Warning: Spoilers ahead for 2022's Scream!
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's Scream serves as a love letter to the Scream franchise and horror genre based on its clever Easter eggs and references. 2022's Scream marks the fifth installment in the franchise and the first without Wes Craven, who passed away in 2015. Arriving 11 years after Scream 4, the latest Scream has been described as a "requel," a sequel that also acts as a franchise reboot, which is all the rage with popular franchises these days.
Scream centers on the town of Woodsboro once again as another Ghostface wreaks havoc on unsuspecting targets. The first victim is a young teen named Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), who survives the attack, leading her sister, Sam (Melissa Barerra), to return home. Sam, in this movie, becomes the new Sidney-like character with her secret link to one of the original Ghostface killers, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). Though there's a new central friend group, the movie also reunites the real Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in addition to Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), mixing a new generation with Scream's legacy characters.
From the very first scene in 2022's Scream, there were clear nods to the 1996 installment that started it all. Of course, various other references and Easter eggs to other Scream movies and fellow horror movies came into play. Aside from namedrops of movies like Hereditary, The Witch, and The Babadook, there were a few less obvious references. With that said, here's every horror movie Easter egg and reference in 2022's Scream.
Scream 2022 Character Name Inspirations
While some new characters have links to legacy Scream characters, like Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding), other newcomers were clearly inspired by horror greats. First, there was Dylan Minnette's Wes Hicks, the teenage son of Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), who got his name from the writers in honor of the man who launched the Scream franchise: Wes Craven. Then there were new central characters, Sam and Tara Carpenter, a surname that was presumably inspired by Halloween director John Carpenter. Halloween, of course, has been directly referenced several times in the Scream franchise, with scenes features in the 1996 film. Mindy name-dropped the Halloween reboot when discussing "requels." Last but not least, there was Mikey Madison's Amber Freeman, who was named after one of the co-writers of 2022's Scream, James Vanderbilt.
Drew Barrymore's Opening Scream Scene
Like Scream 4, the opening sequence in 2022's Scream paid tribute to the original Scream opener featuring Drew Barrymore's Casey Becker. The iconic scene has been the focus of various tributes, with the most recent being Fear Street Part One: 1994. The new Scream's opening scene mirrored Casey's situation by centering on Tara Carpenter being home alone while harassed by a strange caller. However, Tara had a slight advantage over her predecessor by being able to control the home's security system and locks from her phone. While moments of the scene played out the same, Tara came out alive, whereas Casey didn't. Other attacks in the movie were also a nod to the original, like Chad's attack outside mirroring Casey's and Mindy's shoulder injury was a nod to her uncle's first wound. When Tara hit Richie with the phone in the hospital, it was a callback to Billy hitting Matthew Lillard's Stu with the phone.
The Stab Cast List (& Franchise)
While Ghostface harassed Tara in Scream 2022's opening sequence, the mystery caller forced the young teen to answer horror-centric trivia. The questions quickly turned to the Stab franchise, which has been a key aspect of the Scream series since Scream 2. Based on the original Woodsboro massacre, the movie franchise featured known celebrities playing versions of Sidney, Gale, Dewey, and others. Ghostface asked Tara, who played the fictional version of Casey Becker in Stab, leading Tara to search the cast list. Before finding the Heather Graham answer, Tara scrolled through the cast list, calling back others who appeared in-universe like Luke Wilson, David Schwimmer, Tori Spelling, and others. The Stab franchise was referenced and shown throughout the new Scream, as it played a role in the movie's third act.
Woodsboro's Nightmare On Elm Street Link
Considering Wes Craven was also the mind behind A Nightmare on Elm Street, there had been numerous references to the fellow horror franchise in the Scream movies. The most significant was Craven's cameo in the original Scream, playing the school janitor named Fred, who wore a sweater inspired by Freddy Krueger. 2022's Scream followed the tradition by showing a shot of a street sign that said "Elm St." when panning through the town of Woodsboro. Elm Street was also the location of the Prescott house in 1996's Scream.
Wes & Amber Paid Homage To Scream's Grapes
Following Tara's attack, her friend group came together on the school's campus. The scene mirrored 1996's Scream when Sidney, Billy, Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), and Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) got together during school to discuss Casey and Steve's murders the night prior. Randomly, Tatum and Stu were eating a bag of green grapes during the sequence. As a tribute to this detail, Wes and Amber were seen sharing a bag of the same fruit during Scream 2022.
Tatum's Ashes In Dewey's Mobile Home
Dewey Riley's arc had often been questioned when it came to his grief or lack thereof for the death of his sister, Tatum, in 1996's Scream. Despite being a core piece of the original cast, Rose McGowan's character was hardly mentioned in the movies that followed. However, Scream finally paid tribute to Tatum by showing a box of her ashes displayed in Dewey's trailer. The ashes were next to a photo of Dewey and Gale, proving that it was a meaningful possession in his small home.
