The Tidbit

*This post contains lots of spoilers, so if you’re planning to see the film and haven’t yet, run away.

After much anticipation, “Scream (2022)” has finally been released. There was a lot of speculation on who Ghostface would be, who of the OGs (Sidney, Dewey, Gale) would live or die, and how the past would tie into the present.

I went into the movie thinking I had the ending completely figured out. In a 2018 episode of “Armchair Experts,” Matthew Lillard (who played Stu Macher, aka Killer #2 in the original “Scream”) said that the original ending for “Scream 3” revealed Stu was still alive, in prison, and giving directions to high school-aged “Stab” fans that were filling in as Ghostface. Because of leaked scripts on the internet and violence surrounding teenagers in real life at the time, the ending was nixed. It was replaced with the killer being Sidney’s unknown half brother, Roman (played by Scott Foley – remember this because more on that in a minute).

When I saw that the new movie would be featuring Stu’s house from the original (yes, I tried to win the Airbnb contest), I thought for sure this would be the ending. I went into the theater feeling prepared for the return of Lillard, only to be surprised by the return of Skeet Ulrich (original killer #1, Billy Loomis) and left the theater fairly underwhelmed by the ending.

The first half of the film was pretty legit. It was interesting that, for the first time in the franchise, the victim of the opening “kill” survives to be a larger character in the movie. But once the ending started kicking in, it seemed like everything the film was revving up to came to a complete detour.

Are these feelings partially subjective because I was disappointed that what I thought to be the ending wasn’t the ending? Yeah, totally.

But that doesn’t mean I disliked the movie, I had a lot of fun watching it and it definitely had its moments. At the end of the day, I call it a winner because of all of the callbacks and Easter eggs stemming from the rest of the franchise, and homages paid to Wes Craven. When it’s all said and done, this was a movie made for the fans; and it had all of the meta-ness that a “Scream” movie should have.

But, let’s get real, no one really cares about my personal feelings of the film, the fun part of this article is the aforementioned callbacks and Easter eggs. I’m assuming that’s why you’re here so let’s jump in.

Oh, but before we do that, obviously I have to pay tribute to Dewey. He was, of course, one of the main highlights of the franchise, but I definitely think it was time for one of the OGs to die. Rest In Peace, Dew Drop.

Honoring the original(s)

Since the release of Scream 4, have speculated on whether or not Kirby (Hayden P) died after being stabbed by Robbie. Being that you never see the character die, or hear any mention of her death, coupled with the fact that Panettiere had it in her contract that she couldn’t die on screen, many believed that Kirby survives.

“Scream (2022)” proves this to be true, as during a scene when Richie (Jack Quaid) is watching a “Stab” review on YouTube, the suggested videos on the side show a thumbnail of Panettiere with a title along the lines of “Interview with Woodsboro survivor…”

Additionally, there’s a thumbnail that says “Did the real-life Stu Macher survive?”

Another callback to “Scream 4” is the note Sheriff Judy leaves for son Wes on the refrigerator: “Lemon squares are in the fridge!” This is a reference to “4” where Judy keeps making lemon squares for Dewey because she has a lil crush.

Speaking of crushes, the OGs keep referring to Sidney’s husband, Mark. It took me way too long to realize that Mark is Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey), the detective from “Scream 3.” Love this journey for them.

Other eggs (in no particular order):

• When Sam first has a vision of Billy, she’s wearing a white tee and jeans; the same outfit that Billy died in.
• When Gale returns to Woodsboro, she’s wearing a matching red pantsuit, similar to one she wore for the second half of “Scream.”
• When Sam is trying to find a way to fight back at Richie when in the foyer, the camera lingers on a shot of an umbrella holder. I’m assuming this is a nod to the original when Sidney stabs Billy in the chest with an umbrella in the same foyer.
• Per usual, the movie is littered with red herrings.
• When Vince is killed outside of the pool hall, the song “Red Right Hand” is playing from his car. This song appeared in several other films, including the original.
• When Dewey shows up to help Sam and Richie, the song known as “Dewey’s Theme” plays. This same song is played when Dewey arrives on campus to check on Sidney in “Scream 2.”
• When Dewey is watching Gale’s morning show, you can faintly hear her say something like “I’m thinking of getting bangs, someone stage an intervention.” This is a reference to the bangs she had in “Scream 3” which have become the bane of that movie’s existence.
• A box of Tatum’s ashes can be seen in Dewey’s home. About time seeing as she’s casually mentioned only one other time in the franchise.
• Characters keep referring to “I’ll be right back!” According to Randy’s rules of survival in the original, this is something you’re never supposed to say.
• When talking about “The Silence of the Lambs” in the original, Billy references how Jodie Foster keeps having flashbacks of her dead father. This comes into play here when Sam is having visions of a dead Billy (which I was kind of into until he motioned in the direction of where a knife was – made it two totally different things).
• Now, back to the aforementioned Scott Foley thing. When Tara is in the hospital, she’s watching an episode of “Dawson’s Creek” that not only references “Scream,” but includes Scott Foley (you can see him briefly on screen).