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alexmeeksmartin · 1 year

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red right hand

pairing: (kinda) ghostface ethan landry x gn reader, slight chad meeks-martin x gn reader

synopsis: the one where an oblivious y/n receives a call from ghostface. of course, chaos, fighting, and bloodshed ensues.

a/n: this one is obviously very inspired by casey becker, cici cooper, and tara carpenter’s various phone call sequences with ghostface throughout the franchise. does involve a good bit of violence and also the reader kinda being an idiot !

wc: 2.2k

it’s late and you’re in your new york city apartment, getting ready for a chill night in while your roommate, anika, is at her girlfriend, mindy’s apartment for date night. you had tried to make plans with your friend, ethan, but to nobody’s surprise he was spending the night studying. chad, like ethan, was also busy but instead with football practice, but he said he’d call you later. tara and sam were making dinner just the two of them. so, there you were, left all on your own, and bored out of your mind.

you’re about to settle onto the sofa for the night, thinking you could probably fit in a movie before chad calls, when the landline rings in the kitchen. you contemplate answering it, finding it odd that someone would be calling at this hour, but curiosity bests your doubts and you pick it up anyway.

“hello, y/n speaking.” you answer with a neutral tone.

“hello.” a raspy voice whispers back from the other end of the line. sounds kinda sexy, you think to yourself.

“who is this?” you ask.

“who’s this?” the voice repeats back to you.

“you called me.” you say with a slight laugh.

“i suppose so. what are you doing currently?” the voice questions, still at a whisper. you debate on whether or not to answer, but think to yourself that you’ve got nothing else to entertain you. could it hurt? no.

“i was just about to watch a movie. you?”

“me too. i was about to watch a scary movie. do you like scary movies?” the voice asks.

“yes, i do! in fact, i was about to do the same. it’s like we’re all synced up.” you laugh.

“what’s your favourite scary movie?”

“well, certainly not stab. the first few were good, but the series went to shit after stab 4. i quite like the halloween franchise. big fan of the strangers as well. how about you, mystery man?” you answer, an inquisitive tone in your voice.

“more of a friday the 13th man, myself. although, i do quite enjoy the stab movies. i guess they hit close to home.” he responds.

“oh, are you from woodsboro? that’s cool, i’ve got a couple of friends from there.”

“not woodsboro, but near enough. what scary movie are you about to watch?”

“i was thinking a classic. maybe texas chainsaw massacre or the original halloween. something along those lines.” you explain.

“laurie strode always made a great final girl, it’s a shame her friends had to die first.” something was starting to feel off, but you couldn’t put your finger on it just yet. so, like any stupid person would, you stayed on the phone. “what about you? do you think you can make it to the finale, or are you a victim of the villain? a traumatised hero or a body in the third act bloodbath?”

“i think i’m survivor material. i’ve got enough brains on me, i feel. either that or i’d be the iconic killer.” you laugh.

“hmm, interesting. i pinned you more as the cici cooper type.”

“cici cooper?”

“stab 2. she answers the phone while home alone, only to become a victim of ghostface.”

you let out a light laugh, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable.

“only joking, of course. i think you’ve got the guts and bravado to be a leading character, a nancy thompson, sally hardesty. maybe even a sidney prescott.”

“aw, are you flirting with me, mystery man?” you tease.

“maybe, maybe not. would you like it if i was flirting with you?”

“i mean, i don’t think i’d mind. if your looks match up with the appeal of your voice then i’d be more than interested.” you say boldly, the confidence of not being face-to-face egging you on.

the voice chuckles. “so, you’re a fan of my voice?”

“yeah. got a sexy aura to it, totally my thing.” you continue, playing with a knife from your block while standing in the kitchen.

“do you happen to be in a relationship?”

you debate how to respond. you weren’t, but you’d also be lying if you didn’t acknowledge that you and chad had some sort of thing going. but you guys weren’t officially together, and probably wouldn’t ever be. again, could it really hurt?

“nope. never too late to change that, though.”

“sounds interesting. maybe we should plan a date.” the voice replies.

“ooh, that’d be fun. i always wanted to do blind dating.” you say, a smirk crawling across your face.

“what about tonight?”

“bit late, is it not? it’s like, 9:30.”

“well, you look stunning tonight, though i’d maybe have worn some more red. thought i might as well ask.”

“oh, thank you-“ you cut yourself off, having processed what was just said to you. “wait, how do you know what i’m wearing?”

“what was your name again?” the voice asks you.

“why?” you ask, fear starting to creep into your voice.

“i wanna know who’s apartment i’m in.”

you feel your skin crawl and a cold shiver shoot up your spine as soon as those words enter your ear.

“that’s not fucking funny. i’m hanging up now-“ you say, your voice trembling with fright at this stage.

“hang up and i’ll carve you like a fucking pumpkin!” the voice says, still in a whisper-like yell.

“good one, with halloween coming up and all. screw you.” you say, feigning confidence.

“nice comeback, y/n. maybe i’ll spare you and wait for anika to come home, and gut her in the middle of your living room. maybe i’ll find chad on his way home from practice and make a spectacle of him on the football field.” you pull out your phone and start messaging your group chat with tara, chad, ethan, mindy, and anika, warning them that someone is making threats. “maybe i’ll make a surprise appearance for tara and sam. or maybe i’ll crash ethan’s night in.”

“if you hurt them i’ll-“

“you’ll what, y/n? hurt me? punish me? kill me? you won’t do any of that, because you’re in my scary movie now, y/n.”

“you’re a fucking psycho. i don’t know if this is some sick fucking joke of yours, but either way you are disgusting.”

“the only disgusting thing tonight will be when anika returns home to find your intestines spilled across the floor and your blood splattered on the walls, y/n.”

“fuck you!” you yell through the phone at this lunatic.

“no, fuck you, y/n! it’s people like you who deserve to die. ready to whore yourself out to some stranger on a whim all because you were bored on a night in.”

“you piece of shit. go fuck yourself.” you say before finally hanging up. that was it, you were leaving. whether it was some stupid fucker joking around or an actual murderer, you weren’t going to stick around and find out. you stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a knife before making your way to the front door.

as soon as you turn the corner to the hallway, you see a shadowy figure standing there. you let out a gasp, notifying the figure of your presence. he turns around, showing you his ghostface mask, and you let out a scream. he tilts his head at you.

you’re frozen with fear until your instincts kick in. you hold up your knife, “stay the fuck back!”

“come on, y/n. i thought we were going on a date.” ghostface says, beginning to eerily step towards you.

“i’m serious! i will use this fucking knife!” you yell at the masked intruder.

“why don’t you put the knife down and come give me a kiss.”

he charges at you and before you can use your knife, he grabs your wrist and stabs you in the shoulder. you let out a blood-curdling screech before using your other arm to punch him across the face.

you start to run, but ghostface isn’t far behind at all. he stalks you, knife in hand. he lunges at you, but you duck out of the way and go behind the dinner table. you were truly fucked now, stuck between the table and the wall.

