Kevin Williamson

About the movie When a new Ghostface killer terrorises the quiet town where Sidney has rebuilt her life, her worst fears come true as her daughter becomes the next target. To protect her family, she must confront the horrors of her past and stop the bloodshed once and for all.

Keith Borden, a timid and sheltered man who is haunted by a ghost of his past, begins to suspect things aren't what they seem when he is framed for the disappearance of his girlfriend.

Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.

A werewolf attacks three young adults and they realize that they must kill the werewolf in order to save themselves from turning into a werewolf too.

Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), now living in Los Angeles and the host of a nationally syndicated television show, 100% Cotton, is called by Ghostface, who demands the whereabouts of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who has gone into seclusion since the events at Windsor college. Cotton refuses to answer even when the caller claims to be in Cotton's house and threatens to kill his girlfriend. Cotton tries calling home, but his girlfriend does not pick up, as the phone line had been cut. Cotton tries calling 911, but the wait time is too long. Meanwhile the killer uses a voice changing device to mimic Cotton to lure his girlfriend Christine out and attacks her. Christine manages to lock herself into a room with the killer taunting her in Cotton's voice. Cotton reaches home, and Christine attacks Cotton believing that he is the killer who had attacked her. Both Cotton and Christine (Kelly Rutherford) are murdered. Detective Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) meets with Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox Arquette) to discuss the murders. Kincaid reveals that the murderer left a photo at the crime scene, which Gale identifies as that of Maureen, Sidney's mother. This prompts Gale to travel to Hollywood, where she finds Dewey Riley (David Arquette) working as an advisor on the set of Stab 3, the third film in the film within a film series based on the Ghostface murders. Cotton had recently recorded a cameo for the movie and was well known on the sets. Ghostface kills Stab 3 actress Sarah Darling (Jenny McCarthy) (who was playing the role of Casey from Woodsboro) with the help of a voice changer (imitating the movie's director Roman), halting the film's production to the frustration of director Roman Bridger. Sidney is now living in an isolated home as a crisis counselor for an abused women's hot-line, as she is terrified that another killer may strike. Her property is protected with several layers of security devices. Sidney learns from the news that Cotton has been murdered. Sidney starts having nightmares about Maureen haunting her and Ghostface attacking her. Having discovered her number, the killer begins taunting Sidney using a voice changer to sound like her deceased mother Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee). Sidney travels to Hollywood, realizing she is no longer safe. As the remaining Stab 3 cast gather at the home of Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey) who is playing the role of Gale weathers in the movie. Ghostface kills her bodyguard Steven Stone (Patrick Warburton) and uses a gas leak to cause an explosion, killing fellow actor Tom Prinze (Matt Keeslar). Dewey is the technical assistant for the movie production & Jennifer was attracted to Dewey, causing much irritation to Gale. Martha Meeks (Heather Matarazzo), the sister of Sidney's murdered friend Randy (Jamie Kennedy), visits Sidney and the others to deliver a videotape that Randy made before his death. Randy posthumously warns them the rules of a horror film do not apply in the third film of a trilogy and that any of them could die. Sidney wanders on to the sets of Stab 3, which are modeled on her original house at Woodsboro & is attacked by Ghostface & barely escapes. Gale and Jennifer do some digging in the Hollywood archives & figure that Maureen Prescott was an actress in Hollywood before she returned to Woodsboro and met Sidney's father. Maureen briefly worked as an actress in the 1960s under the stage name "Rina Reynolds" and had been sexually assaulted at a party held by Stab 3 producer John Milton (Lance Henriksen), who had earlier made 3 movies with Maureen. Dewey, Gale, Jennifer, and the remaining Stab 3 actors, Angelina Tyler (Emily Mortimer) and Tyson Fox (Deon Richmond), attend a birthday party for Stab 3's director Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) where Ghostface strikes. Gale discovers Roman's body with a knife in his chest in a movie-set coffin in the basement, while Angelina, Tyson, and Jennifer are killed by Ghostface at various places throughout the house. Ghostface then orders