Which Ghostface Killed Each Victim In Scream 6

Scream 6 put a new spin on the franchise, as there were several killers, the most of any Scream film, and not all of them were working together. The movie has a total of five killers, including two that were introduced in Scream 6‘s inventive opening scene. This scene was the first time the beginning of a Scream movie revealed the identity of the Ghostface killer. However, Jason Carvey and his friend Greg proved to have a short run as the masked killers as there was another Ghostface who wanted them out of the way.

At the end of Scream 6, Detective Bailey, Quinn Bailey, and Ethan Landry revealed themselves as killers. Their motive was that Richie was Detective Bailey’s son, and Quinn and Ethan were his siblings. They wanted to kill Sam and Tara as revenge, first having to kill Jason and Greg before they could get to the Carpenter sisters. With so many Ghostfaces in play, there are several possibilities for which Scream 6 killer killed which victim, but there are clues to help figure them out.

Victim: Laura Cane

Ghostface: Jason Carvey

The opening Ghostface killer in Scream 6 is no mystery. Ghostface kills Laura Cane after luring her out of a New York City restaurant pretending to be her date, as he stabs her to death in an alleyway. Shockingly, he then removes his mask and reveals himself as Jason Carvey before returning to his apartment. This is unlike anything the Scream franchise has done before, although it’s pretty obvious he won’t make it very far into the film, otherwise, the Scream 6 killer would have been given away too early.

Victims: Jason & Greg

Ghostface: Detective Bailey

When Jason returns to his apartment, he expects to find his friend Greg there. Eventually, he does find Greg — chopped up in his refrigerator. He’s on the phone with Ghostface when he discovers Greg’s body, and soon after, Ghostface kills Jason too. It makes the most sense that Detective Bailey was the Scream 6 Ghostface behind these murders.

As a detective, he would have the most knowledge of cutting up bodies and freezing them, as that’s a signature serial killer move. At the end of the film, Detective Bailey is the one to explain to Sam and Tara why they had to kill Jason and Greg. This may suggest he was the one to do it. Another hint is Ghostface’s iconic questionnaire he gives his victims. While this is a staple of the franchise, and every Ghostface does this in the opening scene, the way it resembles an interrogation would line up well with the detective.

Also, Quinn and Ethan had alibis. Anything is possible in the Scream franchise, but it seemed that at the time of Greg and Jason’s murders, Quinn was at her apartment with a guy, and Ethan was going to a frat party with Tara and their friends.

Victims: 2 Bodega Customers, Store Owner

Ghostface: Detective Bailey

After Jason and Greg’s Scream 6 kills air on the news, Detective Bailey wants Sam and Tara to come down to the police station. He is the one who lures them outside while Quinn and Ethan remain in their apartment. They could have left to follow Sam and Tara, though this would have looked suspicious, and Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin, who were also in the apartment, likely would have told Sam and Tara.

The Ghostface at the bodega, who kills the worker and two customers who interfere with his pursuit of Sam and Tara, is very familiar with using firearms. The way Ghostface handles the gun and gets it away from the bodega worker tryng to kill him is something only a professional could do.

Also, the way this Ghostface talks to Sam on the phone before the bodega uses similar language to Detective Bailey. Specifically, they both use the word “punish.” It makes the most sense that the detective was behind the Scream 6 deaths at the bodega, as well as Jason and Greg’s.

Victim: Dr. Christopher Stone

Ghostface: Detective Bailey

No one has an alibi in this scene, so it would seem it’s the hardest to pin on one of the Ghostface killers. However, there’s a lot of evidence that confirms that Detective Bailey’s Ghostface kills Christopher Stone. As the ring leader, it’s no surprise Bailey is the one to do most of the work. At the beginning of Scream 6, the detective is trying to frame Sam for Jason and Greg’s murders.

However, Sam tells Bailey she can’t be the killer because she was at her therapist, Dr. Christopher Stone’s, office. She then offers to give Bailey all the doctor’s information, unknowingly handing Detective Bailey his next victim. When he later tells FBI agent Kirby Reed about the doctor’s murder, he emphasizes the way he was killed as if he was proud of it. As a detective, he would know all the details of the murder. However, his extensive knowledge could also be a clue that he did it.

Victims: Quinn’s Boyfriend & Anika

Ghostface: Detective Bailey

The apartment murders present two possible Scream 6 killers with either Detective Bailey or his son Ethan. The murder style is a little different from the previous Scream 6 kills, in the way that Ghostface stabs and kills Anika, and it would make sense to switch up who the killer is. However, Ethan tells his friends he was missing when the murders happened because he was in class. His friends don’t believe him, but later they confirm his alibi checks out.

