghostface killers.
So, with over 25 years of Ghostface, let’s see how the newest batch holds up to the previous ones. Spoilers ahead for every Scream, even the newest one, Scream VI.
Here is my list of Ghostfaces ranked from not-so-great to greatest.
13. Jason Carvey (Tony Revolori) and his dead partner — Scream VI
This slot all hangs on how you felt about the opening of Scream VI. Maybe it worked for you! Maybe it didn’t! For me, however, it only ranks above Scream 4’s opening because the killings in this one were all actually happening. Spider-man’s Revolori does a great job, but I just didn’t care. I found myself not caring if this new Ghostface was being stalked by another new Ghostface. This switch-up would’ve been more shocking for me if it’d happened later in the movie. I think it’s a cool idea, but the tension fell so flat for me that this opening felt almost as silly to me as the character being named “Jason Carvey.”
12. Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) — Scream 4
Listen, Rory Culkin is great but this character suffers from “second killer syndrome.” He’s not too memorable and is completely overshadowed by his partner (stay tuned, more on her later). He does get an incredibly iconic reveal though—stabbing (but not killing) Hayden Panettiere’s fan favorite Kirby Reed right after she beat Ghostface at his own game over the phone, seemingly having saved Charlie. He’s mad she took too long to want to date him…or something. But, shortly after this moment, he is swiftly betrayed by his partner and killed.
11. Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) — Scream VI
As a longtime Scream fan and big time dumb dumb, I rarely ever guess the killers in any of these movies. Gale Weathers, I am not. Yet this reveal felt so obvious even the character says, “Of course it’s me,” once he’s outed as *extreme Wendy Williams voice* the killer. I’m sure it was done on purpose, but still it felt a little anti-climactic. He almost tricked me into thinking Kirby was the killer though, which thankfully was just a misdirect but kudos to that. He’s channeling some big-time Laurie Metcalf as Nancy Loomis vibes not only just after his reveal, but nearly every time the character cranks his neck and says the word “kill” with his eyes bulging out. The reveal that he’s Richie’s dad wasn’t as chilling as it should’ve been. But he does get a pretty great death scene after the Carpenter sisters exchange glances at each other.
10. Ethan Landry (Jack Champion) — Scream VI (2023)
The cute, nerdy virgin who looks like a clone of early seasons American Horror Story Evan Peters. He’s quiet and basically a background character. Jasmine Savoy-Brown’s Mindy clocks him from the moment they find out Ghostface is back. This was one of those “so obvious it can’t be possible” reveals for me. Especially once he saved Mindy on the train, I was positive he wasn’t a killer. His reveal of actually being Richie’s brother? Sure. He gets a great death scene though at the hands of Jenna Ortega’s Tara. “Die a virgin!”
9. Quinn Bailey (Liana Liberato) — Scream VI
I like her in theory. One of the few supposed victims who died then later on is revealed to be Ghostface. She’s likable and sex-positive. We’re first introduced to her having loud sex in the apartment she shares with our final girls. I also love the idea of her laying on the ground of the apartment playing dead, covered in fake blood for a good 20 minutes while everyone runs around the apartment trying to avoid Ghostface.
8. Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant) — Scream 2
One of the better “second” killers. Scream 2 is absolutely stacked with famous folks who give great performances—and while he’s famous now, he wasn’t a big name back then. But his performance is great. He manipulates Sidney perfectly, making her think it could be her sweet jock boyfriend (spoiler, it isn’t). Like many other men on this list, he’s a secret incel working with the lead killer. He’s also quickly killed by his partner in Ghostface-ing.
7. Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison) — Scream (2022)
This franchise references itself so often it’s a wonder it hasn’t caved in on itself yet. Amber is a clear reference to Matthew Lillard’s Stu (be patient, I’m getting to him), going full spit yelling once she’s revealed. She was also my number one suspect for most of the movie—who doesn’t suspect the quiet goth girl who lurks in the background of most of her scenes? But the thing she has going for her is she gets one of the absolute best reveals with her delivery of, “Welcome to Act 3.”
6. Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) — Scream 3
I’m always torn regarding the third installment. For me, it’s clearly the weakest link, but also, it’s just so god damned fun. I mean, any movie where Parker Posey chews scenery automatically gets bonus points. But also, there are no bad Scream movies. What makes him unique is that he’s the only Ghostface to work alone (and to be revealed to be Sidney’s long-lost sibling). He’s also notable for being a character who I barely remember before his reveal. He sits next to Jennifer Jolie at some point maybe? He fakes his death, but he was a throwaway character that didn’t matter. The thing that boosts him up on this list is that he doesn’t do the bulging eyes or campy acting once he takes the mask off. He plays his reveal pretty straightforward, and his fight with Sidney is great. It’s the most aggressive we’d seen Sidney at that point, and their fight is iconic and brutal. Watching his death scene high is something I do not recommend.
5. Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) — Scream (2022)
I truly do not understand the hate 5 gets. I think it’s really fun seeing our Final Girls in their final form. And 5 has a fantastic reveal: our new final girl’s boyfriend Richie is Ghostface, one of many nods to the original film. I spent the entire movie completely charmed by him though, ignoring David Arquette’s Dewey clocking him from the start. He was the voice of the audience for most of the movie, yet in the end, he was actually the voice of the toxic fans online who will call me a fake fan for this list. The performance is understated, as he’s not that different once he’s revealed to be Ghostface, and for me, that’s what sells it. Even Richie himself says, as he’s stabbing his girlfriend, “I know, it’s a bummer, it’s me.”
4. Nancy Loomis (Laurie Metcalf) — Scream 2
Debbie Salt aka Nancy Loomis is the blueprint for unhinged family member out for revenge in this franchise. Her performance is camp and eye bulgey and shouldn’t work, yet it does. I will also say this is the only movie where I immediately clocked Ghostface. At the time, she was already famous for her role as Aunt Jackie on Roseanne, so having Laurie Metcalf pop up as a side character who only interacted with Courteney Cox’s Gale felt a tad cheap. But once she goes for it, she fucking goes for it. Her final battle with Sidney (and Gale) on the stage is truly one of the most fun Ghostface final fights. She doesn’t seem to blink once, taunts Gale with, “It’s called a makeover; you should try it,” and kills her partner while wearing an iconic white powersuit.
3. Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) — Scream
I mean, duh. The Stu Truthers online who insist he’s still alive might be annoying, but there’s a reason they exist. Stu is one of the most iconic characters in Scream. He’s the chaotic goof you’d crush on and then feel bad about crushing on because, ya know, he’s a murderer. It’s why he’s not exactly that much different once he goes full Ghostface. He’s the best of all of the “second” killers. Lillard still seems to be able to keep Stu charming even once he’s revealed to be Ghostface. His relationship with his partner is incredibly homoerotic, and he even gets in some funny lines before dying, like, “My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me.”
2. Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) — Scream
The dreamboat. Serial killers are often portrayed as getting their victims by charming them and Billy is no different. He has a serial killer vibe the entire movie but also has 90s teen heartthrob hair, wears tight white T-shirts, and looks like he just got done riding a motorcycle out of Twin Peaks. He’s so obviously the killer that it is genuinely surprising when he’s revealed actually to be the killer. He is also the first to fake his death to trick the audience into believing he’s not Ghostface—but that lasts about two seconds. He’s hot; he’s intense; he is the moment.
1. Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) — Scream 4
Jill Roberts was not only ahead of her time, but she was the last person I’d have ever thought was Ghostface upon first watch. Anyone watching it now might not be too shocked as the acting she does in her reveal was her audition for every single role she’d later go on to play in American Horror Story. Folks have long said that killing Sidney or Sidney being Ghostface would be a gag—but the thing is, it would just be stupid and out of character. A new Sidney-esque final girl, however, being Ghostface? Iconic. Jill stays a more subdued, even kind of boring character for most of the movie until going full Fight Club on herself to frame Trevor. She’s also a standout because she’s not a horror incel, but a crazed jealous teen who wants her cousin Sidney’s fame and only fame. Her line,“I don’t need friends, I need fans,” is one that’s still incredibly relevant.
Movies
How Lucha Libre Birthed Mexico’s Wildest Horror Films
Though schlocky B-horror is often associated with American films of men in cheap rubber monster suits and small casts running around in the desert, past our southern border Mexican pop culture has a strong, storied history of B-horror surrounding luchadores, masked wrestlers. Movies where the kings of the ring beat down on anything demonic or alien that crosses their path. But those films themselves have a wild origin, stemming from a post-war hunt for identity and censorship on the basis of sex. Truly, the luchador films that became the bulk of mexploitation cinema as we know it today didn’t come from a strong desire to uplift lucha but from attempts to suppress it. To understand lucha libre and how it became popular enough to be banned from television, we have to get back to the first half of the 20th century, with the end of the Mexican Revolution.