“i knew you would look good with a little more red.” ghostface says as you look on, petrified.

“fuck you.” you respond.

you make a run for the side of the table, but ghostface makes it before you do and slashes you across your arm. you retreat back behind the table, but now use all of your remaining strength to shove the table into ghostface, knocking him to the floor. you take your chance and sprint to the bathroom, locking yourself in.

you lean against the door, sliding down it until you reach the floor, letting out sobs of agony and fear. you were losing blood. a lot of it. what once was a white t-shirt was now almost all stained is a deep red, and your arm was covered in streaks of blood too. how long had he been in your apartment? had he been watching you all night? you frantically send messages to your friends, knowing that mindy’s place and where chad was doing practice are only five minutes away from you and anika’s place. just as your plead for help is delivered to your friends, your phone rings.

unknown number.

you pick up.

“leave me alone!” you desperately scream into your phone. you were an innocent. you’re not from woodsboro, you just happen to be friends with some people who are.

“not just yet, y/n. our date night isn’t quite finished.” ghostface replies.

“why are you doing this?!”

“your woodsboro friends deserve punishment.”

“i didn’t do anything! leave me out of whatever sick vendetta you have, you motherfucker!”

that’s when your neighbour knocked on your door.

“hey, i heard screaming, everything alright in there?” you hear his voice, muffled through the walls, shouting out for you.

“maybe i’ll send my message through him instead.” ghostface threatens.

“no, no, don’t hurt him! you don’t need to hurt him!” you plead with the killer, not wanting any more blood to be spilled.

“too late. i’ve already made my mind up.”

you quickly unlock the bathroom door and sprint out, reaching the hallway to your front door. ghostface opens it and drags your neighbour inside, slamming the door behind him.

ghostface covers your neighbour’s mouth before slitting his throat and throwing him the floor.

you let out a mixture of a sob and a scream before ghostface runs at you, tackling you into the armchair behind you and sending you both to the hardwood floor.

you get to your feet as quick as possible, but so does ghostface. he grabs you and then chucks you onto your glass coffee table, making you crash into it. you lay in the shattered and jagged glass around you as ghostface looms over you. ghostface stabs you in your calf, but your instinct comes in as you utilise your other leg to kick his arm away and then send another boot to his stomach.

you haphazardly pull yourself to your feet and pick up a vase, chucking it at ghostface before standing in front of your dining table. the vase seems to barely do anything, and ghostface just sprints up to your couch and uses it as a launch point to jump on you.

however, at the last possible moment, you throw yourself to the ground, allowing ghostface to smash through the table. ghostface lie: there lifeless down the middle of the split wooden table, and you know the best thing to do now is run.

the adrenaline is starting to wear off as you once more drag yourself to your feet, in constant agony from the pain induced by the stab wounds in your leg, shoulder, arm, and all the shards of glass stuck in your back. you stumble down the hallway, but trip over your neighbours body. again, you struggle to get back up. but you do so, feeling your calf sear with pain, pushing through it and getting to the door. you unlock it, and take a step outside, seeing anika, mindy, and chad turning at the end of your hall, relief filling you. your nightmare was over.

but suddenly you’re dragged back into the apartment.

the door is locked again.

and you’re being pinned against the wall.

you shriek as the knife enters your stomach, trying to shove ghostface off, but he slams you against the wall again and then chucks you to the floor. you hear your friends slamming against your door, and frantic shouting between them about anika finding her keys.

all this while ghostface gets on top of you, and begins stabbing again. brutal stabs to your midsection, the only noise your mind can focus on being the knife entering and exiting you and the squelch of blood. you let out ferocious and terrifying screeches, but to no avail.

then it all stops. you can’t feel anymore of the pain as ghostface stands and wipes the blood from his knife, giving himself a red right hand before he makes a beeline for the window, heading out the fire escape.

the door crashes down, and your friends rush straight to you. you can see their worried facial expressions and hear their rushed words, but none of it is registering.

chad begins to carry you out as you feel the blood starting to reach your mouth, coughing it up. you think anika is on the phone to the 911, but you’re not sure. she’s in tears, screaming about needing help while mindy runs ahead. the last thing you see before it all goes black is chad’s face, hearing him trail off with reassurance, “it’s all gonna be fine, we’re gonna get you help. you’re fine, we’re fine��”

and then it’s over.

a/n: i really enjoyed writing this and i hope you enjoyed reading it too! thinking of maybe making a part two to this where the reader survives, but i also think it does well as a stand-alone where the reader dies. the violence was so much fun to write, i can’t wait to write ghostface again !

#scream x reader #ethan landry #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #anika kayoko #mindy meeks martin #chad meeks martin #ghostface #scream #scream vi #scream 6 #Spotify

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blackwolfstabs · 10 months

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30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 24

CONFESSION

"He was responsible for this just as much as she was."

AU: Anika survived her attack in Scream VI :)

Tara spent hours pacing in her bedroom, watching time go by and fighting her fluctuating anxiety that had her fetching her inhaler more than she should, especially now, since…

No, stop thinking about it.

That was the problem, and she had two ways to handle it right now. She could either try to talk about it or try to sleep and forget about it. However, it was pretty fucking clear which one was promised to fail.

She didn’t want to do this… She really didn’t. She didn’t mean for it to happen anyway. Neither of them did. One thing just led to another and…

Fuck.

She pulled her phone up from clutching it at her side. The screen lit up to glow the time and a thread of unanswered text messages from Chad.

11:24 PM.

She couldn’t read through the texts. There were at least 20, and they had stopped around 7:00 that night. When she hadn’t answered, he had texted Sam, who’d told him that she was okay, home, and doing homework so her phone was on Do Not Disturb. Tara had been the one to tell her she was doing homework, but that wasn’t the truth. She lied. Because she couldn’t focus on anything but the thoughts running a thousand miles per minute in her head.

The ones she had to get out.

She navigated to the Discord app, where she could find an immediate answer if who she needed to talk to was still awake. Discord was where she and her classmates kept in touch with assignments and questions and whatnot. It was the quickest way to get a response from someone, because there was always someone online, no matter what time of day.

Luck was finally on her side tonight. She found the green status symbol alive next to Mindy’s icon, leading her to immediately go to her DMs.

‘hey are u busy? there’s something i need to talk to u about’

Her heart was pounding, as if it was already set-in-stone that she would be spilling her anxiety to someone else. It wasn’t. Mindy may not be available. She could easily change her mind and say ‘nevermind. it’s nothing. sorry for bothering u’. But something kept her staring at the screen long enough to see Mindy start typing a response and then it coming through, reading:

‘What’s up??’

For a moment, Tara felt nauseous, her legs shaking as she bit her lip.

‘um i’d rather talk to u in person. . . can i come over? if not, it’s ok. it can wait’

She knew she shouldn’t, but she had to add that last part as a final attempt to possibly get herself out of it. If Mindy said no, then it technically wasn’t her decision and she’d be forced to not tell anyone right now… right?