Sidney to the mansion to save Gale and Dewey's lives, as they are tied up. When she arrives, Ghostface forces Sidney to remove her firearm but she reveals a hidden one, which she uses to shoot the killer. As Sidney is untying Gale and Dewy, Ghostface's body disappears. Detective Kincaid shows up but is knocked out by Ghostface. Sidney flees and hides in a secret screening room where she encounters Ghostface. He reveals himself as Roman, having faked his death and survived being shot due to a bulletproof vest. Roman explains that he is Sidney's half-brother and the product of Maureen's sexual assault. Four years prior, he tracked Maureen down, only for her to reject him. Bitter over the rejection, he would film all the men she philandered with. He showed Billy Loomis the footage of his father with Maureen, which motivated him to kill her (sparking the events at Woodsboro and Windsor). However, when he discovered how much fame Sidney got because of those events, Roman snapped and lured Sidney out of hiding. After Roman reveals a bound Milton and slits his throat, Sidney furiously denounces his explanation as nothing more than deflection to hide his selfish motivations. Roman suffers a mental breakdown and attacks. Sidney and Roman have a ferocious fight, and he ends up shooting her. While preparing for Gale and Dewey to arrive, Roman is now surprised to see that Sidney's body has disappeared. As he begins to place a call to Sidney's cellphone to locate her, he instead receives an incoming call from her. This distracts him long enough for Sidney to stab Roman in the back, apparently killing him, but not before showing him that she too was wearing a bulletproof vest. Dewey and Gale arrive, and Roman suddenly jumps up and attacks again, only for Dewey to kill him with a shot to the head. In the aftermath of the murders, Dewey proposes to Gale, which she accepts as Sidney arrives. Sidney is invited to join Dewey, Gale, and Detective Kincaid to watch a movie. As she goes to join the others, a door behind her opens, but she walks away leaving it as is, finally confident that the murders have ended and that she is now safe.

Leigh Ann (Katie Holmes) is a high school student who wants to achieve top grades to become valedictorian. However, her grade in History class is threatened by her sadistic teacher, Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren). Mrs. Tingle has a special dislike for Leigh Ann and down-grades Leigh Ann's well-designed project. The teacher also stumbles upon Leigh Ann with the final exam, which had been stolen and planted in Leigh Ann's backpack without her consent, and threatens to have her expelled for it. Leigh Ann and her two friends, Luke (Barry Watson) and Jo Lynn (Marisa Coughlan), head to Mrs. Tingle's house that night and try to convince the teacher that Leigh Ann is innocent. Mrs. Tingle, however, does not listen. A physical struggle ensues and Mrs. Tingle is accidentally knocked unconscious. The students panic and tie Mrs. Tingle to her bed. Pretending to be Mrs. Tingle, Jo Lynn calls the school the next morning and feigns illness in order to buy themselves some time, but all are unsure of what they should do next. Mrs. Tingle eventually reveals that she hates Leigh Ann because Leigh Ann has the potential to leave their small town and experience life something Mrs. Tingle never got a chance to do but her honesty only furthers her captors' dislike of her. She also opines that Leigh Ann does not have the guts to do anything that will get her in trouble; in response, an angry and infuriated Leigh Ann kisses Luke and has sex with him on Mrs Tingle's couch. The next day at school, Jo Lynn ignores Leigh Ann because she had a crush a crush Leigh Ann had been aware of. A regretful Leigh Ann tries to make amends with Jo Lynn, but an admission that she'd had sex with Luke further infuriates Jo Lynn. Leigh Ann, Luke, and Jo Lynn decide to blackmail Mrs. Tingle by producing photographic evidence of her love affair with the school's gym teacher. Before they can enact their plot, however, Mrs. Tingle escapes from her bonds. After a fight at the top of the staircase, she seemingly falls to her death but then quickly recovers, scrambles to her feet, and picks up a crossbow. She fires it wildly, trying to hit Leigh Ann. Trudie Tucker (Liz Stauber) walks through the door, gets hit in the chest by the bolt, and appears to be dead just as Principal Potter (Michael McKean) arrives to check up on Mrs. Tingle. Leigh Ann forces Mrs. Tingle to tell everything that happened with her that she wanted Leigh Ann to fail, that she shot Trudie with the arrow, among other things. However, Trudie was protected by a thick textbook she was holding at her chest and was completely unharmed. Mrs. Tingle is fired, and the final scene of the film shows Leigh Ann being named valedictorian.

