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Scream (1996 film) (view source)

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{{work}}{{cleanup|This page has info from the entire series placed here that should be moved to their appropriate pages.}}
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[[File:Screammovie1.jpg|frame]]
 
{{quote|''Don't Answeranswer Thethe Doordoor, Dondon't Leaveleave Thethe Househouse, Dondon't Answeranswer Thethe Phonephone, Butbut Mostmost Ofof Allall, Dondon't [[Title Drop|SCREAM]].''|Tagline}}
 
In 1996, director [[Wes Craven]] (of ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' fame) and writer [[Kevin Williamson]] (who would go on to make ''[[Dawson's Creek]]'' and ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'') decided to make a film to [[Genre Killer|end]] the [[Slasher Movie|slasher genre]] once and for all. A peaceful town in California turns into a bloodbath when a masked killer haunts the town. Sidney Prescott ([[Neve Campbell]]), a young teenage girl whose mother was killed a year before, becomes the target of the masked killer! Her boyfriend Billy Loomis ([[Skeet Ulrich]]) becomes the main suspect, along with Sidney's father. Local tabloid news reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Woodsboro's Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley ([[David Arquette]]) investigate and try to figure out who the killer is and if it's the same person who killed Sid's mom the year before.
 
It ended up being a success, and doing the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do by giving new life to the slasher genre.
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In addition to all the copycats, ''Scream'' was able to spawn three sequels of its own. While none of them are ''quite'' as fondly remembered as the original, they all have their fans.
* ''[[Scream 2]]'', released in 1997, had the surviving characters [[California University|moving on to college]], while dealing with a sudden [[Fifteen Minutes of Fame]] thanks to both [[If It Bleeds, It Leads|the media coverage]] of the killings and ''Stab'', the [[Ripped from the Headlines]] slasher flick made about the event. Just as the original satirized slashers, the second film satirized the genre's obsession with [[Sequel|sequels]], and all their related tropes.
* ''[[Scream 3]]'', released in 2000, concluded the original trilogy and moved the action to Hollywood, where a third ''Stab'' film is being made. This film targeted trilogies and [[Horrible Hollywood|the inner workings of the film industry]], and is the only film in the series not written by Kevin Williamson. It's usually treated as the [[Black Sheep]] of the series, with weaker writing and [[Sliding Scale of Comedy and Horror|less of the series' trademark humor]], although of course, [[Your Mileage May Vary]].
* Finally, ''[[Scream 4]]'' (or ''[[Letters 2 Numbers|Scre4m]]''), released in 2011, brought the action back to Woodsboro, dealt with the legacy of the original trilogy, and parodied the [[Torture Porn|various]] [[Found Footage Films|trends]] in horror that have cropped up in the decade since the last ''Scream'' movie -- namely, the recent surge of [[Remake|remakes]] and [[Continuity Reboot|reboots]] of classic horror series. While it was decently received by critics and fans, its disappointing box office returns<ref>The three previous films took in upwards of $100 million each domestically, but this one didn't even reach that amount with domestic and overseas grosses ''combined''. On the other hand, it only cost about $40 million to make.</ref> may have [[Franchise Killer|short-circuited]] its attempt to restart the franchise with a new trilogy.
* A [http://tvline.com/2012/06/03/scream-tv-series-mtv/[Scream A(TV series)|TV show]] based on the franchise is currently in developmentdeveloped by] [[MTV]] started airing in 2015.
 
[[Troper|Tropers]]s like us owe a substantial amount of our hobby to the film. Whole-heartedly about lampshading and deconstructing tropes, it was one of the first major, mainstream films to do this since ''[[Airplane!]]'', while remaining grounded in reality this time and exploring a whole new genre to boot. It's also notable for predating ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' by a few months when it came to having sarcastic, [[Genre Savvy]] teenagers in a [[Post Modernism|post-modern]] [[Horror]] setting.
 
----
{{tropenamer}}
* [[Gutted Like a Fish]]
 
{{franchisetropes|page=Scream}}
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{{tropelist}}
== Series In General ==
* [[Action Girl]]: Sidney, being a [[Final Girl]], has her moments.
* [[All-Star Cast]]: It certainly qualifies, particularly the sequels.
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** Sidney as well, when you consider that she's basically destined to spend the rest of her life being periodically attacked and having all her friends killed by nutjobs attempting to imitate the previous killers.