But her luck vanished in a second.

‘yeah sure. Chad’s already asleep so he won’t bother us, but Anika’s still here. We can go to my room to talk if you want.’

Now, there was no backing out. It was a relief that Chad was promised to stay out of the picture, but now that it was mentioned, she didn’t think having Anika there would be a problem. In fact, it might make things easier with how compassionate and easy-going she was. So, she quickly replied.

‘no it’s fine, she can stay. i don’t mind talking with both of u’

‘Cool then come on over. I’ll unlock the door.’

‘kk’

Tara took another breath through her inhaler, before shoving it in her pocket and leaving her room. She gave Sam’s door a look as she passed, making sure that no light was detected from beneath it, before continuing to the front door. All she could hope for now was that Sam was in a deep enough sleep to not recognize the unlocking and re-locking of the locks, nor wake up to find her gone before she could return. She didn’t intend to make this conversation very long, because she was exhausted and would rather be alone. She just hoped Mindy and Anika wouldn’t drag it out any more than need-be. Well… she was confident that Anika wouldn’t, but Mindy was unpredictable.

Once she got to the Meeks-Martins’ apartment and went inside, she became really nauseous. Mindy had left for a brief moment, but Anika had gotten them all some water and was setting the cups down on the table. Tara swayed a little, bringing a ginger hand up to her stomach with a small whimper.

She should’ve waited until the morning to do this, when nothing was in her stomach. She hadn’t even wanted to eat dinner but forced herself to anyway, so Sam wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong with her. After all, her appetite had increased, once she started going to therapy and had been on different anxiety and depression medication. Sam was sure to get suspicious if she didn’t eat anything at all.

Anika heard her weak noise and looked over to find her holding her stomach. “Are you okay, Tara?” she asked.

The younger took a deep breath. “Erm… I-I think I just wanna go home… my stomach’s upset…” she replied, her legs starting to tremble again.

But this only made the other more concerned as she came over to her. “Okay, well, why don’t you sit down for a minute first? See if it feels better?” She kept a soft hand on her back and guided her to the nearest chair, before pushing one of the water cups up to her. “Here, take a few sips.”

When Tara sat down, her leg immediately started bouncing in that infamously anxious way it did when she felt that staying still was like the calm before the storm. That was something she and and Sam had in common—

Sam…

She swore she couldn’t tell Sam what was going on, but it was hard not to want her around when she was this anxious. Just her sister’s presence was comforting, and if she were able to trust her with the truth, then she knew she would be able to be comforted the way she liked. But she just didn’t know…

She took a small sip of her water and a deep breath. Sitting down after shaking and pacing for so long actually seemed to take the edge off of her nervousness. It was a relief that made her realize just how much her feet were tired of bearing the pressure too.

“Is Sam not home?” Anika asked, knowing that Tara’s older sister was the first to know everything going on with her, ever since they eradicated the Kirsch family. Plus, whenever she was anxious like this, she always stayed close to Sam for comfort and security.

Carpenter set her cup down, shaking her head, “No, she’s home, just asleep.”

Right then, Mindy came back in, interjecting her apologies for her delay. “Sorry, I was catching up on some instructions for that paper that’s due next week.”

While Tara stayed quiet, Anika mentioned, “It’s fine. She just got really nauseous, so we haven’t talked much.”

But this made Mindy’s expression immediately switch to showing concern with underlying suspicion. If someone said they needed to talk and then became nauseous when they were given the opportunity to share, it was usually something that was risky. “It’s alright, take your time,” she assured, while she took a seat next to her girlfriend. “Is this your first time talking about whatever it is you need to talk about?”

Tara nodded without hesitation. She really wanted to just get it over with, blurt it out, and get all of the questions and awkward, judging moments of silence over with. “I… I just…” She paused to sigh again, trying to calm the waves of anxiety teasing her queasy stomach. “I’m just scared, because I don’t even know how to process it…” she whimpered.

“Well, let’s not worry about processing right now.” Anika reached her hand out to place it on Tara’s fidgeting hands. She then ran her thumb soothingly over her skin, “You can say whatever you wanna say, when you wanna say it.”

Beside her, Meeks-Martin nodded, “Yeah, whatever it is, it’s safe with us. Ring of Fire.”

‘Yeah, for now,’ Tara thought. It would be impossible to keep things a secret in the next coming weeks. She was already starting to feel the differences, which almost scared her more than telling someone, because she knew she’d be facing it all alone. She shifted in her seat and shrugged her shoulders, while giving a nervous glance down the hall… where the bedrooms were.

“Chad’s not going to come in, trust me,” Mindy promised, “Besides, even if he did, we’ll just tell him it’s girl stuff and he’ll go away.”

“N-no, that’s…” She couldn’t help but avoid all eye contact as she dropped her eyes to her lap. “It, uh… involves him actually…” This was where it got real. Unexpected tears suddenly rushed into her eyes, her chest feeling hot, while her throat started to close up.

The couple observing exchanged a glance, noticing her change in demeanor instantly. However, the longer they sat there, the more emotional Tara seemed to get.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Tara,” Anika rushed to calm her, getting up from her seat, when she saw the youngest’s figure shudder with a small sob. She knelt down next to her and wiped the tears that had started to fall.

But this just made Tara feel even more helpless as she drew her arms away from resting on the table-top to hug her torso, spine curving outward to hang her head further. “N-no, it’s not okay!” she cried, her voice pitched and whimper-like in trying to keep quiet.

“Yes, it is, T,” Mindy instantly told her, moving away from the table as well to go help comfort her. She came around and took the chair right next to her. “It is okay. Whatever it is, we can fix it or we can help you through it,” she soothed, gently beginning to rub her back in small circles. “Is this a coming-out thing?” She asked this, on account that what she was hiding concerned Chad and she hadn’t discussed it with Sam first, which was very weird for her. With how emotional she was becoming, it might suggest her having to break his heart, if hers no longer beat in the same direction.

However, Carpenter shook her head. “Mm— No…” She loved Chad. She loved him so much, which was why this was so hard. She didn’t know how he’d take it, because she didn’t even know how she could take it. There were options, of course, but it wasn’t just up to her.

He was responsible for this just as much as she was.

“Tara.”

She glanced up with watery eyes to find Anika’s calm and comforting ones blinking back at her.

“Take a deep breath… and tell us what you need to say.”

This was it. The point of no return. Tara closed her eyes, swallowed back the accumulated drainage clogging her esophagus, and took a deep breath. She felt Anika’s touch on her leg begin to pet her in a similar motion that Mindy was performing on her upper back. Her stomach twinged, which made her loosen her arms’ tight hold on it. She didn’t dare open her eyes.

“I’m pregnant.”