One evening at Herrington High School in Ohio, several teachers and the principal leave after discussions about the school's budget. Having left her keys behind, Principal Valerie Drake (Bebe Neuwirth) returns to retrieve them. In her office, she is barred from leaving by Coach Willis (Robert Patrick), who becomes increasingly erratic. As she attempts to leave, Willis impulsively stabs a pencil through her hand. Valerie flees to the entrance only to find the door chained up and the drama teacher Mrs. Olsen (Piper Laurie) is outside. She retrieves her keys and grabs a pair of scissors, and is able to escape. Outside, Mrs. Olsen emotionlessly grabs the scissors, and stabs Valerie to death. The following morning, the film's six protagonist students are introduced. Casey Connor (Elijah Wood), the dedicated but perpetually klutzy and harassed geek photographer for the school newspaper. The spiteful Delilah Profitt (Jordana Brewster), the paper's editor-in-chief and head cheerleader. Delilah's mistreated boyfriend Stan Rosado (Shawn Hatosy) who is contemplating quitting the school's football team to pursue academics. Zeke Tyler (Josh Hartnett), an intelligent yet rebellious student repeating his senior year who sells, among other illegal items, a powdery ecstasy-like drug he manufactures and distributes. Zeke is confronted by the timid Miss Elizabeth Burke (Famke Janssen), who expresses concern for him over his illegal activities. A naive transfer student from Atlanta, Georgia, Marybeth Louise Hutchinson (Laura Harris), attempts to befriend self-styled outcast, Stokely Mitchell (Clea DuVall), despite the fact that Delilah has deliberately spread rumors that Stokes is a lesbian even though she has a crush on Stan. Marybeth, on the other hand, develops a crush on Zeke. While eating lunch on the football field, Casey notices a strange creature in the grass. He takes it to science teacher Mr. Furlong (Jon Stewart), where the specimen is examined and believed to be a new species of cephalopod-specific parasite called a mesozoan. Delilah takes Casey into the teacher's lounge to find a story for the front page, where they hide in a closet. They witness Coach Willis and Ms. Olsen assault the school nurse, Ms. Harper (Salma Hayek) by forcing one of the creatures into her ear. They also find the body of Mrs. Brummel (Susan Willis). Casey and Delilah flee, and Casey calls the police. Principal Drake claims nothing is wrong and that Casey is seeking attention. The next day, Casey tells Delilah, Stan and Stokely that he believes the teachers are being controlled by aliens. After Zeke and Marybeth enter the classroom and tease them about their theory, Mr. Furlong confronts them. Furlong suddenly becomes defensive and attempts to infect them. Zeke cuts off Furlong's fingers and then injects his homemade drugs into Furlong's eye, apparently killing him. Zeke takes the five to his house where he examines and experiments with Casey's specimen. He discovers that it needs water to survive and can be killed by his drugs because it is a diuretic. Zeke makes everyone take some of his drug to prove they are human and unaffected. Delilah is revealed as infected, and she destroys Zeke's lab and most of his drug supply before escaping. Acting on Stokely's speculation that killing the queen alien would revert everyone to normal, the group returns to the school that evening, where their football team is playing a game and infecting opposing players. Believing Principal Drake to be the queen, they isolate her in the gym and fatally shoot her. Stan goes outside and confronts the coach and football team to see if it worked, but gets infected. Zeke and Casey go to Zeke's car to retrieve more of Zeke's drugs. Casey leads infected students away from Zeke, who encounters Miss Burke in the parking lot and seemingly kills her when he makes his escape. Back at the gym, Stokely