Warning! SPOILERS for Scream 2022.
Ghostface makes a chilling return in Scream 2022, but the meta slasher missed the opportunity to salvage Scream 3’s controversial twist. The fifth movie reunites legacy characters to help a new hero move the franchise forward, while still leaning heavily on Woodsboro’s past. Yet, despite its many references to earlier movies, Scream 2022 appears as if it would rather forget Scream 3 exists.
Set 25 years after the first massacre, Scream 2022 sees Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) return to her hometown of Woodsboro when Ghostface attacks her sister and threatens to reveal a dark family secret. Although Ghostface targets characters linked to original killers Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), the fifth installment ignores a huge influence on the former's actions. Scream 3 is widely considered the worst in the series, but its Hollywood-set killings provided some surprising twists connected to Sidney Prescott's (Neve Campbell) family.
Scream 3 reveals Sidney's mother was abused during a secret spell in Hollywood before Ghostface unmasked himself as Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), Sidney's half-brother. The revelation that Roman instigated the original Woodsboro Murders threatened to undermine Billy's plan, but Scream 2022 could have salvaged this idea by incorporating it into Sam's story of overcoming family trauma. If Scream 2022 had addressed the consequences of Roman's actions on both Billy and Sidney, Scream 3's twist could have helped bond the heroes while lending greater meaning to Sam's visions of Billy.
After being shunned by his estranged mother, Roman exposed Billy to his father's affair with Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee). By convincing Billy to kill Maureen, Roman set the original murder spree in motion, yet his actions have been forgotten in subsequent movies. The events of Scream 3 were ignored in Scream 4 and receive but a fleeting reference in Scream 2022, via poking fun at Gale Weathers' (Courteney Cox) terrible bangs. Although Randy's sister, Martha (Heather Matarazzo), returns for a cameo, her Scream 3 appearance isn't addressed. Scream 2022 contains numerous references to the other movies. However, Roman has been all but forgotten. Although the plot centers around family secrets, it's strange there is no mention of Sidney Prescott's family legacy. Sam struggles to come to terms with being Billy's daughter, and Sidney displays a surprisingly casual reaction to this news. Sidney is no stranger to having a serial killer relative but Scream 2022 missed the perfect opportunity to save Scream 3's twist. Had Sidney acknowledged Roman and her mother's tragic past, this might have helped Sam reconcile herself with her lineage.
The past and present heroes could have bonded over confronting their family secrets, refusing to be defined by their relatives' crimes. Maureen's infidelity forced Sidney to realize her mother wasn't perfect, but Roman's revelation in Scream 3 may have affected her perception of Billy. Scream 2022 positions Billy as the original Ghostface killer, except that's not quite true. He may have concocted the costume and twisted horror trivia game, but he was manipulated by Roman. Scream 2022 neglects to revisit this strange twist, but its emphasis on Billy as the original mastermind simplifies his connection to Sam. It has been implied Stu was just a means to an end, peer-pressured into following Billy's orders. However, Billy was continuing a horrific, yet tragic cycle started by Roman. Elaborating on Scream 3's twist could have given Sam new insight into her father and helped her overcome her desire to bury her family secret. Perhaps Billy should have been robbed of some of his power, thereby changing Sam's visions to better justify his guardian angel presence in the finale.
Ultimately, Scream 2022's ending sees Sam use Billy as an excuse to give in to her killer instincts to survive. However, had she recognized Billy was initially a pawn in Roman's revenge plan, this could have improved her ability to gain control of the narrative. Scream 2022 wants to revisit the original sin, but its message of overcoming the past doesn't fully ring true without addressing Scream 3's twist.