It wouldn’t be hard for Ethan to fake his alibi because his father is a detective. However, if he really was at econ, Detective Bailey would have to be Ghostface again. It couldn’t have been Quinn because she was faking her own death at the time, and it would have been too risky for her to act as Ghostface.

Victim: Gale (Not Fatal) & Brooks

Ghostface: Quinn

Though Gale came close to being one of Ghostface’s victims in Scream 6, she is still alive and in the hospital, and it’s assumed she’ll make it out alive. While she didn’t die, the killer made a good attempt at eliminating Gale from the game while also killing Gale’s partner, Brooks. This was another attack where the Ghostface culprit is confirmed. Quinn says at the end of the film that it was her, but even if she didn’t confess, she’s the only option.

At the time Ghostface was heading to Gale’s apartment, Detective Bailey was with Sam and Tara in Central Park, trying to catch the killer. Meanwhile, Ethan was in the van with Mindy and Kirby, tracking Ghostface’s location. Another clue is Gale was able to put up a good fight against Ghostface, meaning the killer would have to be around her size and weight.

Victim: Mindy (Not Fatal)

Ghostface: Quinn

Mindy appears to die in the subway attack scene, but it’s later revealed that she lives too. Technically, this is not one of Ghostface’s kills, but it was an attack with an obvious answer. Quinn also admitted to being the one to go after Mindy. However, she didn’t have to, as the Ghostface could only have been her.

During the attack, Ethan was in the subway car with Mindy. This acted as an alibi and cleared his name, which was especially beneficial because Mindy was suspicious of him being Ghostface. The audience also sees Detective Bailey soon after, and he couldn’t have been in two places at once.

Victim: Chad (Not Fatal)

Ghostface: Quinn & Ethan

Until the very end, it appeared as if Chad had been killed by Ghostface, and it’s still unclear how he survived such brutal stabbings. However, when he and Tara were attacked and it seemed like he’d been killed, it was likely Quinn and Ethan behind the attacks.

The first killer to attack Tara was probably Quinn because she was able to quickly run off the subway and get to Tara and Chad, while Ethan had to stay behind and care for Mindy. Meanwhile, Detective Bailey was calling Sam to trick her into believing that Kirby was no longer an FBI agent and was let go for being mentally unstable. When Ethan catches up with Quinn, he helps her brutally stab Chad.

The twist of having three Scream 6 killers, five including Jason and Greg, was a Scream franchise game changer, as it made it even easier for them to kill with so many Ghostfaces to carry out the murders. While only a few attacks were confirmed, with close observation, it’s easy to see which Ghostface was responsible for which victim in Scream 6.

Ghostface Doesn’t Kill Any Returning Scream Characters In Scream 6

Scream 6 Establishes The “Core Four” Are Untouchable

While Ghostface kills a lot of characters in Scream 6, they’re all new characters with none of them being familiar faces. As is typical of the Scream franchise, Mindy discusses horror movie “rules” in a very self-aware and meta way, and she explains that legacy characters in movie franchises aren’t safe.

However, Scream 6 cleverly subverts expectations when none of the victims are the likes of Gale Weathers or Kirby. It also might have been too much for longtime fans to handle if Scream 6 killed off any of those characters, as Dewey was killed just one year earlier in Scream 5.

At the end of Scream 6, Kirby has become the new Gale, and Chad calls Sam, Tara, Mindy, and himself the “Core Four,” hinting that they’re the new foundation of the Scream franchise, replacing Gale, Sidney, and Dewey. Given that the Scream series is more successful now than ever before, as the sixth movie made over $166 million (via Box Office Mojo), it’s hardly surprising that none of the three Scream 6 killers target the core four.

However, the idea of the “core four” taking over the franchise was undone with the reworking of Scream 7. Following the controversial firing of Melissa Barrera, and Jenna Ortega’s decision not to return, Sam and Tara will not be in the next movie. Instead, Neve Campbell will return as Sidney Prescott after missing out on the franchise for the first time in Scream 6. With the new cast members possibly being written out, perhaps Scream 6 would have been better off killing some of these characters.