* [[Conversational Troping]]
* [[Creator Cameo]]: Director Wes Craven hasmakes the first of his brief cameos inthrough allout the films., Inappearing thehere first, he'sas the school janitor [[Shout-Out|Fred]]; in the second, he plays(wearing a doctorvery inrecognizable the[[A hospital;Nightmare inon theElm third,Street|hat he'sand onestriped of the tourists on the movie lot.sweater]])
** Also had a cameo in the fourth, but it ended up on the cutting room floor.
** Additionally, writer Kevin Williamson appeared as a man interviewing Cotton Weary in the second film.
* [[Dead Star Walking]]: A tradition for the films is to have a big-name actor in the opening scene, only to kill them off within fifteen minutes. The first film had [[Drew Barrymore]] in this role, the second had [[Black Dude Dies First|Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett]] (and later killed off [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|the Slayer herself]], [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]]), the third had [[Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome|Liev Schreiber]], and the fourth one has ''<breathes in>'' [[Lucy Hale]], [[Beverly Hills, 90210|Shenae Grimes]], [[Kristen Bell]], [[Anna Paquin]], [[Friday Night Lights|Aimee Teegarden]] and [[The Secret Circle|Brittany Robertson]].
** YMMV on the fourth one, in terms of the word "star."
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** Sidney evolves into a [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstruction]] of this trope as the series progresses, what with her life coming to be defined by the trauma suffered by her and those close to her thanks to her "perpetual victimhood."
** Jill in the fourth film {{spoiler|is arguably among the greatest subversions ''ever''. She masterminded the killings and planned to frame someone else for it so that she could play this trope and get her [[Fifteen Minutes of Fame]], much like her cousin Sidney did.}}
* [[Floating Head Syndrome]]: The first film helped to popularize the use of this trope with horror movies, and all of the sequels indulged in it as well. This trope is so attached to the series that, when the fourth film [https://web.archive.org/web/20110310192647/http://www.joblo.com/arrow/index.php?id=26950 finally released a "floating head" poster] (even if it's only the Mexican poster), the fans were ecstatic that it was following series tradition.
* [[Follow the Leader]]: ''[[The Faculty]]'', which essentially did for sci-fi horror what ''Scream'' did for the slasher genre.
** Which makes some sense, as it was written by the same screenwriter.
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* [[White Mask of Doom]]: Ghostface.
 
{{tropelist}}
 
== ''Scream'' ==
* [[Ax Crazy]]: {{spoiler|Billy and Stu.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Big Bad Duumvirate]] - Billy and Stu are the ones that issue the killings as Ghostface.}}
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* [[Viewer Stock Phrases]]: "Look behind you!" is played with in the sequence where Randy watches ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]]'' and says this to [[Jamie Lee Curtis]] in the movie -- but also, unknowingly, to himself, as the killer is approaching him from behind. Meanwhile, a couple of people in a van outside, watching the exchange on a video camera, are saying the same thing to him. However, because the video they're watching is on a time delay, and whatever is going to happen is already over, they are powerless to help him -- just as Randy cannot change what happens in ''Halloween'', and the ''Scream'' audience [[Post Modernism|can't change what happens in the movie]] ''[[Post Modernism|they're]]'' [[Post Modernism|watching]]. Whew!
** Played with even more when Randy says, "Look behind you, Jamie!" He's talking to [[Jamie Lee Curtis]], but guess what the actor playing Randy is named?
 
== ''Scream 2'' ==
* [[Aborted Arc]]: Gale sets-up the idea that the killings behind the new Ghostface Killer is a copy cat to the original victims but it goes nowhere.
** This might have been an in-universe example of [[Creative Differences]]. {{spoiler|Mickey}} wanted to create a [[Real Life]] sequel to the Woodsboro murders but {{spoiler|Mrs. Loomis}} was only doing this to {{spoiler|avenge her son's death}}.
* [[All Part of the Show]]: The death of Jada Pinkett's character is mistaken for this by the crowd in the theater, who thinks it's a publicity stunt.
* [[Analogy Backfire]]: After {{spoiler|Mickey}} compares himself to the killer from the first film, {{spoiler|Billy Loomis}};
{{quote|'''Sidney''': Yeah, well you're forgetting one thing about {{spoiler|Billy Loomis}}?
''' {{spoiler|Mickey}}''' What's that?
'''Sidney''': [[Beware the Nice Ones|I fucking KILLED him!]] }}
* [[Avenging the Villain]]: {{spoiler|Mrs. Loomis.}}
* [[Ax Crazy]]: {{spoiler|Mickey and Mrs. Loomis.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Big Bad Duumvirate]] - Mickey and Mrs. Loomis shared the role of Ghostface in this film}}.
* [[Big Damn Hero]]: {{spoiler|Cotton.}}
* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: Done, and [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]].
* [[California University]]: Though Windsor College sounds like a fictional California college, the college in the film is in Ohio, both established in script and on the film.
