'Scream VI' spoilers! Sorry, Ghostface, this character is the franchise's best killer

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
·4 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Spoiler alert! The following post discusses the ending of the new movie "Scream VI," so beware if you haven't seen it yet.

Another Ghostface has been unmasked in “Scream VI” (in theaters now), but it’s becoming clear that, at least right now in the meta horror franchise, the best killer is actually a heroine with an intriguing dark side.

Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) is targeted for death by a vengeful family in the new sixth film after moving from Woodsboro to New York City with sister Tara (Jenna Ortega). But while Ghostface left a bloody trail, it was Sam who had the last gnarly kill.

Who was behind the Ghostface mask in ‘Scream VI’?

As usual, Ghostface causes bloody chaos but gets a comeuppance by the end in "Scream VI."
As usual, Ghostface causes bloody chaos but gets a comeuppance by the end in "Scream VI."

In the “requel” 2022 “Scream,” two psychopaths on a murderous spree wearing the Ghostface masks were revealed as Sam’s boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid) and his partner Amber (Mikey Madison), crazed fans of the movie-within-the-movie “Stab” series who wanted to be the inspiration for a new reboot. Sam stopped Richie's carnage by killing him while Tara took out her ex-best friend Amber.

And like the sequel to the original 1996 “Scream,” the villains of “Scream VI” are related to the one before it: This time, Richie’s cop dad Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) was the mastermind and his kids Quinn (Liana Liberato) and Ethan (Jack Champion) – who worked their way into Sam and Tara’s friend group – were under the mask wanting revenge for their sibling's death.

But the new baddies aren’t the greatest at completing a task

Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) is not the most heroic cop ever in "Scream VI."
Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) is not the most heroic cop ever in "Scream VI."

Just like the Ghostfaces before them, the “Scream VI” antagonists are dangerous yet eventually get their comeuppance. This new crew, in one of the most brutal films in the franchise, takes out a copycat killer (Tony Revolori), Mindy’s girlfriend (Devyn Nekoda) and others during their reign of terror.

However, when it comes to eliminating main characters they’re … not great. They attack, stab viciously and leave for dead twins Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding), FBI agent Kirby Reed ("Scream 4" returnee Hayden Panettiere) and newswoman Gale Weathers (original “Scream” star Courteney Cox) but their victims all survive in the end, so they get an F for execution. And although they trap Sam and Tara in a shrine to all things Ghostface, the fighting siblings aren’t easily dispatched and instead eliminate their assailants.

Melissa Barrera’s character is a ‘Scream’ queen John Wick

There's an unpredictable dark streak in Sam (Melissa Barrera) given her infamous dad.
There's an unpredictable dark streak in Sam (Melissa Barrera) given her infamous dad.

OG franchise heroine Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) shot and even electrocuted some Ghostfaces in her day, though Sam has her beat. In the 2022 film, she stabs Richie several times and, having apparently attended the John Wick School for Making Sure People Die, shoots him in the head so he doesn’t get up again. Sam outdoes herself in “Scream VI,” donning a Ghostface mask and robe to toy with Bailey before ultimately driving a knife into his eye.

That last bit ties into what makes Sam so intriguing in the “Scream” universe: She’s the illegitimate daughter of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), Sidney’s boyfriend and one of the original Ghostfaces in the ’96 film, and while she protects her sister and friends, there does definitely seem to be something sinister roiling inside her.

Might the good girl go bad in future 'Scream' movies?

Sam has a talk with her shrink about how she really felt about stabbing her evil boyfriend – “It felt right,” she admits – and often sees visions of her dad, who eggs her on to embrace that side of herself. And Barrera tells USA TODAY that she purposely leans into that duality in her performance: “I like to play into that mystery so that I plant seeds of doubt in the audience. They don't know what's going to happen. I think it's fun.”

After surviving the epic finale of “Scream VI,” Sam looks longingly at Billy’s original Ghostface mask in her hands before dropping it on the street. But what if she's pulled to it just like her dear ol' dad? That would be a most killer reveal, if she truly breaks bad and is found to be under the infamous headwear in the future as a villainous Ghostface. It could be the franchise’s greatest meta twist ever.

Read more about scary movies:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Scream 6' spoilers! Why this character is franchise's best killer