All my best! ♡ - parker

#scream #scream v #scream vi #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #carpenter sisters #scream au #chad meeks martin #mindy meeks martin #anika kayoko #tara x chad #tara carpenter x chad meeks martin #ao3 #ao3 author #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #30 day writing challenge #confession

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wonderstruckocs · 1 year

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Wendy Hicks

Age: Scream (2022) - 17, ScreamVI - 18

Love Interest: Kurt Parker (formerly); Ethan Landry

Best Friends: Carrie Riley-Weathers, Tara Carpenter, Mindy Meeks-Martin, Anika Kayoko, Chad Meeks-Martin - Close with Sam Carpenter

Family Member(s): Wes Hicks (brother), Judy Hicks (mother)

Three Songs That Represents Her:

BRAINWASHED by Waterparks (title has no meaning to her storyline - lyrically though it does)

You’re On Your Own, Kid by Taylor Swift

All I Wanted by Paramore

Faceclaim: Olivia Scott Welch

Edit May 12th 2023 this is so highly unedited I am going to be so damn for real but anyways here’s Wennie’s Backstory: As the daughter of Judy Hicks, sister of Wes Hicks, and practically the niece of Dewey Riley, Wendy is a very humorous and charismatic girl who can put up a good fight.

During Scream (2022): During Tara’s attack, Wendy was at home with Wes, Matthew Bishop, and Rebecca Bishop - Wendy’s boyfriend Kurt Parker, calling mere minute before he was suppose to show up saying he suddenly couldn’t make it. The four were watching a 1980s horror film, originally suppose to watch Gremlins but Becca pushed for Prom Night, “Come on Jamie Lee Curtis is a horror icon!”. The next morning Wendy get a call from Judy telling her Tara was attacked by someone in a Ghostface mask, Wendy drops her phone and looks over at Wes. Wes immediately calls Sam, and Wendy calls Carrie Riley-Weathers.

The four of them go to school and are seated at a picnic table outside with the rest of the group talking about Tara’s attack when Kurt walks up to the group and sits next to Wendy. Kurt goes to kiss Wendy, but Wendy turns her face so he kisses her cheek instead. “Baby, what’s up?” Kurt asks her but she just shakes her head. “Trouble in paradise little W?” Amber asks Wendy who just shakes her head, Wes rolls his eyes. Amber points out Kurt’s bruises, “I got these at football practice, ask Chad he has the same ones.”

When the group is visiting Tara at the hospital Carrie shows up around the same time as Sam and Richie, Wendy immediately hugs Carrie - instead of the duo + Becca going to the bar, Carrie offers to drive them home.

At the Meeks-Martin house, during Mindy’s monologue, she accuses Wes and Matt of being the killers - like a Billy and Stu duo, but Wendy and Becca quickly come to their defense and explain how they were there with them that night. “It can’t be them unless it’s all four of us.” “Okay but what about Kurt, Wendy? Where was he during the attack?” “I don’t know.” “Exactly, and where is he now?” “… I don’t know.” “Wendy, darling, you are smart, but never trust the love interest.”

After that, Wendy mentions to Wes that she needs to pick up something from Kurt’s, Wes immediately tells her no and that he doesn’t trust Kurt. Carrie intervenes offering to drive Wendy there and bring her home right after, Wes reluctantly agrees and hugs Wendy telling her he loves her, “Ew, Wes… I love you too.” she tells him as she hugs him. “I’ll see you when you get home.” “Promise?” “I promise.” - A promise Wes intended to keep but couldn’t.

At Kurt’s house, Wendy is only greeted by his mother, “Oh Wendy dear, Kurt’s not home, he said he had football practice.” “But football practice got cancelled because of the attack on Tara… look Mrs. Parker, I’m just here to pick up some of my notes for algebra, can I just run up to his room and grab them?” “Sure, dear.” Wendy ran up to his room and grabbed her notes but noticed a ghostface mask sitting in a pile of dark clothing on the floor. Backing out of the room she bumps into Kurt, “Baby, what are you doing here?” “Just grabbing my… notes…” Wendy was visibly nervous, “Everything alright, baby?” “Yeah, Kurt, everything is fine absolutely fine.” “Do you want to stay the night? You know I could protect you.” “I really should go home, Kurt, my mom and Wes are waiting for me there.”

The two argued some more before Wendy leaves with Carrie… when they arrive at the Hicks house Wendy sees the bodybag in the front and hops out of Carrie’s car (her dad’s old vehicle) running towards the body before Dewey stops her. “No?” Dewey nods his head, “Wes?” Wendy asks through tears, Dewey nods again as Carrie walks up and Wendy’s legs gave out. “Dad, what’s going on?” Carrie looks over to the crew pulling out another body bag, “No…” She looked back at her dad as she holds Wendy, “No. No. NO!”…….”Carrie, take Wendy and go.” “But da-“ “Go Carrie!”

At the party at Amber’s, for Wes, Wendy is distraught the deaths of Judy, Wes, and Dewey all hitting her hard but she, Matt, and Becca decided to go to the party. She runs into Kurt, “Baby, hey let’s have some fun!” “Kurt, I’m really not in the mood.” “Seriously, Wendy, let loose live a little.” “Kurt fuck off.” “Listen, baby, stop being such a crybaby.” “Are you fucking kidding me, Kurt? My mom and brother fucking died and you’re telling me to stop crying. Grow the fuck up, we’re done.” Kurt grabbed her wrist harshly, “Baby, you don’t mean that.” “I’m pretty sure she made it very clear what she means, Kurt.” Matt had stepped in, Wendy doesn’t remember the rest of the fight, opting to walk away as Matt dealt with the problem and grabbing another drink. - Somewhere in there is when Richie stops the party. When walking to the living to sit with Mindy, Wendy sees Ghostface, as Mindy is telling Stab Randy to turn around Wendy is trying to get her attention, going to scream at her to turn around before Matt covers her mouth to stop her from getting the Ghostface’s attention, Becca beside him shaking. They watch as Mindy gets attacked Matt before runs towards the same time Sam scares him off. Matt immediately puts pressure onto Mindy’s wound and Wendy looks around when Liv runs in, everythings a blur to her until Amber shoots Liv in the head. Matt yells at Wendy and Becca to run, as he tries to help Mindy out. The duo ran outside, finding Chad on the ground. “Oh my god, Chad.” Wendy runs over to him, “Wendy, hey.” Chad coughs, “Chad stop talking,” Wendy looks at Chad’s wounds, before pulling off her shirt, “Ha, nice.” “Chad serious shut the fuck up,” Wendy says as she rips her shirt up and tying tourniquets to stop the bleeding, “Becca, put pressure on these I’ll be right back.” “Where are you going?” “I’m going to try to find a fucking medkit and find Matt I can’t let another brother figure die.” As Wendy enters the house, she slowly makes her way upstairs, “God Wendy you fucking dumbass, Wes would so kill you himself if he was here.” Wendy mumbles to herself before opening a closet door, Ghostface waiting for her, Wendy screams and turns to run away before she’s stabbed in the side, “WENDY!” Matt yells running upstairs and throwing Ghostface back into the closet, picking Wendy up and running past Sidney, “DON’T GO UP THERE HE’S UP THERE!” Matt shouts to Sidney who’s on the phone, “Matt where’s Mindy?” “She’s fine, she’s safe.” “Matt don’t lie to me.” “I’m not lying Wendy.” “You’re not working with Amber?” “Wendy why the hell would I be working with Amber?” “I don’t know… We need to get to Chad.” “Get to Chad… where?” “Outside, he was stabbed multiple times… he’s with Becca…” “Wendy keep your eyes open for me, I can’t lose you Wen, Wes will come back from the dead to kill me.” “Hmmm, he’s already gonna kill me…” Wendy’s eyes shut slowly, Wendy doesn’t remember anything else from that night not even arriving to the hospital, but she does remember Sam apologizing to her because Richie had been the one to stab her.