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Derek's Greek letters.
* [[Cherry Tapping]]: Sidney shoots {{spoiler|Mrs Loomis}} in the head after commenting that they ''always'' come back;
{{quote|'''Sidney''': ''[[Dangerously Genre Savvy|Just in case]]''}}
* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: Arguably, {{spoiler|Randy}}.
* [[If It Bleeds, It Leads]]: The killer {{spoiler|(at least, one of them)}} planned on invoking this in order to get himself media publicity and a sensational trial.
* [[Murder Simulators]]: A discussion in a film class early on has several characters debating whether or not violent slasher flicks turn people violent. Later, the killer plans on blaming his killing spree on said slasher movies (such as the newly-released ''Stab''), invoking this trope in order to create a sensational trial and get the [[Moral Guardians]] on his side.
* [[Oh Crap]]: Sidney's expression when Ghostface turns off the voice changer and speaks with {{spoiler|Mickey}}'s voice.
* [[Sacrificial Lion]]: {{spoiler|Randy.}}
* [[Sequel Escalation]]: Provides the page quote, too!
{{quote|'''Randy:''' "There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate — more blood, more gore. Carnage candy."}}
* [[Sequel Hook]]: The film was originally supposed to include a shot of the masked killer in the bell tower as the camera pulls back in the final shot, but this was never done.
* [[Sequelitis]]: Discussed in-universe in a scene in a film class, with Randy claiming that "sequels suck" and destroyed the horror genre. To prove his point, he and Cici ask their fellow classmates to name sequels that are [[Even Better Sequel|better than the originals]]. Yes, this discussion is being had [[Post Modernism|in a horror sequel]].
* [[Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome]]: {{spoiler|Randy.}}
* [[You Bastard]]: The whole point of the intro.
* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: {{spoiler|Mickey is killed by Mrs. Loomis for this purpose.}}
 
 
== ''Scream 3'' ==
* [[Arc Welding]]: The killer, {{spoiler|Roman}}, reveals that {{spoiler|he}} was the one who originally convinced {{spoiler|Billy and Stu}} to start killing, making {{spoiler|him}} directly responsible for the events of the first movie and indirectly responsible for the second.
* {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]] - Roman was the one that convinced Billy and Stu to become killers in the first film, and was indirectly responsible for Mrs. Loomis wanting to avenge Billy's death, plus Mickey, Jill ''and'' Charles fame-seeking motivation for being the next Ghostfaces. Furthermore, Roman was the lone Ghostface killer in the third film, so one could arguably consider him as the Biggest Bad for the series, at least for the original trilogy. }}
* [[The Blade Always Lands Pointy End In]]: Subverted when {{spoiler|Ghostface throws his knife at Dewey, and it hits him on the handle side. It still hurts enough for him to fall down the stairs.}}
* [[Cameo]]:
** [[View Askewniverse|Jay and Silent Bob]] appear on the movie set of ''Stab 3''. In their own films, they interrupt the filming of a fictional ''Scream'' sequel.
** [[Roger Corman]] also has a cameo as a studio executive.
** In-universe, Cotton Weary shoots a cameo for ''Stab 3'' [[As Himself]].
** [[Heather Matarazzo]] appears as Randy's sister.
** Carrie Fisher appears ... as a woman who is always mistaken for Carrie Fisher, and is very annoyed by it. She also accuses Carrie Fisher of [[Casting Couch|sleeping with George Lucas]] to get the role.
* [[Chekhov's Gun|Chekhov's Handgun:]] This little dialogue says it all.
{{quote|'''Kincaid:''' (hands Dewey his pistol) Take this GET THE SON OF A BITCH!! {{spoiler|he does get him.}}}}
* [[Dawson Casting]]: Happens in-universe. Sarah is 35 years old, but her character in ''Stab 3'', [[Red Shirt|Candy]], is only 21.
* [[Death by Sex]]:
** Lampshaded by Randy, who taped a video {{spoiler|prior to his death [[Crazy Prepared|just in case]], and blames what became his eventual death in the last film on the fact that he had sex with a girl in the video store.}}
** One of the most [[Egregious]] instances ever: {{spoiler|Angelina}} gets killed literally ''seconds'' after {{spoiler|revealing that she [[Casting Couch|slept with the producer]] to get the role}}. ''Damn'', do the rules strike fast! Doubles as a [[Death by Irony]], since {{spoiler|Angelina played [[Final Girl]] Sidney in ''Stab 3'', and yet she herself failed to follow the rules that Final Girls are to obey}} (but then again, so did Sidney herself in the first film).
* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: Cotton.
