This "Scream" Death Had Me Crying Into My Popcorn
WARNING: There are major spoilers for the new Scream in this post.
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Seriously, don't read further unless you've seen the movie (or you want to be spoiled)!
It wouldn't be a Scream movie without a lot of blood and gore — specifically that third-act, main-cast bloodbath — and the latest movie doesn't disappoint.
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Of course, some deaths cut deeper than others (especially if you've been watching these movies for a while). Here's where each death in the new movie falls on a scale of 1–10, 1 being the least gut-wrenching and 10 being the most.
1.That security guard on Tara's private hospital floor (.5 out of 10)
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As soon as Sheriff Judy suggested putting Tara on a private floor, I couldn't help but throw my hands up in sheer exasperation. Honestly, when has any good come from isolating someone after they've been targeted by a serial killer? Never.
This decision led to two deaths, one of which we'll get to later, the other of which is the (singular) guard watching Tara after the cops rush off to Judy's house. The only feelings I had about his death were, Well, that didn't need to happen, and Good for Tara for having the sense to try to get his gun.
2.Vince (1.5 out of 10)
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Despite being played by horror staple Kyle Gallner (he was in Jennifer's Body, The Haunting in Connecticut, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, and Red State, to name a few), Vince is a super-minor character and, frankly, kind of a dick. We barely see him before Ghostface takes him out, and just before that surprising and vicious stab to the neck, he's skeeving on Liv and threatening Chad with a knife. His death is really only significant because he's 1) the movie's first kill, and 2) original Scream killer Stu Macher's nephew.
3.Amber (2 out of 10)
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We also don't see a ton of Amber throughout the movie. She's mostly there to explain how crappy Tara's family is and accuse her friends of being the killer (before murdering/attempting to murder them). Her death sits a rung above Vince's only because she makes a great villain and is super fun to watch once she kicks off the third act. (Mikey Madison is also clearly having a great time playing a murderous psychopath.)
While it doesn't exactly pull at the heartstrings, her death is pretty gruesome. Not only do Sidney and Gale beat the snot out of her, but Sidney also smashes a (glass!) bottle of hand sanitizer onto her face, which sends her up in flames after Gale shoots her and sends her flying into the lit stovetop. (It's also led to me saying, "Fucking hand sanitizer?!" out loud to no one in particular at least once a day since seeing the movie.) Then, because the killer always comes back for one last scare, she gets shot in the head by Tara. A fitting death for the Ghostface who took out Dewey Riley.
4.Liv (3 out of 10)
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Let's face it — Liv kind of gets the short end of the stick in Scream. While her death is pretty shocking, it's mostly a way to move things forward and reveal Amber to be one of the killers.
Before that, Liv seems to be that member of the friend circle who's only there because she's dating a longtime member (Chad), and is constantly made fun of (basically she's the Jackie Burkhart of the group). She's "too boring" to be the killer, has "trash" taste in movies, and keeps getting accused of being a murderer. We don't really get to know Liv, but it's hard not to feel for her when she yells, "I'm not the killer!!" and then immediately gets a bullet to the head. At least she went quick.
5.Richie (3 out of 10)
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Richie's death is only a little sad because before we find out he's the living embodiment of toxic fandom (and either a creep or a pedophile, depending on Amber's age), he's very charming and funny, which can, presumably, be chalked up to Jack Quaid's natural charm and humor.
In the end, though, nothing could save Richie from Sam's wrath, and after a well-deserved knife through both cheeks, he gets stabbed so many times I lost count. He manages to sputter a "What about my ending?" before Sam delivers it in the form of a cut throat (and a few bullets for good measure).
6.Wes (7 out of 10)
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This one was rough to watch. As his mom, Judy, points out, Wes is a good boy who hasn't done anything wrong. He clearly genuinely cares about Tara's well-being and helps out around the house by setting the table. His only real crime is gently accusing Dewey of being the killer.
After a quick nod to Psycho and a very tense scene that includes a lot of opening and closing of doors we expect Ghostface to be behind, we have to watch Wes, just inches from his pepper spray and taser, succumb to a knife slowly being pushed through his throat — slowly enough that he has time to think about how his mom is going to have to find his body.
7.Judy (8 out of 10)
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Of course, Wes has no idea that Judy has been killed just moments before. Judy's death was one of the more unexpected (at least for me), especially because it happens in broad daylight. After toying with her over the phone, Ghostface leaps out from her front porch and stabs her again and again just as she's about to run into the house.
I don't know about you, but for me, her "I'm coming, Wes!" is one of the saddest lines in the whole movie. Just like Wes's last moments are likely spent thinking about his mom, Judy's last moments are spent wondering whether or not her son is safe.
8.Dewey (10 out of 10)
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This one hurt. A lot. I (and a lot of fans, judging from what I've seen on social media) knew it was coming, but oof. There are literal tears in my eyes even as I write this.
Dewey's death was not only extremely emotional, but brutal as well. After helping save Tara (who, again, is on a private hospital floor for some reason) and shooting Ghostface in the chest a few times, he goes back to finish the job, because he remembers the rule: Shoot them in the head, or they will come back.
Unfortunately, Ghostface remembers another rule: "Wear the vest, save your chest." After Dewey is distracted by his ringing phone — which, devastatingly, turns out to be a call from Gale — Ghostface guts him with not one but two knives.
There are so many reasons Dewey's death is the saddest of all. David Arquette made sure Dewey was one of the most likable characters in the franchise — so much so that he wasn't even supposed to survive the original Scream, but pulled through in the end because test audiences loved him so much.
He's been with us since the beginning, and he's survived a lot. We've just come to expect that he'll make it through a Scream movie, because that's what he does. Despite being stabbed in the first two movies, nearly blown up in the third movie, and hit in the head numerous times with a bedpan in the fourth one, he's always managed to get by — until now.
Even sadder, just before he died, he had his final moments with Gale, during which they said all the things they didn't say when they split up. Was it a clear sign that something very, very bad was about to happen? Yes. Did I still cry? Yes. At least he got to see Gale one last time.