Between Scream (2022) and ScreamVi: Wendy lived with Matt and Becca until she moved with them to New York for college, Wendy and Kurt never got back together but he followed her to New York, Wendy gets roomed with Anika Kayoko and they instantly became friends. Wendy and Quinn Bailey do NOT get along, stemmed from a fight about Taylor Swift and the fact that Quinn briefly dated Becca and broke her heart by cheating on her. She’s still close with Carrie and Gale by proxy. She didn’t officially meet Ethan Landry between the events but they do know of each other, and Wendy did develop a small crush on him, Chad even encouraging her to go for it, “Wen, he’s your type to a T. Like your dream boy manifested into one person, go for it! Talk to him.”

During ScreamVI: Wendy attends the halloween party dressed like Reputation Tour Taylor Swift, immediately finding Mindy and Anika on the couch.

“Wow, Wendy, you look hot.” Anika whistled, “Do I? I feel very perceived right now…” “Where’s Becca and Matt and Carrie?” “Becca didn’t want to risk seeing Quinn.” “Quinn was never gonna come to this party, she knows that” “I know but she still doesn’t want to see her and as for Matt and Carrie they’re hanging out at Carrie’s tonight, studying for some exam…Where’s Chad?” “With Ethan probably doing shots somewhere” Mindy wiggles her eyebrows, “Mind, stop, you know I’ve never had a conversation with him.” “So go talk to him! I know Chad’s been encouraging you to anyways.” Wendy rolled her eyes before walking off, “Have fun but not too much fun Wen!”

Wendy eventually finds Chad and Ethan, “What are you suppose to be, Wendy?” Wendy gasps at Ethan’s question, “Reputation Tour Taylor Swift, Ethan… oh my God don’t tell me you don’t know who Taylor Swift is?” Wendy shuts her eyes, the only red flag to her she’d see in him is if he says yes to her question. “No, I know who she is just have never seen Taylor in an outfit like… that.” Chad smirks at the two of them, the two completely oblivious to it. “Guess I’ll just have to show the tour documentary then.” Wendy smiles at him before sipping her drink. “Yeah… guess you’ll have to.” The two continued their conversation not even realizing Chad had walked off, “Guys, we’ve gotta go.”

On the way to Tara and Sam’s apartment, after Sam was attacked, Ethan and Wendy continue talking, “You okay Wennie?” Ethan asks her, some of whatever drink was thrown at Sam splashing her… “Huh?” “What?” “The nickname… no one’s ever called me Wennie before.” “I-I can stop calling you that if you want, it’s just you’re kind of sickeningly sweet like honey.” “I think it’s cute, Eth.”

Jump skip to at the apartment because I’m becoming lazy writing this: Wendy is sitting next to Ethan, watching the news with the group, Sam’s phone rings and Wendy quietly gasps, “Why is everyone freaking out about her phone ringing?” “Dude, catch up.” “Wennie…” Wendy looks down at her phone to see a text from Kurt, ‘Wendy, I saw the news are you okay?’ “I’m going to be sick.” Wendy quickly got up and ran to the bathroom, calling Matt as she walks.

“Wendy?”

“Matt…” Wendy sobs

“Wen, what’s wrong?”

“You’re with Carrie right?”

“Yes, Wendy tell me what’s going on?”

“You’ve heard from Becca, right?”

“She’s with me, she has been all night. Now Wendy, seriously why are you crying? I thought you went to that halloween party with Chad and the girls.”

“Turn on the news.”

“Wen… I’m coming to get you.”

“No Matt, stay with Carrie and Becca… they need someone to protect them too, I’ll be fine I’m with Chad and Ethan at Tara and Sam’s. I’m safe.”

“You know if anything happens to you W-“

“Wes will come back from the dead and murder you. I know Matt…”

“There’s something else going on isn’t there?”

“… Kurt texted me.”

“I thought you blocked his number?”

“I did, and I never fucking answer him… but he just changes his number and texts me again. It’s exhausting.”

“Just don’t respond Wen.”

“Don’t worry I won’t… I better get back to the group before they start getting worried. Love you like a brother Matt.”

“Love you like a sister Wen… prepare for 200 texts from both Becca and Carrie.”

Wendy giggles before hanging up and leaves the bathroom. “Everything okay?” “Yeah… just needed a minute.” She smiles at Ethan before sitting down next to him again, Chad raises an eyebrow and at her and she mouths “later” before getting comfortable. She listened to the conversations around her as she slowly leaned towards Ethan, his arm slowly making its way around her. She felt a pair of eyes on her and she looked up to see Quinn glaring at her. ‘What the hell is that about?’ Wendy thought to herself.

The next day on Campus, the group is sitting together minus Matt, Becca, and Wendy. “Where’s Wennie?” Ethan asked as he sat, “Who?” Chad questions him. “Wennie… Wendy.” “Oh dude you are so down bad.” Mindy says, “Who’s down bad?” Matt asks. “Chad for Tara.” Anika quickly covers for Ethan and gives him a thumbs up as Matt teases Chad. “Hey.” Ethan says to Wendy as she sits down, “Hey.” Wendy yawns, “Did you get enough sleep last night?” “None actually and class was super boring… I’d rather be anywhere but here right now but Mindy begged me to show up for her horror movie monologue.” “You can nap on my shoulder if you want to, Wennie.” “You sure, Eth?” “Positive.” Wendy slowly started to drift off after her head met his shoulder only to wake up when Ethan mutters out “Am I gonna die a virgin?” Wendy’s eyes opening and she looks up at him like ‘wtf did you just say’ before looking over at Quinn who’s glaring at her yet again.