* [[Dumb Blonde]]: Sarah, who mistakenly believes that ''[[Psycho]]'''s famous shower scene was in ''[[Vertigo]]'' instead.
* [[Frying Pan of Doom]]
* [[Genre Savvy]]: Dewey tells Gale that a woman called WPD asking for the file on Sidney's whereabouts, [[Blatant Lies|for research]]. The cops said no and the woman refused to give out her name. Dewey removes Sidney's file to be safe. The police station later gets broken into and ransacked by someone looking for the file and to an extent Sidney.
* [[Horrible Hollywood]]
* [[Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday]]: It's Roman's birthday.
* [[The Ingenue]]: Angelina. {{spoiler|[[Subverted Trope|It's all just an act, though.]] Underneath this persona, she's actually [[Nice Character, Mean Actor|a foul-tempered bitch]] who [[Casting Couch|slept with the producer]] to get the role of Sidney in ''Stab 3''.}}
* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]: Liev Schreiber (as Cotton Weary) has a cameo at the beginning. He is talking on the phone with his agent, complaining that the only gig he could get is a cameo at the beginning of ''Stab 3''.
** Also, the ''Stab 3'' cast can't predict their characters' fate: the script is being kept under wraps to avoid it being leaked on the Internet. This happened during the production of ''Scream 2'', and ''may'' have lead Craven & co. to change that movie's outcome: {{spoiler|in a leaked version, Derek and Hallie were the killers.}}
* [[Lighter and Softer]]: De-emphasized explicit violence in favor of humor, due to being made post-Columbine.
* [[Made of Iron]]: Randy's "trilogy rules" state that, at the ends of trilogies, the killers become supernaturally strong and tough, and can only be killed through [[Off with His Head|decapitation]], [[Human Popsicle|cryogenic freezing]] or other extreme means. As it turns out, he's partly right. The killer is able to survive multiple gun shots, {{spoiler|because he's wearing a bullet-proof vest}}.
* [[Murder Simulators]]: One of the producers of ''Stab 3'' notes how violence in cinema has become a touchy subject recently; the unstated-yet-obvious cause of this is the fact that, a year before, the [[Columbine]] massacre took place. They also speculate that Cotton's murder may have been by a deranged fan.
{{quote|'''Milton:''' Detectives, there's no reason to presume that Cotton's death had anything to do with this movie, is there?
'''Kincaid's Partner:''' He was making a movie called ''Stab''. [[Deadpan Snarker|He was stabbed.]] }}
* [[Needle in a Stack of Needles]]: The killer conceals their location by hiding in a rack of Ghostface costumes.
* [[Not Afraid of You Anymore]]: In the beginning, Sidney is revealed to be living as a recluse, convinced it is the only way to stay safe from psychotic killers from coming after her, and killing those around her. She lives in the middle of nowhere, locks and sets an alarm on her gate before locking and setting the alarm for her house. In the end, in a moment that is both [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|awesome]] and [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|touching]] {{spoiler|She leaves her gate open behind her, and doesn't set the alarm for her house. When the wind blows the door open, she looks at it and walks away.}}
* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: Kincaid's partner is easily one of the most entertaining character's in the film, but gets less screentime than most of the others.
* [[The Other Darrin]]: In-universe, ''Stab 3'' sees the replacement of Tori Spelling as Sidney with Angelina Tyler.
* [[Red Herring]]: {{spoiler|Detective Kincaid}} is implied a number of times to be the killer, in fact, his innocence leads to a [[Plot Hole]]/[[What Happened to the Mouse?]] incident. It was never explained how the real killer got Sidney's phone number, and {{spoiler|Kincaid}} used Dewey's phone just before the scene in which Sidney gets the phone call from the killer. And it doesn't explain why he had all those newspaper clippings on Sidney in his desk, but the ending shows him now all chummy with the main three.
* [[Secret Keeper]]: Sidney is living as a recluse, convinced it's the only way to stay safe. The only people who know where she is are her father and Dewey.
* [[Shipper on Deck]]: When Kincaid is leaving Wallace behind to investigate Sunrise Studio alone, Wallace jokingly accuses him of going to buy flowers and candy for Sidney.
* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: The killer {{spoiler|Roman explains that he is Sidney's half-brother}}, and fires off a bunch of reasons as to why he committed the murders. Sidney then cuts him off, saying she's tired of all the bullshit that the killers she has encountered have told her, and says that all of the reasons she has heard are just pathetic excuses that the killers use to hide the fact that they kill people [[For the Evulz|simply because they enjoy doing it]]. This leads to a rather large [[Villainous Breakdown]].
* [[Stage Names]]: It's revealed that Sidney's mother Maureen was a failed actress who went by Rina Reynolds. In the same scene, it's also revealed that Jennifer's real name is Judy Jurgenstern.
