Summary
As a horror fan for many years, I thinkScream 7needs to achieve one major accomplishment:figure out a motive for Ghostface that works well. In the past, the wise, funny, and meta horror franchise has been criticized for featuringthe same motives over and over again. For the first three movies,Ghostface sought revenge on final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). Then, fromScream 4toScream 6, the various Ghostface killers looked for celebrity. I was on board with all of these storylines because I love a lot about this franchise, including Sidney’s continued strength.
However, whenScream 7comes out,I hopeGhostface has an engaging motive. There is a fan theory that suggest why Ghostface could be killing again, and I think it could be cool.
This Scream 7 Fan Theory Suggests Ghostface’s Motive
Redditor @LunarTulesthinks thatthe new Ghostface will be inspired byoriginal Ghostfaces Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard)and Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). They wrote:
“the Ghostface we’re seeing in this movie will be constantly teased to be Stu and Roman. Like, full on having characters treat it like they’re being attacked by a ghost Ghostface and the movie will keep you double-guessing.”
The fan continued that Ghostface could be:
“a copycat or copycats of the original murderers who loved the MO of emulating slasher movies and wanted to try it out on the original survivor because the final girl always dies as a slasher series goes on, usually well before the shark jump.”
I like the idea ofScream 7suggesting that Stu and Roman have come back from the dead (or perhapsnever died in the first place) and then revealing thatthe new Ghostface wanted to act just like Stu and Roman. It’s always fun when mysteries have red herrings since then audiences can try to guess what’s going on. This idea also works since it would explain why Stu and Roman are coming back for the seventh movie. I’d like to see a few flashbacks of these two previous Ghostface killers. This fan theory would raise the stakes a lot because both Sidney and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) would have to face their past trauma.
This is also a cool idea becauseit keeps the focus on the ultimate final girl, Sidney Prescott.Scream 7could alsoinclude a meta analysis ofthe history of horror movie final girls. Since six previousScreammovies satirized the horror genre, I’ve been curious about what commentaryScream 7could have. Is anything even left? It would be fun to hear the main characters comparing and contrasting various final girls, from Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) inA Nightmare On Elm Streetto more recent characters such as Grace (Samara Weaving) inReady Or Not, which is getting a sequel.
What Were Stu Macher And Roman Bridger’s Motives In The Scream Franchise?
Both Stu Macher and Roman Bridger weremotivated by their hatred for Sidney Prescottin the originalScreammovie that was released in 1996. Stu goes along with his best friend Billy Loomis’s (Skeet Ulrich) plan. While Stu is just as violent and dangerous as his friend, Billy is definitely the mastermind here, and it’s clear that Stu is just going along for the ride. Then, inScream 3,Sidney’s secret half-sibling Roman wants to cause her painafter he had to hide his whole life.Scream 3has just one Ghostface killer, which sets it apart.
Scream 3was released 25 years ago, and Scott Foley toldPeoplethat being cast as Roman was thrilling. Foley said he didn’t know he was Ghostface until he was filming the movie. He said:
“I don’t know if I was happy or taken aback, but it was such a specific moment for me. And I think partially because having that sort of information as an actor can help you, and I understand why they kept it from me initially. But it was exciting, yeah. And to this day, to this day, I’m still [like], ‘Hey, you were the killer inScream 3.’ I had no idea. It’s so cool.”