Today’s story is one of domino effects. Of how cultural moments and political decisions can send out ripples that no one can see coming, to the most unlikely of places sometimes. It’s about the unpredictable and ephemeral nature of life, on and off film. And about how cool it is to see a guy in a silver mask elbow-drop a werewolf. This is the story of how Lucha Libre birthed some of Mexico’s wildest horror films.
Though schlocky B-horror is often associated with American films of men in cheap rubber monster suits and small casts running around in the desert, past our southern border Mexican pop culture has a strong, storied history of B-horror surrounding luchadores, masked wrestlers. Movies where the kings of the ring beat down on anything demonic or alien that crosses their path. But those films themselves have a wild origin, stemming from a post-war hunt for identity and censorship on the basis of sex.
Truly, the luchador films that became the bulk of mexploitation cinema as we know it today didn’t come from a strong desire to uplift lucha but from attempts to suppress it. To understand lucha libre and how it became popular enough to be banned from television, we have to get back to the first half of the 20th century, with the end of the Mexican Revolution.
Mexicanidad and the Rise of Masked Wrestlers
To those unfamiliar with the particulars of the Mexican Revolution, it stands as one of the most violent times of political upheaval in human history. After the deposition of decades-long oligarchical dictator Porfirio Diaz and his regime, multiple parties began to fight for control of the country as its residents sought economic relief, agrarian reform, and the cession of land back to indigenous populations.
The Revolution saw a revolving door of commandants, a cadre of different political groups fighting for a variety of different reasons, and the loss of (by the most conservative estimates) over a million lives in a civil war never before seen in Mexico. Needless to say, the Mexican national identity had been wounded severely by the conflict as doubt and fear filled the populace, and political figures like Lázaro Cárdenas, who found themselves in power following the Revolution, began to try and restore that identity.
From this turning point comes the concept of Mexicanidad, a push for Mexican pride and a reaffirming of the image of the Mexican people that was driven by the tastemakers of Mexican society in politics and media. And for Mexican men, and specifically Mexican working-class men, that evolved into an emphasis on masculinity, virility, athleticism, and what would eventually evolve into our modern conceptions of machismo.
The Television Ban That Birthed Lucha Libre Horror Films
And so came the revitalization of lucha libre, for many reasons. Wrestling as a sport had and still has a fairly low barrier to entry, making it the perfect cheap entertainment for the working class. It had previously captured the hearts of Mexican citizens as far back as the late 1800s when wrestling made its way to the country. It involved masculine displays of strength and agility, which was perfect for the Mexicanidad crowd to endorse. The sport also had a rotating cast of colorful characters, usually the same guys you saw last week but fighting with different masks on, which was the perfect draw for young audiences who soon began to see their favorite luchadors at the comic stands and in wider media.
The craze of professional wrestling spread like wildfire, and more importantly, it spread to a female audience. As female athletes became a point of cultural interest, luchadoras became a very popular element of lucha libre despite being in the minority of performers. There began a melding between the rigid roles of masculine and feminine energy, undesired by many of the political and cultural elites of mid-century Mexico.
The cultural thermometer rapidly cooled due to lucha, and in 1954, federal authorities imposed a 30-year-long ban on lucha libre on Mexican television to prevent the waters from being muddied by such “dangerous” concepts. Soon, lucha had gone from a sport beloved by all people to a brutish, lowbrow event. Which, couldn’t be further from the truth, but cultural hegemony is a hell of a drug!
CDMX’s airwaves had become a no-fly zone for masked wrestlers, and a lost media massacre ensued that caused little to no recordings of those classic matches from the 40s and 50s being kept in circulation. Whole careers had evaporated from record overnight.
But…that didn’t stop luchadors from going to the movies.
Gothic Horror Revival in Mexican Cinema
The film wasn’t just a smash hit at the box office, it was a superkick to the mouth of Mexican cinema that ended up causing a true gothic horror revival. The film’s producer and star, Abel Salazar, found enough success with the film that the Mexican market was soon saturated with gothic horror of his own design, as Hammer Horror took over the British film market.
EL SANTO, BLUE DEMON, AND THE RISE OF LUCHA LIBRE IN HORROR
Despite the television ban, you couldn’t make Mexico forget its masked heroes so easily. The two most significant of which were El Santo y Demonio Azul (more commonly referred to as Blue Demon). Well, technically both of them began as rudos (heels, or bad guys) and later became tecnicos (faces, or heroes). The point is, Santo and Blue Demon’s rivalry was a legendary one, with their masks becoming a piece of indelible Mexican iconography and recollections of their matches being burned into people’s brains.