After Mindy’s monologue, the group splits off, Ethan offering to walk Wendy back to her dorm, the two are having a lovely conversation before they’re stopped by none other than Kurt Parker. “Wendy, hey you never responded to my text.” “Maybe because I was busy and maybe because I don’t owe you a response, Kurt.” “Wendy there’s a killer on the loose again, you need to be safe, who’s this Nerd anyways?” Wendy rolls her eyes, “The ‘nerd’ has a name and it’s Ethan,” Wendy grabbed Ethan’s hand, “and he’s my new boyfriend so fuck off Kurt.” Wendy drags Ethan with her toward her dorm. “I’m so sorry you’re getting dragged into this Eth… it’s just Kurt never leaves me alone, I’ve blocked his number god knows how many times and he just changes his number to text me again.” “It’s fine Wennie… want me to beat him up?” Ethan half jokes causing Wendy to giggle, “No, Eth, it’s okay, there’s already a line of people - even the dead, who want to do that. Besides wouldn’t want your cute face to get harmed.” She smiles at him as they continue walking. “I have a weird question.” “Shoot.” “Have you noticed how Quinn glares at me whenever I sit near you?” “Yeah… it’s a little weird right?” “I guess… it might be because I’m best friends with her ex, she’s always been kind of mean to me.”

Later that night Wendy arrives to the Carpenter sister apartment by herself, “Wennie you’re here by yourself?” Mindy teases her as she opens the door. “Haha funny, Eth had class and Matt is with Carrie and Becca, and we all agreed to stay in at least pairs…” Wendy trailed off, “I’m joking Wen, also Eth? That’s new. Still don’t trust him.” “Okay…” Wendy sat with Anika on the couch as Mindy went back to the dining room to set the table, the duo minding their own business as they worked on school assignments, when they heard the core four conversation, “Does it hurt?” Anika asks Wendy quietly, “What hurt?” “Them seemingly forgetting you were there and that you survived with them.” “Not really… they were more Wes’ friends than mine to begin with, I only got close with them when we all moved here. Though if you ask Matt he will definitely be hurt from being excluded in the core four.” Wendy and Anika laughed together before they heard noises coming from Quinn’s room, “Oh my god does she ever not?” Wendy jokes causing Anika to laugh harder until their phones went off and Wendy looked at the photo, “Oh my god.” The four core run out into the living room all standing before “Quinn’s dead body” is thrown at Anika. Mindy and Anika started fighting Ghostface, Wendy hitting Ghostface with one of her textbooks after he stabs Anika, subsequently getting stabbed in the same spot she was stabbed by Richie about a year prior. “Oh fuck.” Sam leads them into the room, locking the door, Mindy running to lock the other door before seeing a dead body in the bathtub and screaming. Ghostface easily finding them before Mindy and Sam shut the other door and put Quinn’s dress in front of the door to try to block him from getting in. Sam climbs the ladder across first, followed by Mindy, Wendy is holding the door while putting pressure on her wound. “Ani you have to go. I’ll be right behind you.” “I can’t go Wen, you have to go please go.” “Ani, I’m not letting you die. I can’t lose another person.” Wendy begs her and Anika nods before going to the ladder and starting to climb, Wendy losing strength to hold the door and runs over to the window to hold the ladder down. Across the way, Wendy can see Chad and Tara inside Danny’s apartment helping Mindy, Wendy looks back at the door and sees that Ghostface is almost in, “I don’t want to die.” Anika cries, “You won’t die Ani, I won’t allow it.” Wendy shouts to her, “Just keep going.” Chad and Sam get Anika in and Wendy gets onto the ladder looking down “Oh fuck.” She whispers, “Wendy come on!” Chad shouts at her. Wendy starts crawling trying not to slip on Anika’s blood, she gets over halfway through before she almost slips off “Shit!” “Wendy, you’ve got to hurry come on!” Tara shouts at her before she’s pushed out of the way, “Wennie!” “Eth?” Wendy questions before she feels the ladder get shaken, “OH MY GOD!” She screams, tears streaming from her face. “Wennie grab my hand!” “I can’t Eth!” She tells him and she crawls closer. The ladder jolts again and Wendy looks down, accepting her fate was likely death. “I’m going to die I’m going to die.” Wendy whispers, before the ladder jolts again as she’s crawling closer to the window, she feels herself slip before there’s two hands on her wrists, “Wennie, I’ve got you just climb a little closer.” Ethan tells her and Wendy nods climbing slightly closer before her leg slips, Ghostface takes the chance to try to get her off the ladder, “Chad some help!” Chad runs over to the window and helps pull Wendy in the window before she clings to Ethan. “I thought you had Econ.” “I got out earlier, saw Sam and Mindy crawling over the ladder before running inside and finding Tara and Chad running to… what’s his name…. his apartment.”.

Wendy sits in the back of an ambulance with Mindy watching one drive off with Anika, Ethan rubs her shoulder as she leans into him. They watch as Detective Bailey walks out of the apartment building, crying. “Something seems off.” Wendy says to Mindy. “You’re right… still don’t trust Ethan though.” “Mindy he’s standing literally right next to me.” “Still don’t trust him.” Mindy glares at him, “Ghostface.”

Skip to the shrine, “Holy shit.” Wendy mumbles as she walks around, her hand dropping from Ethan… her breath hitched as she looks at two outfits next to a case, a drawing of her mom inside of it. “Wennie…” “It’s my mom.” She whispers, hearing Mindy call Chad over and talking about their uncle Randy. “Dewey…” Wendy turns to Matt, Carrie, and Becca. Wendy watches as Carrie walks over to her mom, immediately hugging her. Wendy feels Matt touch her shoulder, “Wen…” Wendy shakes her head before walking away.

FBI VAN: Wendy sits next to Ethan, listening to Mindy talk to Kirby, Ethan offers his cheetos to Wendy and she shakes her head. She’s also not surprised when she finds out Tara and Sam stole Detective Bailey’s car.

The subway: Matt, Becca, Tara, Chad, Danny, and Sam all get separated from Wendy, Ethan and Mindy. Mindy still gets stabbed, Ethan and Wendy get her help before they tell Mindy they’re still going to help the others. Ethan about halfway there stops Wendy, “Wennie I don’t think you should go…” “What are you talking about Eth, I’m going, they’re my friends.” “Wennie I don’t want you to get hurt.” “I’m not going to get hurt, you’ll be there, my knight in shiny cardboard.” “Wennie…” Wendy looks at Ethan for a second before dropping his hand. “Ethan… no…” “Wennie I’m sorry I wanted to tell you.” “No Ethan, you don’t get to just say sorry.” “Wen-“ “Leave me alone Landry.” She shook her head as she walked away tears streaming down her face as she sped walked to the theater/shrine. “Wendy, where’s Mindy? Where’s Ethan?” Sam asks her, “Mindy was stabbed, and Eth-“ the two are cut off by the sounds of Tara’s screams, “TARA!” They both shouted running towards the screams. Matt close behind them, Chad had taken care of one Ghostface killer before another one came up behind him and stabbed him, Matt running over to defend Chad before getting stabbed multiple times. Sam dragging both Tara and Wendy out, Wendy zones out during Kirby and Sam’s shouting followed by Detective Bailey’s before he shot Kirby. Two Ghostfaces appearing next to him, Wendy gulps, knowing one of them is probably Ethan. The first of the two ghostfaces pulls their mask off revealing Quinn “hey roomies”, Sam immediately assumed the other Ghostface is Becca, but before the other Ghostface could pull their mask off Wendy feels someone grab her from behind and hold a knife to her throat. The other Ghostface quickly pulls his mask off, “You promised me she wouldn’t get hurt.” “Promises were meant to be broken son.” “Son?” Wendy whispers before the knife is pressed harder into her throat. “God Ethan, this lovesick puppy bullshit is getting gross. Why do you think we got a replacement for you?” Quinn gags as she looks at the way her brother stares at Wendy. “Replacement?” Ethan turns towards his dad. “Yeah, brother, you disappointed us by falling in love with the enemy so we replaced you. Wasn’t that hard really, right dad?” Detective Bailey nods before turning towards the Carpenter sisters, “There’s a special bond a father has with his first son.” Ethan looked upset as he looked towards Wendy, Wendy motioned with her eyes for him to go, Ethan reluctantly sneaks out while his father argued with Sam and Quinn was distracted. “It’s Richie.” Wendy whispered, “What?” Tara asked, “Their brother, his son, it’s Richie.” Wendy repeats the knife to her throat drawing a little bit of blood. “Then who’s holding you?”