becomes suspicious of Marybeth during a conversation about pretending to be what one isn't. Marybeth subsequently reveals herself to be the alien queen. Earlier, she faked taking the drug. Casey and Stokely flee to the swimming pool where Stokely gets injured and becomes infected. Zeke and Casey hide in the locker room, where Marybeth reverts to her human disguise, naked. She explains that she is taking over Earth because her own planet is dying. Marybeth transforms back into her true form and hurls Zeke across the room into several lockers, knocking him out. Casey seizes the drug and tricks the queen into following him into the retracting bleachers, thus trapping her. Casey then stabs the drug into the queen's eye. The queen infects Casey with her dying breath, but Casey almost immediately returns to normal upon the queen's death. The dead body of the alien queen dissolves into powdered remains. Casey returns to the locker room and finds Stokely and Zeke alive. One month later, everyone has returned to normal. Stan and Stokely begin dating, and Zeke takes Stan's place on the football team (while Miss Burke affectionately watches him practice). Mr. Furlong has miraculously survived the attack, now sporting an eyepatch and bandages on his hand. Casey begins dating Delilah and has been considered a local hero.

Four teenagers are celebrating, but their revelry leads to an accidental death. They swear to take it to their graves but someone knows their secret and will make them pay for it.

While attending a preview of the film Stab, a film within a film based on the Woodsboro murders depicted in Scream, two students at Windsor College, Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett) and Phil Stevens (Omar Epps) are killed by Ghostface. Before entering the auditorium, the entire audience is given Ghostface masks and as such everybody looked exactly the same. The crowd was already in a frenzy and some of the audience also enacted slashing scenes of the movie using fake knives. Phil is stabbed through the ear in a bathroom stall while trying to listen closely to strange whimpering noises. The killer, wearing a Ghostface costume, returns to the screening and sits beside Maureen, before mortally stabbing her. At first the audience believe her to be part of the raucous acting out, until she falls dead in front of the cinema screen. The following day, the news media, including local journalist Debbie Salt (Laurie Metcalf), descend on Windsor College, where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) now studies alongside fellow Woodsboro survivor Randy (Jamie Kennedy), her boyfriend Derek (Jerry O'Connell), Derek's best friend Mickey (Timothy Olyphant), and her best friend Hallie (Elise Neal). Sidney receives prank calls but has now installed a number identification device on her landline. She is oblivious to the recent killings until someone instructs her to watch the news. Sidney meets Randy and says that the murders are starting again, but Randy is not convinced and says that a lot of crimes are committed at the movie theaters. Two other Woodsboro survivors arrive at the campus: officer Dewey Riley (David Arquette) who comes to help Sidney, and reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) to cover the case. Dewey says that if somebody is repeating the Woodsboro murders then Sidney would probably already know them. Gale is only looking for publicity. She refuses to take any responsibility for the movie Stab, based on her book, for being the inspiration for the new murders. Yet, she demands answers from local police about what they are doing to prevent further murders. Dewey calls Gale a money-hungry, fame-seeking, mediocre writer with no empathy for the people whose lives she ruins to feed her own career. Gale and her new cameraman, Joel Jones (Duane Martin) tries to stage a confrontation between Sidney and Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), who is attempting to gain fame from his exoneration for the murder of Sidney's mother. Sidney angrily hits Gale. Gale had promised Cotton 10 minutes of national coverage, but Gale refuses to indulge Cotton till she gets her interview with Sidney. Later that night, Sidney unwillingly goes to a party with Hallie at the sorority house Delta Lambda Zeta. At Omega Beta Zeta, another nearby sorority house, Ghostface kills fellow student Cici (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in a similar way to how Casey was murdered in the events at Woodsboro. After the party-goers leave to observe Cici's crime scene, Ghostface enters Delta Lambda Zeta and attacks Sidney, though Derek intervenes. The killer injures Derek, but Dewey and the police arrive, causing the killer to flee. The next day, Gale discusses the case with the police. Upon realizing that Cici's real name is Casey, she concludes that the killer is a copycat who targets students who share the same names as the Woodsboro murder victims. Randy theorizes that the killer is likely someone Sidney knows and is patterning the homicides after a movie sequel. While Gale is talking to Dewey and Randy on the campus lawn, she receives a call from Ghostface hinting that he is watching them. They search for him, but Randy, who tries to keep the killer on the phone, is dragged into Gale's broadcast van and stabbed to death. Shortly after, Joel, fearing he will be targeted next, skips town. As night falls over the campus, Dewey and Gale go to a building to review tapes of footage shot by Joel, hoping to spot the killer in the vicinity of the previous crime scenes, but Ghostface attacks them, stabbing Dewey. Gale hides and eventually escapes. In the wake of the escalating murders, two officers prepare to take Sidney and Hallie to safety, but the killer ambushes them and kills the two officers. In the ensuing struggle, Ghostface is knocked unconscious. Sidney insists on unmasking him, while Hallie insists, they escape. Before they can see his face, Ghostface wakes up and kills Hallie. Sidney flees. Drawn to music playing in the campus theatre while seeking safety, Sidney finds Derek in the auditorium tied to a cross from an earlier fraternity hazing ritual. Ghostface arrives, revealing himself as Mickey, and shoots Derek, killing him. Mickey details his plan to be caught and become famous in the ensuing trial and media spectacle. He then announces his accomplice, Debbie Salt, who arrives holding Gale at gun point. Sidney recognizes that Salt is actually Billy Loomis's mother, seeking revenge for her son's death. Mrs. Loomis betrays Mickey and shoots him affirming that she only used Mickey to frame him for their killing spree. Mickey fires his gun before collapsing, wounding Gale, who falls offstage. Nancy discloses she is seeking revenge against Sidney for killing Billy and that she murdered Randy in Joel's news van for slandering her son's name. However, Sidney points out the hypocrisy of Nancy's motives, considering that her abandonment fueled Billy's psychotic tendencies. The pair fight until Cotton appears and holds them at gunpoint. Nancy attempts to manipulate Cotton into murdering Sidney, reminding him that her testimony got him arrested. Much to Nancy's shock, he instead chooses to shoot her in exchange for an interview with Sidney and Diane Sawyer. As Sidney, Cotton, and a recovered Gale glance over Nancy's body, Mickey suddenly resurfaces but is shot to death by Gale and Sidney. Sidney then shoots Nancy in the head to ensure her death. When the police arrive, Dewey is revealed to be alive and Gale climbs into the ambulance with him rather than taking the opportunity to report to the returning Joel. Sidney then instructs the press to direct questions to Cotton to remove attention from herself and reward Cotton for helping her.