El Santo was convinced by fellow wrestler, Fernando Osés, to join him on the set of a film he was shooting, as the recent TV ban opened up opportunities in film for wrestlers. Santo was initially signed to star in one of the first lucha films called El Enmascarado De Plata (The Man in the Silver Mask), but backed out last minute because of fears the film would fail and damage his reputation.
Santo’s actual debut pulled him into the world of monster movies that had begun to thrive in Mexico, with his first film being Santo Contra El Cerebro Del Mal (Santo vs. The Brain of Evil) in 1961. From there he went on to do Santo Contra Los Zombies (Santo vs. The Zombies), and by the time he had shot Santo vs. The Men from Hell and Santo in The Hotel of the Dead, he had been locked in as a b-horror icon.
He was of course reunited with Blue Demon throughout his career, and the two often teamed up like superheroes to fight a wide variety of fiends. Ranging from alien spiders to vampire women to Mesoamerican mummies on a rampage, there was nothing they weren’t willing to powerbomb into oblivion. Blue Demon starred in 25 films over his lifetime– Santo starred in more than 50. The two were prolific actors and artists, and despite the often irreverent nature of the films they made and the questionable quality of many of them, the two were horror icons that most of the world is simply unaware of.
Many of their films were not distributed widely, let alone localized to English-speaking territories; only a total of 4 Santo films ever got English language versions. But even if those dubs never came, we can stand and salute the wild history of b-horror that these luchador legends have given us.
Top Lucha Libre Horror Films to Watch Today
Arañas Infernales (Hellish Spiders) is a really fun piece of schlocky, monochrome, nuclear bug horror from the late 60s; the little evil alien spider puppets in this film are so doofy looking, I want ten of them. It’s pure ham and cheese as far as content goes, but it’s impossible to say it isn’t fun.
Santo y Blue Demon Contra Los Monstruos (Santo & Blue Demon vs. The Monster Men) is some oh-so-glorious technicolor nonsense that brings us a six-man grudge match between the heroes, a mummy, a werewolf, a vampire, and a Frankenstein. I don’t even have to say anything else, you know it’s too hype of a concept to turn down.
Santo Contra Las Mujeres Vampiro (Santo vs. The Vampire Women) has some genuinely unparalleled ambiance and set design, with this black and white gothic horror mixing a modernized Mexican aesthetic with the pseudo-Victorian mansion where the finale takes place. Santo dives into a nest of female vampires in white dresses to rescue a damsel in distress, and hilarity ensues. It is probably the most technically competent of all of these when it comes to its directing.
The Mummies of Guanajuato was ultimately one of if not the biggest moneymakers, as it brought the three most famous luchadores together: Santo, Blue Demon y Mil Máscaras united to put the squeeze on some mummies killing Mexican citizens. Those monsters by the way, actually look great thanks to their makeup! All the ring exhibition stuff of them wrestling in the film is impressive as well. This one is my true favorite. If I could only watch one, it would be this.
And that’s all! Well, I’m off to go watch Santo vs The Zombies again, stay chill Horror Press rea–
What’s this?
ITS EDITOR JAMES-MICHAEL WITH THE STEEL CHAIR?
HES COMING IN BECAUSE OF MY HELLBOY ARTICLE BEING TOO LONG?!
LORD HAVE MERCY!
***
Major thanks to Marjolein Van Bavel, a professor of Modern Cultural History at Radboud University, whose writing formed most of the research on the historical part of this article. She discusses luchadoras in much more detail in her article “Morbo, lucha libre, and Television: The Ban of Women Wrestlers from Mexico City in the 1950s”, which I highly recommend you check out. Her writing was one of the major resources used for this article, and as such, deserves a shoutout.
And another shoutout to Brian Schuck of Films From Beyond, who pointed me towards Doyle Green and his book Mexploitation Cinema, which is a huge resource on lucha libre in horror. Both of them are incredible, please show them some love!
And as always, good luck, and happy watching horror fans!
Movies
Menstruation Meets Mayhem: 5 Horror Films That Bleed Terror
While periods are not quite trending in horror, there are more movies than one would suspect in this niche subgenre. Obviously, Carrie’s shower scene is historical for a reason. However, using a soaked tampon as zombie bait in It Stains the Sands Red is fantastic. Even finding a gruesome murder while using a truck stop bathroom to change a tampon in Candy Land felt like relatable cinema for me as a Midwesterner. So, I thought I would pull five bloody horror movies about “Aunt Flo” going to the “Red Wedding”. These titles know that being “on the rag” is great for the genre. This is why I am cordially inviting you to step into the restroom with me so I can show you some pretty wild shit. Here are five movies that will make you hesitate the next time someone asks you what your favorite period film is.