Sidney's Husband Is From Scream 3
One of the biggest reveals in Scream was the fact that Sidney got married and had a family presumably since her time in Scream 4. Aside from daughters, Sidney mentioned her husband Mark when chatting with Dewey about the latest murders. However, Mark was not a new character as it was confirmed Sidney was referring to Mark Kincaid, a detective played by Patrick Dempsey in Scream 3. Neve Campbell even confirmed Mark Kincaid was Sidney's husband in an interview with Screen Rant.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' "Red Right Hand" Song
The song, which appeared in all but one Scream installment, made its return in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's latest installment. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' song "Red Right Hand" can be heard playing in Vince's (Kyle Gallner) car shortly before Ghostface attacked him. The killed turned on the car, revved the engine, and put on the song to lure over Vince before stabbing him in the neck.
Wes' Pyscho Moment
Shortly before the deaths of Judy and Wes Hicks, the former left the house to pick up sushi. Wes had just returned home from a run, so he hopped in the shower. As Judy drove to pick up dinner, she got a call from Ghostface, hinting that Wes was in danger. Ghostface knew Wes was in the shower and even name-dropped Psycho in reference to what the killer planned to do to the teen. Despite the teases, Wes wasn't killed in the shower and instead downstairs by the front door.
Judy Hicks' Lemon Squares From Scream 4
Judy's lemon squares were a point of contention between her and Gale during Scream 4. Gale wasn't a fan of Deputy Judy Hicks' flirtatious crush on her husband and, at one point, made fun of the woman's lemon squares. In the new Scream, Judy had become the Woodsboro sheriff, but more importantly, she had a teenage son named Wes. While Wes was setting up the kitchen for dinner, he noticed a note from his mom posted on the fridge, informing him that she made lemon squares.
Gale Weathers' Red Outfit
Gale Weathers had been known to wear bright outfits while on the job as a TV journalist, especially in 1996's Scream. Aside from a highlighter yellow power suit, Gale wore various bright red outfits. As a callback to Gale's '90s style, Courteney Cox wore an eye-popping red suit when she made her grand return to Woodsboro, reuniting with her husband, Dewey. Fittingly, Gale was revealed to be back on TV, confirming she returned to her journalism roots since Scream 4. She even made a mention of her infamous bangs from Scream 3.
The Survival Of Scream 4's Kirby Reed
First, Kirby's name appeared in Dewey's missed call log, teasing Kirby's survial. Then, while Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) was catching up on the Stab movies, he spent time watching YouTube videos. One of which featured a cameo by James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca from the YouTube channel Dead Meat, as they analyzed the fictional Stab 8 and a chrome Ghostface. On the side of the page, a column of suggested videos was shown. One of which was a hidden Scream Easter egg revealing Kirby Reed's survival. The character played by Hayden Panettiere in Scream 4 was the center of many theories based on her unclear fate. The video titled "Interview With Woodsboro Survivor Kirby Reed" finally confirmed Kirby was still alive. The other suggested videos poked fun at Rian Johnson's work on Stab 8 and theorized Stu Macher's survival.
The Meta Moment With Scream 2's Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson memorably cameoed in 1997's Scream 2 as the classmate of Randy Meeks, Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant), and Cici Cooper (Sarah Michelle Gellar). He was simply credited as "Film Class Guy #1," but the following year, Jackson would go on to star in the hit Dawson's Creek. In the new Scream, Tara was shown watching Dawson's Creek while in the hospital shortly before her second attack by Ghostface. Though this was a meta moment, there was extra significance since Kevin Williamson wrote the first two Scream movies in addition to creating Dawson's Creek before returning to the Scream franchise as the screenwriter for Scream 4. Scott Foley, who memorably played Roman Bridger/Ghostface in Scream 3 also had a short stint in Dawson's Creek.
Amber's Quentin Tarantino Death
Before starring as Amber Freeman, who happened to be one of the Ghostface killers, Mikey Madison appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as Susan "Sadie" Atkins, a member of the infamous Manson Family. In Tarantino's movie, Sadie was killed from being burned alive. Coincidentally, Amber also suffers from severe burns in 2022's Scream after a fight with Sidney and Gale. After being drenched with hand sanitizer, Amber was shot by Gale, falling into a lit stove before bursting into flames. She initially lived before Sam killed her for good with the help of a gun.
Scream 2022's Tribute To Wes Craven
Aside from Dylan Minnette's Wes Hicks, there were several other nods to the late director Wes Craven. His signature hat can be seen hanging in the old Macher house when Sidney entered with a gun for the first time in over two decades. At the end of the movie, the words "For Wes" flashed on-screen before the credits rolled, reiterating that the movie wouldn't have been possible without Craven's work in guiding the previous four installments. The memorial for Minnette's Wes was also clearly used to toast to the late director. Craven brought the world of Scream to life, so it was only fitting that the new Scream tipped a hat, figuratively and literally.