“Surprise, Wendy… or should I say baby” Kurt laughs as he pulls his mask off the knife still to her throat. “Go to hell.”

“Nah uh, huh.” Kurt gripped her again, “You’re the one going to hell, slut.” Kurt dragged Wendy off as Tara and Sam screamed for her, Wendy cried as she gets dragged. “This is going to be so much fun.”

“For who?” Wendy asks a slight smirk to her face as she sees Ethan out of the corner of her eye.

“Me, obviously baby, I’m going to have my way with you and then I’m going to gut you like the bitch you are.” Kurt replies before stabbing her in the stomach, Wendy screams out but asking him “Yeah but how will you do that if you’re dead?”

“Me dead? How would that happe-“ Kurt was cut off by a knife going through the side of his throat, Wendy covered in his blood. Before he’s tackled off her, “That’s how… Wennie, come on, I’ve got to get you out here.” Ethan put pressure on her wound. “We have to help Tara and Sam… and Chad and Matt… where’s Becca?”

“Becca is fine, she got out after Quinn stabbed her, she’s with Danny.”

“But how?”

“Wennie now is not the time for questions.”

After the rest of ScreamVi: Wendy spends a few days in the hospital, Ethan by her side despite being question by the police multiple times, though Kirby is helping with his cover story. The two were still not official a few months after, in fact Wendy was still upset with Ethan for not telling her sooner. Until Wendy’s birthday, April 29th, Ethan still wasn’t on the best of terms with the rest of the group, especially not Matt who became Wendy’s protective older brother after Wes’ death but Wendy still wanted him at her birthday get together. “It’s not much but it’s still something” “Eth, you didn’t have to.” “I know I didn’t but I wanted to…” Wendy opened the present and looked at it in awe, “Is this?” “A bracelet inspired by Taylor’s different eras? Yes, because I know you were bummed about missing out on buying one from her merch sale… so I found someone selling one on ebay and I got it for you.” “Eth…” Wendy trailed off, a single tear flowing down her cheek. “I probably should go now, Matt and Chad are death glaring at me.” Ethan goes to leave, “Eth wait!” Wendy grabs his wrist, he turns to face her, “Can I kiss you?” she asks, Ethan hesitates but he nods, Wendy leans in and kisses him AND THATS WHERE WE ARE AT UNTIL SCREAM7 THIS TOOK TOO LONG TO WRITE SO GOODNIGHT!

#Scream OC #Scream Original Character

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krueger4eva · 3 months

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Top 12 LGBT Horror Characters

2. Mindy Meeks-Martin (played by Jasmin Savoy Brown) from Scream 5 and Scream IV

*spoilers for Scream (2022) and Scream VI*

What’s your favorite scary movie?

Since we’ve covered Scream on the small screen, let’s chat about this franchise from the big screen.

Since the 90s, the Scream franchise remains an iconic slasher/whodunnit series with a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the horror genre. This series is known for praising, critiquing and deconstructing famous horror tropes including the final girl archetype and the common mistakes that could make you the latest murder victim.

Yet the genre, especially the slasher subgenre, has always evolved for every generation of fans. Each passing decade can add new rules or break the old ones. Which makes your survival of a Ghostface attack much more unpredictable.

But if you’re in need of a refresher course on the evolution of horror, Mindy Meeks-Martin will luckily (depending on your amount of patience) be your instructor.

Lacking any semblance of filter, Mindy is loud, spirited and blunt as a vintage baseball bat. If you’re on her shit list, she will not hesitate to tell you to your face. Even if you’re close to her, It’s hard to tell whether she’s looking out for you or just f*cking with you.

Just ask her twin, Chad.

So she never tries to sugarcoat the danger that her, her brother, and their friends are in from the next generation of Ghostfaces, especially if that danger may come from within their circle.

With her extensive knowledge on cinema, this Woodsboro High alumni could earn a great gig as a horror hostess (assuming she lives in the next film). Perhaps, Mindy could be the next “Mistress of the Dark” in the making.

For any die-hard horror fan who’s willing to share and debate over the subject, Mindy could make an ideal travel buddy for you.

Just don’t ask her to take the subway….

Although it kind of irks me how she doesn’t always take the situation seriously, especially since people she knows personally are being attacked or murdered.

There are also times I question how close her friend group is due to the fact that they are always quick to suspecting each other of being a killer.

You guys like each other, right?

But on another positive note, Mindy’s not intimidated by a little competition as a horror expert. In fact, she is elated when she FINALLY met someone who shares her love of scary movie knowledge. Perhaps her and Agent Reed could debate which stunt actor played the best Jason Voorhees.

Unfortunately, her genre savviness aren’t enough to keep her conscious long enough to witness the Ghostface unmasking.

Don’t worry, Mindy. There’s always next time.

Now, with the burden of being a Ghostface survivor, Mindy will carry the traditional bad luck of having more random psychopaths gravitate toward her than a swarm of mosquitoes to a hospital blood bank.

But it won’t be a weight she’ll carry on her own. In the wake of these horrific tragedies, an unlikely type of family comes together, ready to face the next monster in that familiar white mask.

Uncle Randy would be so proud.

#jasmin savoy brown #mindy meeks martin #scream #scream 2022 #scream vi #fictional lesbian characters #lgbt horror #horror characters #top 12 lgbt horror characters

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frankendykes-monster · 2 years

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The trailer for Scream VI arrived last week. At one point in the promo, franchise veteran Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) acknowledges how familiar all this has become. “You know you’re like the tenth guy to try this, right?” she complains to the latest killer hiding behind the Ghostface mask (Roger L. Jackson). It’s a sentiment with which the audience might agree, and there’s a strong sense that Scream VI is built around that. “I’m something… different,” the killer intones in reply.