I hate having a period. I know that is a cold take for many people who menstruate. No one enjoys the cramps, migraines, or a three to seven-day disruption from certain fun activities. Who among us is giddy when Aunt Flo arrives unless we are having a pregnancy scare? However, the thing that salts my tines the most about this painful and bloody part of life is the stigma surrounding it. Many places still charge the tampon tax. Tons of Republicans take office without understanding basic anatomy but want to regulate AFAB bodies anyway. This pisses me off, and that is why I love horror films that shove periods right in the audience’s faces. After all, menstruation is a goldmine for body horror and the perfect excuse to add buckets of blood to any movie.
While periods are not quite trending in horror, there are more movies than one would suspect in this niche subgenre. Obviously, Carrie‘s shower scene is historical for a reason. However, using a soaked tampon as zombie bait in It Stains the Sands Red is fantastic. Even finding a gruesome murder while using a truck stop bathroom to change a tampon in Candy Land felt like relatable cinema for me as a Midwesterner. So, I thought I would pull five bloody period horror movies with a visit from “Aunt Flo” or going to the “Red Wedding”. These titles know that being “on the rag” is great for the genre. This is why I am cordially inviting you to step into the restroom with me so I can show you some pretty wild shit. Here are five movies that will make you hesitate the next time someone asks you what your favorite period film is.
5 Must-Watch Horror Films That Turn Periods Into Terrifying Tales
Blue My Mind (2018)
Where You Can Watch: Prime Video and Tubi
A teen gets her period and begins to experience radical body transformations. Director and co-writer Lisa Brühlmann crafted a moody world, uninterested in playing by the rulebook. While Mia (Luna Wedler) has much bigger fish to fry than her period, I do not think we should overlook that moment in the film. It is easy to forget it in the grand scheme of things. However, nothing ushers in frightening bodily changes quite like menstruating. That moment also firmly plants this body horror movie as a unique coming-of-age tale.
Excision (2012)
Where You Can Watch: Fandango at Home, Plex, and Tubi
A high-school outcast with medical career aspirations concocts a wild plan to save her ailing sister. So much happens in this movie! There are plenty of cameos in front of this bloody backdrop, which is Pauline’s (AnnaLynne McCord) canvas. While she spends a lot of time fantasizing about blood and worrying about her sister, she does not let that stop her from cashing in her V-card. She is very upfront about her plan to lose her virginity while on her period, and she gets her bloody way. If you are looking for a movie with a period sex scene, Excision is your girl.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+, Peacock, and Shudder
Two sisters who are loners in their suburban neighborhood find their relationship changing when one gets bitten by a werewolf. No list of period films is complete without Ginger Snaps. Both Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) are teens who are so late to get their period it has become a household concern. So, it is pretty awful timing for Ginger to get hers right when her life is about to be changed forever. We love when periods are the beginning of the horror story because that is all too relatable.
Read our review of Ginger Snaps here.
Tiger Stripes (2023)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+ and Shudder
An 11-year-old girl’s world is changed when she gets her first period and begins to change into something ferocious. Writer-director Amanda Nell Eu definitely has the cutest movie on this list. I enjoyed watching Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) learn that it is okay to be different. More importantly, she learns that sometimes you need to rip a guy’s head off to get peace. This coming-of-age body horror movie has a lot of heart, and I am so glad it is finally streaming. Please insert this into your watch list to break up your steady diet of nightmare fuel.
Read our review of Tiger Strips here.
Verónica (2017)
Where You Can Watch: Netflix and Pluto TV
An evil entity attaches itself to a teen girl who made contact with a Ouija board. This Spanish film is inspired by true events and is possibly the most sinister period film on the list. Poor Verónica gets her first period while battling the demonic spirits invading her body. That is a lot for anyone to deal with at any age, and I am not surprised this movie lives rent-free in so many of our minds. If you enjoy this movie, you might want to watch the prequel Sister Death, also available on Netflix. However, in my opinion, Verónica is the better film.
Hopefully, some of these period films will leave you wanting more. If so, I suggest checking out what Alter has to add to the conversation. I also encourage you to boost filmmakers who know the real meaning of period horror.
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