Why Scream 6 Has 3 Ghostface Killers

The Family Connection Made The Multiple Killers Work

The Scream franchise is full of misdirects and three Scream 6 killers is the latest example of the movies keeping audiences guessing. While it could be seen as an attempt by the sequel to go bigger and stay fresh, it was pulled off perfectly, as Scream 6‘s killers are a family. Every character who wears the iconic mask is related to Richie, who was the Ghostface killer in the fifth movie but was repeatedly stabbed and then shot dead by Sam in Scream 5’s ending. The three killers in Scream 6 were trying to exact revenge for Richie’s death.

The motivations and identities of the killers are intrinsic to Scream‘s DNA, as the Ghostface killers always have close connections to the innocent characters. However, the idea of the three Ghostface killers in Scream 6 wasn’t the original plan and was something of an afterthought during the development of the sixth movie (via CBR). Scream 6 co-director Tony Gillett explained the idea and how they chose to relate it to Richie:

“We were so quick on the heels of [
Scream
] 5 that the script was a living blueprint for a while. So much of what the process was for us and screenwriters Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt was to continue to rattle-test everything. What ultimately ended up changing was [that] the original draft was a vigilante-justice story. It was interesting, and we liked that as an ingredient, but it felt like it was missing some emotional impact.”

Multiple Ghostface Killers Is A Scream Staple

Scream Delivered An Investive Twist On The Whodunnit

While the number of Scream 6 killers breaks the record for the franchise, multiple Ghostface killers have always been a major part of the Scream movies. The original Scream set the stage perfectly for the reveal as the movie had made it seem like there was only one killer only for Billy Loomis and Stu Macher to reveal they were working together. It helped add to the whodunnit element of the movie and part of the fun of the movies that followed was trying to determine the identity of Ghostface and how many of them were there.

Every Ghostface In The Scream Movies

It has proven a popular formula and the fact that Scream 3 is the only entry to use one lone killer and is considered the weakest of the franchise is telling. The potential for multiple Ghostface killers also adds to this mystery of deciphering who was responsible for killing which character. While there is some guesswork involved in most of the murders, there have been some instances where the truth is obvious or blatantly confirmed.

One of the few times the killer admits to a specific murder is in 2022’s Scream when Amber gloats to Gale about being the one who killed Dewey. As she is the first Ghostface to kill off a legacy character, she cements herself in the pantheon of the franchise’s killers. When it comes to the series’ most iconic kill in the opening of the first Scream, it is less clear but could be one of the rare moments of the killers working in unison.

Given how quickly Ghostface moves in the scene, it seems Stu killed Steve while Billy killed Casey. However, despite being the least popular and only solo killer, Roman Bridger from Scream 3 earns the highest body count of the franchise with nine kills.

The Ghostface Trio In Scream VI Might’ve Been The Least Successful

The Bailey Family Barely Pose A Threat

While the idea of having three Ghostface killers in Scream 6 seemed to set up an especially deadly entry in the franchise, looking back on the sixth movie, these Ghostfaces prove to be among the most lackluster there have ever been. Once again, their rather high body count is deceiving as they mostly killed small supporting characters, many of whom the audience and even the main characters didn’t really know. In terms of their impact on the central characters of the story, Detective Bailey and his kids were more of an inconvenience than a threat.

The movie kicks off with Jason Carver as Ghostface, who is certainly the least effective in the series, not even making it past the opening sequence and failing to even attack the main characters once. However, Ethan Bailey doesn’t do much better as he only shows up once in the costume, and despite a brutal attack, fails to kill Chad. In terms of non-lethal attacks, the Bailey siblings don’t seem to have the skills to finish the job. Detective Bailey’s police skills make him more formidable, but he is still not a threat to the main characters.

It was only a matter of time before the Scream franchise increased the amount of Ghostfaces terrorizing the heroes, but Scream 6 made it clear that more killers does not mean better killers.

Scream

Created by Kevin Williamson and originally helmed by Wes Craven, the Scream franchise takes a meta approach to the slasher horror franchise, centering on teenagers well-versed in the genre who find themselves hunted and killed by figures donning the Ghostface mask. The first four movies revolved around Neve Campbell’s Sydney Prescott as she frequently found herself the target of different Ghostface killers, while the fifth and sixth installments introduced new protagonists, sisters Tara and Sam, with their own dark past connected to the original Ghostface killer.

Cast

Neve Campbell , David Arquette , Courteney Cox , Skeet Ulrich , Jamie Kennedy , Liev Schreiber , Heather Matarazzo , Hayden Panettiere , Marley Shelton , Melissa Barrera , Jenna Ortega , Jack Quaid , Mason Gooding , Jasmin Savoy Brown , Roger Jackson

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