The trailer makes an argument for Scream VI as a departure from what came before. Reports suggest this will be the first film in the franchise not to star Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. The opening of the trailer finds Ghostface discharging a shotgun. Allowing for the Los Angeles setting in Scream 3, Scream VI takes the franchise and its cast away from the familiar surroundings of Woodsboro, with Ghostface stalking his targets in the Big Apple. The movie’s initial teaser trailer was set on a subway.

While these are major departures for the Scream series, they also feel like somewhat generic conventions for any major horror franchise. Classic horror franchises like the Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th series regularly swap protagonists between installments. Despite being perhaps the most iconic “final girl” in horror history, Jamie Lee Curtis has taken extended breaks from the Halloween franchise. As Scream gets older, it feels more like every other slasher series.

There are other touches in the trailer that recall the standard conventions of a long-running series of slasher movies. When it was first announced that Scream VI would be set in New York, there were obvious comparisons to the eight Friday the 13th movie, Jason Takes Manhattan. To be fair, given that famously only the final act of Jason Takes Manhattan actually takes place in the eponymous borough, Scream VI at least looks to take proper advantage of its new urban setting.

The trailer also teases the prospect of a cult built around Ghostface, the unifying persona donned by the individual killers in the previous five features. There appears to be a museum or an auction house populated with memorabilia from the franchise. Oddly enough, this evokes a recurring trend in classic slasher sequels, such as the “Cult of Thorn” in the later run of original Halloween sequels. Cult of Chucky riffs on a similar idea with the eponymous killer doll (Brad Dourif) creating copies of himself.

That said, there are other elements of Scream VI that suggest a more modern style of franchise-building. The film goes heavy on the fan service, even resurrecting characters who should probably be dead. Like so many modern franchises, Scream seems increasingly reluctant to kill its darlings. The trailer brings back fan-favorite character Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), who was brutally stabbed at the climax of Scream 4, but was confirmed alive in an Easter egg buried in the fifth movie.

A lot of this is carried over from the previous installment, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Scream (2022). That fifth movie found a way to bring back the franchise’s original killer, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), as a vision haunting his daughter, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera). This reflected the increasing reverence for continuity and fan service in modern franchising. It is perhaps revealing that one of the posters for Scream VI is a literal web of continuity arranged to evoke a subway map.

The fifth film also demonstrated a reluctance to kill off potentially popular characters, making the film’s killers seem especially inept. Sam’s half-sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega), became the franchise’s first character to survive a movie’s opening set piece. Both Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding) also survived brutal attacks at the movie’s climax. In some ways, that film was more engaged with fan-service properties like Star Wars than with horror franchise tropes.

Scream 4 was the final film in the franchise from the series’s original creative team, director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson. There were reports that Craven imagined Scream 4 as the first film in a new trilogy, but those plans were scuppered when Craven passed away in August 2015. As such, it seems reasonable to draw a clean line between the original four films defined by the involvement of Williamson and/or Craven and the sequels that followed.

There would be 11 years between the release of the fourth and fifth films, with directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett taking over the series with writers Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt, who had collaborated with the pair on Ready or Not. Understandably, these creators seem to have a very different understanding of what Scream is and how it functions. In some ways, looking at their work on the 2022 movie and the premise / trailer for Scream VI, it is a much more generic franchise.

The original Scream was in many ways a perfect movie for the late 1990s. It was postmodern, ironic, and self-aware. It breathed new life into mainstream horror filmmaking, a genre that was somewhat moribund as the millennium approached. George A. Romero argued that “the genre was dying and Scream saved it.” It did this by drawing attention to the tropes and conventions of the classic slasher movie, presenting a cast of characters shrewd enough to engage with the trappings of the genre.

Scream fundamentally altered what the slasher movie could be and profoundly affected other major horror franchises. Just a year before the release of Scream, the Halloween franchise seemed to be on its last legs with the cheap and dire Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Two years after Scream, the Halloween franchise took its cues (and some uncredited story work and script polish) from Williamson to deliver the franchise revival Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later.

Scream seemed to inspire the best in these old horror franchises. After the disappointment (and controversy) of Child’s Play 3, the Chucky franchise roared back to life with Bride of Chucky, a movie so heavily indebted to the self-awareness of Scream that even the posters evoked Scream 2. Much like Halloween H20, Bride of Chucky was a film that used the youthful energy and self-awareness that made Scream a breakout hit to reinvigorate a franchise that had seemed past its prime.

As such, there is a sense of frustration in watching a franchise that had so effectively reinvented slasher movies become much more generic. These recent sequels enthusiastically embrace the tired tropes that the original Scream mercilessly parodied and criticized: ghosts, the resurrection of fan-favorite characters, unnecessary tangled webs of interpersonal relationships and continuity, cults worshiping that continuity, and the desire to keep things fresh by just swapping setting.

The Halloween and Chucky franchises used to take their cues from Scream, but the trailer for Scream VI suggests that the trend has been reversed. Scream saved the slasher genre from underwhelming and lifeless sequels like Jason Takes Manhattan and The Curse of Michael Myers, so it is surreal to see Scream itself caught in that same web of long-running slasher franchise conventions. What would seasoned video store clerk Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) think of the trailer for Scream VI?

Then again, perhaps it makes sense. There is a solid argument that the self-aware irony of the 1990s has served its purpose, and pop culture is too saturated with knowing and winking media. Watching many modern blockbusters, it can seem that Hollywood learned all of the wrong lessons from the cleverness of Scream. In so many modern feature films, everything is a joke and nothing has any real stakes. That level of detachment can become numbing, especially when applied thoughtlessly.

Looking at recent box office figures, there is a vague sense that audiences might yearn for a little earnestness and sincerity. For well over a decade, the box office has been dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has an aesthetic defined by quippy and self-aware dialogue in the style of Joss Whedon, a key figure in the same wave of 1990s youth culture that produced Scream. However, there is a small sense that audiences are drifting (just a little bit) away from that template.

In contrast, the biggest movies of the past year were undeniably straight-faced, never breaking character to wink at the audience. Avatar: The Way of Water was James Cameron leaning into his cheesy and sentimental side, creating a movie that cannot survive any contact with irony. Top Gun: Maverick is an unapologetic embrace of the conventions and beats of old-fashioned blockbusters, an ode to the old-fashioned movie star charisma of its lead Tom Cruise.

Despite playing its slasher tropes much straighter than the four earlier films in the franchise, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s Scream was a massive critical and commercial success. Along with films like Maverick, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s Scream was part of a banner year for Paramount. In a strange way, it feels like the recent Scream films have read the room and pivoted accordingly, embracing a more earnest and sincere approach to slasher and franchise storytelling.

So this swerve back to an unironic embrace of these slasher movie conventions makes a certain amount of sense in the context of larger cultural trends. Still, it is a little disheartening. Scream used to set horror trends. Now, it looks like it’s chasing them.

#in the effort of fairness scream 3 suffered from virtually all of these same issues #down to sydney being haunted by the ghost of her mother and the bizarre new retcon of the first film #scream 4 served as a necessary return to form

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