All the Ghostface killers in the 'Scream' movies so far

Cast your mind back to 1996, it's the year of "The Craft" and "Independence Day" — and Wes Craven's first "Scream" movie.

It's the one that introduced the world to Ghostface, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), and the franchise's signature meta-take on horror movies.

"Scream" took the horror rule book and ripped it up, with the characters aware of what would happen if they were in a horror movie, which they were (unfortunately).

But because it seems so predictable for Sidney's boyfriend, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), to be the killer, he gets a pass for quite some time in "Scream."

But when that final act comes around, and Billy unmasks himself as the killer, it's a brilliant twist, especially when the wacky Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) is revealed as his accomplice.

Billy's murder spree all stems from the fact that his mother abandoned him when she discovered that Sidney's mother, Maureen Prescott, was having an affair with his father.

Billy and Stu brutally killed Maureen and framed her other lover, Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), for her death. But when Billy targets Sidney and her friends, the plan is to frame her father for Ghostface's murder and mayhem in Woodsboro.

Thankfully, Sidney, Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) put a stop to that.

But the Ghostface mantle would live on.

In Stu Macher's own words, "Ya gotta have a sequel!"

Just over a year after the first film, "Scream 2" arrived in theaters with its scathing take on sequels and how they can ruin a franchise by attempting to go bigger and better — so what does Craven do? He goes bigger and better.

Yes, this one may as well be called "Scream 2: Ghostface Goes to College," but it keeps things fresh rather than constantly having the action take place in Woodsboro.

Here, Sidney tries to move on and have a normal life with a normal boyfriend, Derek (Jerry O'Connell), and fellow survivor, Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy).

Unfortunately, a new Ghostface surfaces and causes havoc on campus, even killing fan-favorite hero Randy.

In the movie's dramatic climax, the new killer is revealed as film geek Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant), who actually wants to get caught so that he can blame horror movies for his crimes at trial.

But he isn't alone in the killings, as the mastermind this time was actually Billy's mother, Nancy Loomis (Laurie Metcalf). She wants revenge on Sidney for killing her son — even though she left him in the first place, which ultimately turned him into a murderer.

After "Scream 2," Ghostface tried to make it big in Hollywood with "Scream 3."

The franchise got even more self-referential by the third film, leaning harder into the movie-within-a-movie idea with the in-universe "Stab" franchise.

While it takes shots at movie trilogies (thanks to a posthumous video tape from Randy), the film sees the production of "Stab 3" plagued by a new Ghostface who kills various cast members and people involved with making the sequel.

As with all the "Scream" films, it's always the last person you'd suspect because the culprit is "Stab 3" director Roman Bridger. So, why is he offing his own cast members? Unsurprisingly, it all comes back to Sidney, because he's her long-lost brother!

Blimey. He was born after Sidney's mother tried to make it big in Hollywood, but was raped by producer John Milton (Lance Henriksen), and she gave Roman up due to the trauma of the incident and went home to Woodsboro.

When Roman tried to reconnect with Maureen, she rejected him, which is when he filmed her having affairs with Cotton Weary and Harold Loomis — showing the footage to Billy Loomis and persuading him to get his own revenge on Sidney's mother. Yes, Roman is secretly the mastermind behind the original trilogy!

Like any good slasher villain, the franchise rose from the dead in 2011 with "Scream 4," which sees Sidney return to Woodsboro on a book tour after a decade away from her hometown. She takes the opportunity to reconnect with her aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell) and cousin Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts).

Predictably, a brand new Ghostface rears its hooded head to make the most of Sidney's return and kicks off a new wave of murder in Woodsboro — upping the mayhem by filming each kill.

"Scream 4" rewrites the horror rule book for a new era with the finale taking place at the after-party of a "Stabathon" movie marathon. There, Jill and resident movie expert friend Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) unmask themselves as Ghostface.

Jill's motivation stems from feeling like Sidney stole her childhood because the focus and attention was always on what she went through.

So, with a bit of movie-inspired mania, she and Charlie devised a plan where they would be the new survivors of the Ghostface killings — and get all the fame that comes along with that. But then Jill kills her accomplice in a genuinely surprising second twist because she knows that everyone loves a "sole survivor."

Ultimately, the carnage continues in the hospital when Jill discovers that Sidney survived the chaos of the after-party. Jill tries to finish the job but is killed by the hero with a defibrillator to the head, as well as a gunshot to the heart (just to be safe).

A decade after fans last saw Ghostface in theaters, he returned in 2022's "Scream" to hunt a whole new class of teens.

"Scream 5" introduces Sam (Melissa Barerra) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), who are at the center of the new spate of murders, largely because Sam is the illegitimate daughter of Billy Loomis.

No, she's not the one carrying out all the killings — it's actually her boyfriend, nice guy Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid), and Tara's best friend, Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison). Their motive?

They're furious that "Stab 8" was a disaster, and want to give the writers of the movie franchise better material for the next movie. Oh yes, this one's all about toxic fandom.

Because Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) dubs these events a "requel" (remake and a sequel), the film pays homage to the original by having the final climax place in the same place as the first "Scream" movie: Stu Macher's house.

Sidney and Gale get revenge on Amber for killing Dewey in the hospital by burning her alive, while Tara puts her down with a headshot. But Sam's the one to put an end to the whole thing by stabbing her now ex-boyfriend Richie over 20 times before slitting his throat.

Like father, like daughter.

"Scream 6" kept things fresh by reinvigorating its opening kill, which instantly set the tone for the sequel.

The opening sees Laura Crane (Samara Weaving) waiting for her date in a bar, only to get lured out to a dingy alleyway by Ghostface before being brutally carved up.

But in a "Scream" first, Ghostface immediately unmasks himself after Crane's death, revealing himself as film student Jason Carvey (Tony Revolori).

Jason goes back to his apartment and chats with his roommate Greg about their plot to kill Sam and Tara, only to find Greg's body stuffed in the fridge.

Unsurprisingly, he's murdered by the film's main Ghostface moments later. It's a truly fun way to keep audiences on their toes, that's for sure.

This brings us to 2023's "Scream 6," which is basically Ghostface takes New York.

Yes, the killer makes his way to the Big Apple alongside Sam and Tara, who try to get a fresh start at college one year after their ordeal. They live with their close friend Quinn Bailey (Liana Liberato) whose father, Wayne Bailey, is a detective.

Unfortunately for the gang, the online discourse surrounding Richie and Amber has led many online to believe that Sam was actually the real Ghostface killer and framed Richie. Oh, dear.

So when a vicious new Ghostface starts slaughtering people close to Sam, she's at the top of the suspects' list.

But by the time the final showdown takes place in Richie's shrine to all things Ghostface, Woodsboro, and the "Stab" movies, it's revealed that Detective Bailey is actually Richie's father.

Not only was Bailey the one who circulated the rumor that Sam framed Richie, he even convinced his children to join him in becoming Ghostface.

Both Quinn and friend of the gang Ethan (Jack Champion) are Richie's siblings, and they're just as twisted as he is.

Tara gets in touch with her inner killer and stabs Ethan to death, while Sam executes Quinn with a headshot. But Wayne gets the special treatment.

Sam follows in her father's footsteps and dons the Ghostface robe herself, hunting the detective through the building before brutally stabbing him around 37 times — including once in the eyeball. Ouch. To be fair, he deserved it.