* [[Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome]]: {{spoiler|Cotton.}}
* [[Tempting Fate]]:
{{quote|'''Sarah:''' Guys, we are not in any danger.
'''Tyson:''' "We are not in any danger," says Candy, page 15. }}
* [[That Makes Me Feel Angry]]: Played with. Disguised as {{spoiler|Dewey}}, the killer has a phone conversation with {{spoiler|Jennifer Jolie's bodyguard}} while {{spoiler|he's looking through Dewey's trailer}}. When he insults "{{spoiler|Dewey}}" over the phone, the killer responds with "That makes me... angry!" (with a definitive emphasis of rage on that last word), while bursting in and stabbing {{spoiler|him}} in the back.
* [[Theme Naming]]: A number of characters ([[Angelina Jolie]] [[Liv Tyler|Tyler]], [[Jennifer Aniston]] [[Angelina Jolie|Jolie]], [[Tom Cruise]] [[wikipedia:Freddy Prinze Jr|Prinze]]) are named after real-life actors. Fitting, since the characters are actors themselves, and in Jennifer's case it's actually a [[Stage Names]].
* [[Throwing Your Sword Always Works]]: When Dewey catches the the killer by surprise, he retaliates by throwing his knife at Dewey... {{spoiler|though it's hilariously averted as the handle side hits him square in the forehead.}}
* [[Tonight Someone Dies]]: Randy mentions that the rules of the trilogy mean that someone big is going to die before it's over. {{spoiler|He's wrong though, Sidney, Gale, and Dewey all live.}}
* [[Video Will]]: {{spoiler|Randy's tape}}, also counts as [[The Tape Knew You Would Say That]] somehow
* [[Wild Mass Guessing]]: The cast of ''Stab 3'', since they don't have the full scripts for the movie (to keep the ending from being leaked), indulges in this while on-set. Angelina (the actress who plays Movie!Sidney) speculates that her character might even be the killer this time.
 
== ''Scream 4'' or ''Scre4m'' ==
* [[Actor Allusion]]: Gale and Rebecca's conversation has Rebecca bring up how surprised she is that Gale and Dewey's marriage worked as well in real life as it did in the ''Stab'' movies. The actors who play Gale and Dewey, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, are married. Also becomes [[Harsher in Hindsight]] when one remembers that the two of them separated not long after filming on ''Scream 4'' was wrapped -- and that the main thrust of Dewey and Gale's story is that [[Life Imitates Art|their marriage is falling apart]].
* [[Anyone Can Die]]: The marketing has strongly teased the possibility of series regulars getting killed off. {{spoiler|They don't, though all of them come close.}}
* [[Ax Crazy]]: {{spoiler|Jill Roberts.}} Perhaps more so than any of the previous Ghostfaces.
** {{spoiler|[[Kristen Bell|Chloe]] may count as well, considering that she brutally stabbed [[Anna Paquin|Rachel]] over [[Serious Business|talking too much during Stab 6.]]}}
* {{spoiler|[[Big Bad Duumvirate]] - Jill and Charlie are the joint-killers that donned the Ghostface identity here, the latter for his love towards Jill, and the former to make herself a "sole-surviving hero", getting the fame that comes with the title}}.
* [[Bond One-Liner]]
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Sidney''': You forgot the first rule of remakes, Jill: Don't fuck with the original.}}}}
* {{spoiler|[[Bury Your Gays]]: Played for laughs. Robbie states that being gay is probably the only way to survive a horror film. Later when Ghostface attacks him, he admits he's gay thinking it will save him. It doesn't.}}
* [[Casting Gag]]: Erik Knudsen not only was in the second chapter of the ''[[Saw]]'' saga, though the forth chapter is mocked in the [[Show Within a Show|the Stab openings]], but also starred in the CBS TV show ''[[Jericho]]'' the lead of which was none other than Skeet Ulrich, who played Billy Loomis in the first ''Scream''. And even more surprising or by sheer coincidence, his name in ''Scream 4'' is named Robbie Mercer, which sounds a lot like the name of the character (Bobby Mercer) in ''[[Four Brothers]]'' who was played by [[Mark Wahlberg]] and who is the brother of Donnie Wahlberg of [[New Kids on the Block]] fame who played Knudsen's father in the second Saw film and is Mark's brother.
* [[Cash Cow Franchise]]: While ''[[Film Within a Film|Stab]]'' was entering this with the third installment (the first not based on real life murders), the fact that it got to 7 installments - one of which has ''time travel'' - shows it went down the "grab a quick buck" path rather easily.