In the small town of Woodsboro, California, high school student Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) receives a flirtatious phone call from an unknown person, asking her, "What's your favorite scary movie?". They discuss horror films until the caller turns sadistic. Casey is alarmed when the caller claims to be looking at her. Casey is alone at home in a secluded house. The caller knows that even if Casey calls the police, they will never get there in time. The caller threatens her life and revealing that her boyfriend, Steve (Kevin Patrick Walls), is tied up on her patio, which Casey can see when she turns on the patio lights. The caller demands she answer questions about horror films to save his life, but Casey gives an incorrect answer about Friday the 13th, resulting in Steve's death. When Casey refuses to cooperate with the caller, she is attacked and stabbed to death by someone wearing a "Ghostface" costume. Before dying, Casey was able to remove the Ghostface mask to uncover the identity of the killer. Her parents come home to find her body hanging from a tree with all her intestines hanging out. The following day, the news media descend on the town and a police investigation begins. Meanwhile, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) struggles with the impending one-year anniversary of her mother's murder by Cotton Weary. The trauma has made her unable to consummate her relationship with her boyfriend, Billy Loomis whom she has been seeing for 2 years. Her father Neil is traveling for work and will be back on the coming Sunday. While waiting at home for her friend, Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), Sidney receives a threatening phone call. After she hangs up, she is attacked by Ghostface, who disappears just before her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) climbs through her window. After Billy drops his cell phone, Sidney suspects him of making the call and flees. Billy is arrested and Tatum takes Sidney to her house. Billy is arrested by Deputy Sheriff Dewey Riley, Tatum's brother. Reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) is covering the story & Sidney hits her when she comes to her for questioning. Gale is writing a book about Sidney's mother's convicted killer Cotton Weary. Gale had written a book claiming that Maureen had multiple extramarital affairs, including one with Cotton, whom Gale believes was falsely accused of Maureen's homicide. Gale believes that Cotton was wrongly convicted of murder due to Sidney's testimony. She believes that Sidney saw someone leaving the house with Cotton's blood-soaked jacket, which was later planted in Cotton's car, implicating him. Cotton admits to having sex with Sidney's mother on the night of her murder. Sidney sticks to her story. Billy is released the next day, when the previous night Sidney receives another threatening phone call, while Billy was in the locker. Suspicion has shifted to Sidney's father, Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht), as the calls have been traced to his phone, but the police are unable to locate him. Following his release, Billy encounters Sidney at school and further upsets her by comparing his absent mother to Maureen's death. School is suspended in the wake of the murders. After the students have left the school, Principal Himbry (Henry Winkler) is stabbed to death in his office. Billy's friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) throws a party to celebrate the school's closure. The party is attended by Sidney, Tatum, their friend Randy Meeks, and several other students. Gale attends uninvited to cover the situation, as she expects the killer to strike. Deputy sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) also looks out for the murderer at the party. Tatum is killed during the party after having her head crushed by the garage door. As fellow high school student Randy Meeks details the rules of surviving a horror film, news arrives of Himbry's murder. Most party-goers leave to see his body, nearly running over Dewey and Gale while inadvertently leading them to a hidden car, which they investigate. Billy arrives to speak to Sidney privately, and the two ultimately consummate their relationship. Only Sidney, Billy, Randy, Stu, and Gale's cameraman Kenny (W. Earl Brown) remain at the secluded house. After having sex, Sidney and Billy are attacked by the killer, who seemingly murders Billy. Sidney escapes the killer and seeks help from Kenny, but he gets his throat slit by the killer. Sidney again flees. Gale and Dewey, having discovered that the car belongs to Neil Prescott, return to the house. They believe Neil is the killer and has come to the party to continue his spree. Gale attempts to leave the scene in her van but drives off the road and crashes to avoid hitting Sidney. Meanwhile, Dewey is stabbed in the back while investigating in the house, and Sidney takes Dewey's gun. Stu and Randy appear and accuse each other of being the killer. Sidney retreats into the house, where she finds Billy wounded but still alive. She gives Billy the gun. Billy lets Randy into the house and shoots him. Billy reveals he has feigned his injuries and is actually the killer, with Stu being his accomplice. Billy and Stu discuss their plan to kill Sidney and frame her father, whom they have taken hostage, for their murder spree. The pair also admits to killing her mother, Maureen (Lynn McRee). Billy says he was motivated to seek revenge on Maureen because she was having an affair with Billy's father, Hank, which drove his mother away. They proceed to stab each other to depict themselves as the last survivors. Gale, thought dead by the killers, intervenes, and Sidney takes advantage of this to turn the tables on her attackers, killing Stu by dropping a television set on his head. Randy is revealed to be wounded but alive. Billy nearly stabs Sidney but is shot by Gale. After Randy remarks that horror film killers revive for a final scare, Billy lunges for them, but Sidney shoots him in the head, killing him. As dawn breaks, Neil is rescued, Dewey is taken away by ambulance, and Gale provides an impromptu news report about the night's events.