WARNING: This article contains mild spoilers for Scream (2022).
Scream, the fifth instalment in the popular slasher franchise, released to theaters worldwide yesterday, January 14. Many eager fans have already seen the so-called “requel” (a movie that revisits the subject matter of an earlier film but is not a remake or a linear continuation of its plot) and the reviews are mostly positive.
Paying homage to Wes Craven’s brainchild from 1996, Scream reintroduces Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers and David Arquette’s Dwight “Dewey” Riley. In the film, a new killer dons the ‘Ghostface’ mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.
Rather humorously, not only has Scream (2022) served as a reinvention of the franchise for a modern audience, it also confirmed the Scream killer’s name for the first time for many audience members. It has become apparent, particularly on Twitter, that many Scream followers believed that the killer was actually called ‘Scream’.
Clearly, Scream either failed to state enough times that ‘Ghostface’ was the name of the mass murderer or some audience members were genuinely oblivious to the franchise lore. Either way, the results of the confusion are quite entertaining, especially as the responses are fairly split down the middle.
Some Twitter users are in complete solidarity, stating that they also had “no idea” that Ghostface was called… Ghostface. Others are ashamed at the ignorance, but all in good spirits, as Scream can be fun for all — even those who call the killer by the wrong name.
Scream (2022) is currently showing in theaters everywhere.