* [[Continuity Nod]]: {{spoiler|The girl in the beginning getting crushed by a garage door}}.
* [[The Danza]]: Emma Roberts' character is named Jill Roberts.
* [[Death by Sex]]: Apparently, averted. The trailer states that "the rules have changed. Virgins can die now." [[Never Trust a Trailer|In the trailer]]<ref>but [[Manipulative Editing|not in the movie itself]] -- the two scenes aren't anywhere near each other</ref>, this is then promptly used by Kirby for a [[Take That]] at the girls sitting next to her:
{{quote|"Does that mean I'm not gonna live as long as these two?"}}
** {{spoiler|The answer seems to be "Yes," but it's never ''definitely'' stated she gets it, except by Jill -- who has a vested interest in her being dead, and who wasn't on the scene when it happened so it's likely she's only assuming it's such. And since Kirby [[Ensemble Darkhorse|went down well with fans]] - being played by [[Hayden Panettiere]] didn't hurt - the possibility of her [[Not Quite Dead|coming back]] cannot be ruled out. Especially as unlike virtually every other victim throughout the series the last time we see Kirby ''she's still alive...''}}
** {{spoiler|If Kirby actually died, it's a weird inversion - she died for ''not having'' sex (with the eventual murderer of all people, as a [[Moment Killer]] ruined their advances on each other)}}
* [[Distaff Counterpart]]: Kirby, for Randy from the original.
* {{spoiler|[[Downer Ending]]: Yes, in the end, Jill and Charlie's plans are foiled. However, all the new characters, save for Judy<ref>and arguably Kirby</ref>, are dead. Sidney, Dewey, and Gale come out injured and broken. The media are convinced that Jill is a hero, and one wonders how Sidney is going to take having to tell the world that her own family member was playing them all like fiddles, and was committing the murders herself.}}
* [[Drinking Game]]: At the ''Stabathon''.
* [[Evil Is Hammy]]: {{spoiler|Jill, especially in the scene where she's [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit|self-harming to make herself look like a victim of the killer]].}}
* [[Evil Plan]]: The events of the film were all planned out by {{spoiler|Jill, who wanted to kill Sidney, frame Trevor, betray Charlie, and come out the [[Final Girl]] of the movie so that she could have the same fame and hero worship that Sidney got for surviving her first three ordeals}}. The [[Moral Event Horizon]] is crossed when {{spoiler|she decides that, in order to be more convincing and sympathetic, she had to kill off her own mother, in addition to Sidney. Considering her mother is [[Mary McDonnell]], Jill and the movie itself cross a [[Moral Event Horizon]] when she succeeds, though [[Your Mileage May Vary]].}}
* [[Executive Meddling]]: It apparently underwent a lot of this from the Weinsteins before its release, including most of the script changes.
* [[Fan Service]]: Putting [[Lucy Hale]], [[Beverly Hills, 90210|Shenae]] [[Degrassi|Grimes]], [[Anna Paquin]], [[Veronica Mars|Kristen Bell]], [[Friday Night Lights (TV series)|Aimee Teegarden]], [[Life Unexpected|Brittany Robertson]], [[Community|Alison Brie]], [[Hayden Panettiere]], [[Emma Roberts]], [[Grindhouse|Marley Shelton]] and a [[Christmas Cake|still-sexy]] [[Party of Five|Neve Campbell]] and [[Friends|Courteney]] [[Cougar Town|Cox]] in the same movie defines the term, even if many of them are [[Cannon Fodder|bumped off]] before (and in {{spoiler|Emma's}} case, during) the finale. The only survivors, other than [[Plot Armor|guess who]], are Kristen (who was actually in the movie within the movie), {{spoiler|Marley, and possibly Hayden.}}
** And as for Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere [[Les Yay|sharing a bed]], ''thank you.''
* [[Fan Disservice]]: Subverted. Just before {{spoiler|Olivia}} is killed off she undresses and is seen in her underwear. However she puts a baggy sweater on thus eliminating the Disservice element.
* [[Fifteen Minutes of Fame]]: {{spoiler|Jill's motivation for the killings.}}
* [[Show Within a Show|Film Within A Film]]: ''Stab 6'' within ''Stab 7'' within ''Scream 4'', with a reappearance of ''Stab 1'' halfway through the film.
** Apparently Stab 3 did get made, and it was based off of Scream 3. So it was about the original actors, played be new actors, trying to make Stab 3 and dying, while Sid, Gale, and Dewey, all played by new actors, investigated the deaths. It was a movie within a movie within a movie. And it couldn't have made much sense.
