Scream fans were concerned after it was announced that a 5th Scream film was coming to the big screen. Without Wes Craven directing and Kevin Williamson writing (although he was on board as an Executive Producer) could this movie hold up to the previous four? According to the opening weekend box office, it seems that it can. As with earlier films in the franchise, the 2022 Scream was chock-full of Easter eggs and references to not only other horror films but its own legacy.
Scream redefined the horror genre in the late 90s and you can’t reference the history of horror films without referencing Scream itself. This film managed to find a way to use horror history and its own history in a meta-filled love letter to the horror genre. Here are some references you might have missed while watching the latest film.
Warning! There are MAJOR SPOILERS from the newest film revealed in these Easter Eggs. You’ve been warned!
Kicking off our list of Easter eggs from the 2022 Scream is one from the most recent entry in the series. One of the characters that fans really latched onto in Scream 4 was that of Kirby Reed played by Hayden Panettiere. The last time we saw her it had just been revealed that her friend and hopeful boyfriend Charlie was one of the killers. He stabbed her in the stomach twice and it was assumed she might have died as we didn’t see her afterward. Fans immediately began theorizing that she could have lived to show up again in another film. We find out in this fifth movie that she in fact did survive the attacks. When Dewey is going through his phone, we see that his recent call log has one from Kirby. She also appears later on a YouTube thumbnail previewing an interview she did about surviving the killing spree.
One song that shows up in almost every Scream movie is Red Right Hand by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. The only film it didn’t show up in was Scream 4. After taking a film off we get the great musical cue from the familiar song when the bad boy Vince Schneider gets thrown out of a bar, he stops to take a bathroom break in the alley. As he is finishing his business his car headlights turn on and the song begins to play. Even after he turns the car off, Ghostface still attacks, and the tones of Nick Cave throw us back to let us know to beware of a red right hand.
In Scream 3, Sidney found herself working with police officer Mark Kincaid. By the end of the film, it seemed like she could finally be able to ride off into the sunset happily ever after. When Sidney returned in Scream 4, there didn’t seem to be any indication of what their relationship status was. In this film when Dewey calls Sidney to let her know that someone was committing Ghostface murders again, she brings up Mark at some point indicating that he was her husband.
This one is a long winding reference that started actually back in 1978. Sam’s last name is Carpenter. Since Scream has a history of referencing the movie Halloween, this is not a big surprise. This obviously is a reference to that film’s director John Carpenter. When we get the reveal that she is Billy Loomis’ illegitimate daughter, that makes her Sam Loomis. This is the same name as Donald Pleasence’s character in Halloween. Interestingly enough in Halloween, Loomis’ name is a reference and tribute to the film Psycho. Marion Crane’s boyfriend that comes to find where she had driven off to is Sam Loomis. This is a long winding easter egg that covers multiple tributes and references. Psycho gets another reference later when Wes takes a shower and Ghostface tells his mother he is about to meet his end. So yeah, as far as Easter eggs in the 2022 Scream, this one has some history.
The Stab films are the movie within a movie trope that has become part of the Scream mythology. We find out they have made 8 of these films. When Tara is trying to look up cast members of the first film we see that the official cast listing has Tori Spelling, Luke Wilson, and Heather Graham listed. This is actually accurate. In Scream 2 we saw footage of Heather Graham as part of the opening scene (mimicking the Drew Barrymore scene in the original Scream), Tori Spelling playing Sidney (which itself was a meta-joke from a reference in the first film), and Luke Wilson playing Billy Loomis. In this film, we actually see more of the first Stab film with an actor playing the fictional version of Randy Meeks.
One thing fans have kind of been bummed about was that the death of Dewey’s sister Tatum didn’t seem to resonate with any of the continuing characters in the Scream films. While Sidney would still wear Derek’s frat letters in Scream 3 and of course the importance of the death of her mother throughout the series, no one seemed really that upset that Tatum had died. In this film, we finally see that Dewey has Tatum’s ashes displayed on his mantle surrounded by flowers. He still remembers her and keeps her memory alive.
A character that fans loved from the first moment they saw him was the lovable film nerd Randy Meeks. Sadly he died in Scream 2. When Scream 3 came around the filmmakers still wanted an appearance from the fan-favorite character but how could they do it without negating his death? They had his sister Martha show up and deliver a tape with Randy leaving more rules for our characters. His sister was played by Heather Matarazzo. We learn that the twins Chad and Mindy Martin are Randy’s Niece and Nephew. We get a quick moment of Martha showing up to deliver some snacks when all the kids meet up to discuss the murders. Matarazzo returns to play the character. If only Randy could have joined us.
While Tara is in the hospital healing from her wounds we see her watching a Halloween episode of Dawson’s Creek. The show was made by Scream’s creator Kevin Williamson. This also doubles as another nod to the Scream franchise as one of the stars of the show, Joshua Jackson, showed up in Scream 2. He was a student in Randy’s film class who proclaimed that House II: The Second Story was a sequel that outdid the first film. Who am I to argue?
In the original film, when we are introduced to the majority of our characters, they are sitting in front of the school talking about the murders from the night before. During that scene, Stu and Tatum are eating a bag of green grapes. In the new film, a similar scene plays out. Our new group of characters are sitting in front of the school discussing the attempted murder of Tara from the night before. The characters are also eating a bag of green grapes. Woodsboro must be the green grape capital of the world.
Wes Craven directed all four of the previous Scream films. He sadly died in 2015 from cancer. The filmmakers and cast wanted to pay tribute to the director. There are two obvious tributes in the film. One of the characters is named Wes. This is a great way to keep Wes involved with the film even after his passing. At the end of the film the tribute “For Wes” shows up on the screen before we get a rundown of the cast. One that may be hard to notice is towards the end of the film. As Sidney is making her way through the house, trying to find the killers, a hat rack is shown. On the rack is a hat that resembles the hat that Wes Craven used to wear on a frequent basis. A simple way to pay respect to the master director.
Did you notice any Easter eggs and references that we missed from the 2022 Scream? Leave them in the comments below.