Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “running gag” as “a joke or gag that is repeated many times in slightly different ways.” If you’re wondering why this article opens with such a cliché introduction, it’s because running gags are, in and of themselves, a bit cliché.
However, that doesn’t make them boring or unhumorous — in fact, when used correctly, the running gag can be one of the funniest jokes a franchise can utilize. The Scream franchise does just that with Dewey Riley, played by David Arquette. As his documentary title states, you truly cannot kill David Arquette, and his character of Dewey Riley can apparently never die.
An Unexpected Visitor
In the first Scream movie, Sidney Prescott’s boyfriend, Billy Loomis, comes to her house just as she’s getting a call from Ghostface, the killer stalking her. Because Billy has terrified her so badly, Sidney is in fight-or-flight mode, ready to attack should anyone try to kill her as they killed her mother.
In running away, Sidney throws open her front door and is confronted with yet another Ghostface mask. She screams and begins to attack, only to realize that Dewey’s the one holding the mask, and he’s come to protect her.
Backstabber
One of the most iconic kills in the franchise isn’t even a complete kill, but rather an almost-murder, because Dewey does end up surviving. When Deputy Dewey shows up at the party to try and help — after realizing Sidney’s dad’s car has been abandoned nearby, and so the teens at the party are likely in danger — he immediately puts himself in danger.
Recognizing Dewey as a credible threat, Ghostface literally stabs him in the back, leaving him for dead on the front porch. If you look closely, you can even see that David Arquette isn’t breathing here — Dewey really is meant to be dead.
Cutting Room Floor
Dewey really did narrowly avoid the most permanent death of all: being written out of the movies. Originally, Dewey was supposed to be stabbed in the back by Ghostface and die, as viewers can see when they watch Dewey’s unmoving, unbreathing corpse in the movie.
However, Wes Craven and Scream audiences loved Arquette’s Deputy Dewey so much that Craven shot a new ending where Dewey is carried out in an ambulance, very much alive. And thank God he did, because Dewey goes on to provide endlessly good material in the next movies to come.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Scream 2 is full of near-misses for everyone’s favorite beloved Deputy Dewey Riley, including a call so close that it could’ve been him or Gale — but it ended up being Randy Meeks, the cinephile and red herring of Scream, who was killed by Ghostface.
Of course, this being a Scream movie, Dewey isn’t going to be left alone for very long, and he gets attacked by Ghostface again while trying to protect Gale. In a soundproof room on Sidney’s campus, Dewey gets stabbed (again, again), and ends up surviving long enough to be brought out into yet another ambulance.
Kill Your Double
In the third movie in the series, Scream 3, the characters are involved in making Stab 3, and so each of the characters in Scream has an actor counterpart in Scream 3 (it makes sense, really). The characters try to use the script for Stab 3 as some sort of indication of who will be killed when, but all that goes out the window as whoever is Ghostface for Scream 3 starts tormenting whoever they want.
The cast of Stab 3 is all gathered together at one point to try and protect one another when there’s an explosion. Dewey only just barely makes it out alive; instead, it’s Tom Prinze, the actor playing Dewey, who dies. Close call!
A Splitting Headache
One of the most iconic almost-kills in the entire franchise takes place in Scream 3. Actually, this is arguably one of the most iconic almost-kills in horror movie history, partially just for how hilarious it is. At this point, the writers of Scream 3 were definitely leaning into the running gag of “Deputy Dewey Almost Dies, Every Time!” and decided to really commit.
In Scream 3, a knife gets thrown at Dewey’s face; the end of it hits him squarely between the eyes. He falls unconscious and tumbles down the stairs to lay at Ghostface’s feet. While hilarious, it would truly be a miracle for Dewey to survive this entire encounter.
Hostage Crisis
The close of Scream 3 has a lot of different crises and close calls for Deputy Dewey Riley — now also Adviser Dewey Riley. Things really start to go south when Ghostface tells Sidney to come to the mansion where Roman Bridger’s party is being held. There, Gale and Dewey have been kidnapped and are being held hostage, bound and gagged.
Sidney tries to save them, but Ghostface is faster than her. Once again, Dewey has been captured and nearly killed at the hands of Ghostface; luckily, though, Sidney and Dewey always have one another’s backs, and are always looking out for each other, because otherwise, Dewey might not have survived this one.
I’ll Be Bulletproof
Scream 3 decides to push the envelope just a little bit more and include one last almost-death for Dewey. It’s fitting, as Scream 3 was meant to be the last movie in the Scream trilogy, at which point the franchise would end, that this movie gets the most fake-outs. Right at the end, when Ghostface comes back from the dead — as Ghostfaces always must, and Randy would agree — Dewey takes it into his own hands to take him down.
Roman Bridger runs to attack Dewey, Gale, and Sidney with a knife, and Dewey begins to shoot him. Unbeknownst to Dewey, Roman has a bulletproof vest on, but when Sidney shouts at Dewey to shoot him in the head, he does, finally killing him and saving himself from certain death.
My Wife
In Scream 4, Gale and Dewey are inexplicably at odds. While trying to catch Ghostface, Dewey decides to reject Gale’s intel, leading Gale to decide to try and confront Ghostface on her own.
At a huge party taking place in a large barn, Gale is seen by Ghostface and attacked. Dewey sees her on her own cameras and runs in to try and stop Ghostface in time. Ghostface leaves and narrowly avoids Dewey, but the intention is clear: had Ghostface even had five more minutes, Dewey and Gale would both be dead.
What A Mess
In what could be considered a parody of a parody of a parody (maybe), or perhaps just the culmination of a running gag clumsily mishandled in the eleventh hour, Dewey’s final near-miss comes at the very end of Scream 4.
The Ghostface of this movie, Jill, decides to take Dewey out of the picture by simply clobbering him over the head with a bedpan when he confronts her at the hospital. Though Dewey does get the last laugh on her, it’s definitely a laughable conclusion for this iconic running joke. Hopefully, Scream 5 will include an even better almost-miss for Deputy Dewey to wrap things up neatly for audiences!