** [[Noodle Incident|Stab 5 was the worst, with all that time travel stuff.]]
* [[Groin Attack]]: {{spoiler|Jill to Trevor. With a ''gunshot''.}}
* [[Groundhog Day Loop]]: It has got to start feeling that way to poor Sid. The sad part is {{spoiler|with Jill and Charlie donning the mask for reasons that have almost no connection to the original murders, it's unlikely that it's ever going to stop. There will always be psychopaths who go after Sidney because she's famous for being the ultimate [[Final Girl]]. She'll probably be dodging killers and watching people die until her old age. Luckily she has gotten very, very good at it.}}
* [[It Runs in The Family]]: One of the killers, {{spoiler|Charlie, is played by Rory Culkin. The brother of Macaully Culkin, who has played a sociopathic killer not once but twice, in ''[[The Good Son]]'' and ''Party Monster''.}}
** As of this movie, might also be the case in-universe with the {{spoiler|Roberts}} family. Both {{spoiler|Sidney’s half-brother Roman and first cousin Jill}} turn out to be psychopathic murderers.
* [[The Ladette]]: Kirby, a brash, [[Deadpan Snarker|snarky]], tomboyish horror buff who makes the first move on a timid boy she's into.
* [[Made of Iron]]: Holy crap, {{spoiler|Jill. The girl scratches herself, pulls out her hair, stabs herself in the shoulder, runs her face into a glass picture frame, and then throws herself through a glass coffee table. At the hospital she's still able to start up another rampage, nearly killing Sidney and Dewey. A defibrillator to the head only momentarily slows her down. It isn't until she shot directly in the heart that she stops. She's}} probably the toughest killer yet.
* [[Moment Killer]]: Oh, Trevor, why did you interrupt the geek getting the girl?
* [[Eucatastrophe]]: {{spoiler|Jill nearly gets away with her plan, except a) Sidney survives her attack and b) she mentions how she and Gale have matching wounds, despite the fact that [[Something Only the Culprit Would Know|she should have no way of knowing that]].}}
* [[No Export for You]]: You want to hear more of [[Wes Craven]], [[Hayden Panettiere]] and/or [[Emma Roberts]]? Luckily they're on the [[DVD Commentary]] track (as is Neve Campbell, who literally phones in her contribution)... what's that? You live in the UK? And it's not included on the Region 2 release, either on the DVD or blu-ray? Well, if you don't have a multiregion player...
* [[Not Quite Dead]]: {{spoiler|A rare heroic example -- Sidney, who was presumed to have been killed, managed to survive after all.}} [[Wild Mass Guessing]] also claims that {{spoiler|Kirby}} may have survived. There also seems to be hope for {{spoiler|Robbie}}.
** {{spoiler|Alas, Robbie is confirmed ''on screen'' to be with his ancestors, complete with body on view. Kirby, on the other hand, may indeed be [[He's Just Hiding|just hiding]].}}
* [[Offhand Backhand]]: {{spoiler|Sydney pulls one by casually turning and shooting an attacking [[Not Quite Dead]] Jill with a handgun.}}
* [[Oh Crap]]: Gale and Dewey upon realizing that {{spoiler|Jill is the killer}}.
* {{spoiler|[[Outlaw Couple]]}}: {{spoiler|Charlie thought that he and Jill}} were this. Unfortunately for him, {{spoiler|Jill was looking to play the [[Final Girl]] instead. Emphasis on ''[[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|Final]]''.}}
* [[Playing Against Type]]: {{spoiler|[[Emma Roberts]] - and then some - as Jill.}}
* [[Plot Armor]]: Discussed in regards to Sidney. {{spoiler|She still has it.}}
* [[Police Are Useless]]: Hoss and Perkins are nowhere to be found while {{spoiler|Olivia is being stabbed to death.}} Really, any cop in this series not named Dewey is pretty much hopeless.
** They even note that police in horror films tend to be worthless, and die. {{spoiler|Their right on both counts.}}
* [[Polish the Turd]]: Parodied in the cast/crew section on the film's website, where all of the actors' bios are heavily glowing, praising their careers. When you read the one for David Arquette, however, you realize that the whole thing's a joke.
{{quote|David Arquette is an actor, writer, director and producer whose unique sensibility makes him one of the most versatile talents working in the entertainment industry today, able to segue from comedy to drama with extraordinary ease. This makes David Arquette extremely uncomfortable, because of the fact that he is writing this bio himself and it seems arrogant to boast about his incredible talents in such a way while also [[Third Person Person|referring to himself in the third person]].}}
* [[Red Herring]]: The movie likes to hint at {{spoiler|Trevor}}. {{spoiler|He really was just trying to protect Jill, after all}}.
