Warning: This post contains spoilers for Scream 2022.
Despite establishing a new set of meta slasher rules, the long-awaited Scream 2022 also broke one of the longest-running unspoken rules of the entire franchise. Not only does the 5th chapter in the Scream movie series finally kill off Dewey (David Arquette) but it also compromises the otherwise unquestionable power of Ghostface. That much is a major deviation from the traditional sanctity of the villain.
Ghostface is one of the most intriguing horror movie villains ever created because his mythology transcends the specifics of identity. Despite 9 different characters putting the iconic white mask and black robes on, several things unite every version of Scream’s Ghostface killer. Such is the approach to meta filmmaking that Ghostface is a mythological being who can be studied and performed, who comes with identifying quirks, strengths, and weaknesses, but who is, by design, is unflinchingly human. He falls, he has no supernatural shortcuts, he’s frequently beaten up, but there’s a relentless, frenzied approach to his attacks that make him terrifying.
One other rule that has defined Ghostface and the Scream movie series so far, at least before 2022’s outing, was the infallibility of his knife - with one obvious caveat. There has been a conspicuous lack of survivors of actual Ghostface stabbing attacks, despite Dewey surviving multiple attacks, because the Scream movies never undermined the brutal efficiency of Ghostface. It was that high kill number and the awful inevitability of death (for all but those with plot armor like Sidney and Gale) that made Ghostface’s lack of grace all the more terrifying: the ends amplifying the chaotic means. But Scream 2022 has multiple characters survive stabbings, making Ghostface look far weaker than ever before and breaking a pillar rule of the franchise: never undermine the killer.
There have been survivors before of course. Gale was stabbed in Scream 4 and has survived other non-knife related attacks, Dewey is an obvious exception, and Kirby survived Charlie’s attack in Scream 4. But all are protected by plot armor, including Kirby if you choose to accept the theory that Charlie didn’t mean to actually kill her and wanted her to appear dead so Jill didn’t finish her off. In arguably the strangest case, Dewey survived three knife attacks but was never intended to survive the first, so his subsequent attacks became a meta trope in themselves until they could be paid off by his actual death. Whoever actually killed him gained the power boost, in other words, so there was no compromise in having him survive. But Scream 5 has Gale and Sidney survive, as is tradition, and then adds Tara, Chad, and Mindy to the survivors' column. For the first time, Ghostface looks incompetent.
It could, of course, be said that the survival rate is an attempted commentary on how unsuitable Richie (Jack Quaid) and Amber (Mikey Madison) were to save the Ghostface brand and “requelize” the Stab movies. But this universe has always been about rules, and making a requel by breaking such a fundamental rule as the sanctity of the killer’s power is something of a crime. Yes, it sets up a Scream 2022 sequel where multiple survivors can return, but and the pay-off would have impact if they were killed in future, but it feels like a sloppy price to pay for that when Ghostface demands protection.