Who was the killer in each of the Scream movies?

If you don’t mind being spoiled, here are the killers from every Scream movie in the franchise.

Scream revived the slasher genre in the 90s due to it’s unique twist on the killer. Instead of a supernatural monster like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, the killer was a regular person cloaked in a generic Halloween mask.

What set Scream apart was the murder-mystery twist that the movies brought to the genre. It wasn’t enough for viewers to be on the edge of their seats, wondering if their favorite character was going to make it through the bloodbath; they also had to try and figure out whether or not they were the one behind the mask.

That unmasking became a central appeal of the final acts of each movies, as the killer was revealed to be someone the audience had known all along. But who was the killer wearing the Ghostface mask in each of these movies?

Spoilers for all five Scream movies below.

Who was the killer in Scream?

The original Scream shocked audiences with the revelation that there were two killers sharing the Ghostface mask. Final girl Sidney Prescott’s boyfriend, Billy Loomis, and his friend Stu Macher were revealed as the killers in the first movie.

YouTube: Miramax

Loomis was acting out of revenge, blaming Sidney’s mother for breaking up his family after having an affair with his father. On the other hand, Stu seemed to just be along for the ride out of some sick enjoyment for being a part of the “movie.”

Who was the killer in Scream 2?

In Scream 2, Ghostface followed Sidney and her Woodsboro gang to college. There it was revealed that Sidney’s classmate Mickey Altieri was working with Billy Loomis’s mother, who was posing as reporter Debbie Salt as the killers.

YouTube: Miramax

Salt was also seeking revenge on Sidney for killing her son in the first movie. Similar to Stu, Mickey didn’t have a solid motive for the killings, saying he wanted to blame violence in movies for his actions upon his eventual arrest.

Who was the killer in Scream 3?

Scream 3 was actually a massive departure for the series, as it was the only movie (so far) to only feature one Ghostface. By the end of the killings, Roman Bridger was revealed as not only the killer, but Sidney’s half-brother.

YouTube: Miramax

Bridger was revealed to have reached out to Sidney’s mother years earlier, but was rejected and became obsessed with getting his revenge. This led him to manipulate Billy Loomis and Stu Macher into killing Sid’s mother, sparking the events of the entire franchise.

Who was the killer in Scream 4?

While Scream 3 was intended to be the end of the franchise, Ghostface re-emerged in Scream 4 to terrorize a new generation of victims. After the original trio were pulled back into the fray, it was revealed that Sidney’s cousin Jill Roberts, along with her classmate Charlie Walker, were the killers.

YouTube: Dimension Pictures

Jill was jealous of the fame that her cousin had received for being the “Final Girl” of the Woodsboro murders and hoped to capitalize on a reboot to launch her own social media stardom. On the other hand, Charlie was simply a pawn who was manipulated by Jill.

Who was the killer in Scream 5?

Scream 5 continued to bring the same tropes to a new generation, as Ghostface stalked a new group of victims in Woodsboro until the original survivors returned to where it all began. In the end, new final girl Sam Carpenter’s boyfriend Richie Kirsch and his secret lover Amber Freeman were the killers.

YouTube: Paramount Pictures

This was the first time that neither killer had a direct connection to Sidney Prescott, as the two were simply fans of the in-universe Stab movies who wanted to provide more “source material” that would stay true to the ethos of the series.

Scream 6 will premiere in cinemas on March 10. Check out the rest of our coverage of the film here.