* [[Sacrificial Lion]]: {{spoiler|Kirby and, to some degree, Robbie and Charlie. Though in Kirby's case, she may be alive since unlike the other two they never confirmed she was dead. (While a lot of fans argue Miss Reed ''is'' dead, a lot of fans argue she isn't - and on the DVD/Blu-ray commentary track [[Hayden Panettiere]] and [[Wes Craven]] [[Word of God|confirm that Kirby's fate is indeed left unclear]], a rarity for a series that likes to make sure we know who's [[Killed Off for Real]]. Craven has subsequently [https://twitter.com/#!/wescraven/status/158268903846457346 Tweeted] that he doesn't think Kirby's gone to the great big cinema in the sky.)}}
* [[Sequel Gap]]: It came 11 years after its predecessor (which incidentally is longer than the time it took to make and release ''all three previous films'') and thus takes shots at basically everything that happened to horror films in-between.
* [[Shout-Out]]: One of the characters is named after Anthony Perkins, who played Norman Bates in ''[[Psycho]]''.
* [[Something Only the Culprit Would Know]]: {{spoiler|Jill and Gale's "matching wounds."}}
** {{spoiler|With the invention of the internet and dozens of witnesses, never mind a rather lengthy time between her attack and the events that led to the hospital scene (enough for a news report), was it out of the question that the details of the crime were already reported and she heard about them? Not hard for the news to say "this famous author got stabbed in the shoulder." Hello [[Fridge Logic]]. Possibly justified as Dewey from an earlier scene is clearly oblivious to how fast information spreads, and in this case he's right.}}
** {{spoiler|However, the news report aired, presumably, after Kirby got Jill from the house (since Kirby left before the attack) and it's easy to assume they never saw the news report. Robby and Charlie were too freaked out from the attack, given that they believed their lives would go to shit thanks to the attack happening at an event THEY were throwing. [[It Got Worse|They were right.]]}}
* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: Subverted like there's no tomorrow. Characters are thrown at us as being replacements for the characters of the original film, but {{spoiler|most of the new characters die}}, the [[Final Girl|apparent Sidney replacement]] {{spoiler|turns out to be the killer}}, and we even get a Billy replacement who {{spoiler|is almost successfully framed for all the murders}}.
** Hell, the ''entire new cast'' is built up as a counterpart to someone from the original:
*** Jill: Sidney
*** Kirby: Tatum
*** Trevor: Billy
*** Robbie: Randy
*** Charlie: Stu
*** Judy: Dewey
*** Rebecca: Gale
* [[Those Two Guys]]: Deputies Anthony Perkins and Ross Hoss fall under this.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: {{spoiler|Rebecca.}} After Ghostface appears on the {{spoiler|hood of her car that she has locked herself in and reveals he cut the wires, he disappears when she tries to signal a car down. Instead of staying in the car and calling the cops to rescue her, she gets out of the car and runs for the parking garage exit.}} Take a guess as to how well that turns out.
** {{spoiler|Robbie may count as well, considering that he went walking outside, alone, drunk, when he knew there was a killer on the loose. Though he may have thought he was safe due to the rules started in the film class scene. [[Bury Your Gays|Not really the case, though.]]}}
** {{spoiler|Perkins}} gets {{spoiler|him}}self killed, along with {{spoiler|Hoss}}, by choosing to joke around.
* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: The trailer makes it look like they're spoiling {{spoiler|Gale's death, but she survives yet again}}.
** It also makes it appear as if {{spoiler|Ghostface is in Jill's closet. Not really the case, AT ALL.}} It did, however, spoil {{spoiler|[[He's Just Hiding|Robbie's death]], Hoss' and Perkins's deaths, Rebecca's death, and Marnie's body crashing through the window}}.
* [[Trilogy Creep]]
* [[True Companions]]: Sidney, Gale, Dewey and Randy. Sidney and Gale are a particularly good example in that despite their long history together they never really become ''friends'' -- but have saved each others lives numerous times and know they can count on each other.
* [[Vasquez Always Dies]]: {{spoiler|Averted by Hicks. "Wear the vest, save your chest."}}. It's worth noting that this is the only time this trope was featured in the Scream franchise.
* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Arguably {{spoiler|Jill goes through this}} in the end after {{spoiler|her entire plan falls apart}} and basically turns to [[Taking You with Me]].
* [[Where It All Began]]: Woodsboro.
* [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit]]: {{spoiler|Jill's self-mutilation in order to make people think she was a victim.}}
** {{spoiler|And unlike the last time it was tried, it succeeds.}}
* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: {{spoiler|Charlie.}}
 
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[[Category:One Hundred Scariest Movie Moments{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Scream]]
[[Category:Film]]
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