Summary
Fans are eagerly anticipating more updates on the status ofScream 7,with the horror sequel set to start filming later this year, with a potential release sometime in 2025. Sidney Prescott will face off against Ghostface, butfans are speculating over whether the actual classic rules for surviving a horror movie will return inScream 7. Since Randy Meeks gave his last set of rules inScream 3, they have never been the same since.
Thehorror commentaryin the Scream franchise has always reflected what’s currently happening in present day horror movies, soScream 7has a challenge on its hands in terms of crafting the rules, if the creative team choose to bring them back.Many fans think a Scream movie must comment on certain trends in the genre, otherwise it’s not quintessentiallyScream.
The rules in each Scream movie
Scream
There are certain rules one must abide by to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, Number 1: you’re able to never have sex. Big no no. Sex equals death. Number 2: you can never drink or do drugs. And number 3: never, ever, ever under any circumstances, say ‘I’ll be right back.’
-Randy Meeks
Scream 2
Number 1: The body count is always bigger. Number 2: The death scenes are always much more elaborate, more blood, more gore. Carnage candy. Your core audience just expects it. And number 3: if you want your sequel to become a franchise, never, ever ever…
Randy is interrupted by an impatient Dewey before completing the final rule. However, the original teaser trailer forScream 2does reveal what the third rule is:
Never, ever, under any circumstances, assume the killer is dead.
This was a reference to Randy’s final line inScream,which stated that a killer always comes back to life for one last scare, before Billy Loomis did spring back to life, and Sidney shoots him in the head. It’s also very interesting that this rule was actually followed by Dewey inScream (2022)and actually led to his death.
Scream 3
Here are some super trilogy rules. 1: You’ve got a killer who’s gonna be superhuman. Stabbing him won’t work, shooting him won’t work. Basically, in the third one, you gotta cryogenically freeze his head, decapitate him, or blow him up. 2: Anyone, including the main character, can die. This means you, Sid. Number 3: The past will come back to bite you in the ass. Whatever you think you know about the past, forget it. The past is not at rest! Any sins you think were committed in the past are about to break out and destroy you.
Directed By
Kevin Williamson
When Randy Meeks was brutally killed by Ghostface inScream 2’s best idea, it felt like the audience was being killed off as well in many ways, because Randy very much spoke for the fans.He was self-aware, and he knew all the rules to follow to survive a horror movie, and he guided the viewer through the movies. He returned via videotape inScream 3, to deliver the rules in order to survive the third movie in a trilogy. Since then, the franchise has relied on numerous different characters to deliver these rules, but it’s never felt the same without the original movie geek.
Scream 4’sKirby Reed delivered all the horror movie commentary, but she never actually stated the rules, leaving it down to Cinema Club movie geeks, Robbie Mercer and Charlie Walker (who ended up being Ghostface) to inform the viewer about the current rules. It was fan favorite, Dewey Riley, who took on the responsibility of delivering the rules inScream (2022), channeling his old Woodsboro alum, Randy Meeks.
Scream 6saw Mindy take on the rules, butMelissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega’s exitshave made Mindy’s return inScream 7unlikely. So,with Dewey and Randy dead, and Mindy not returning, who could deliver the rules in Scream 7?
Randy’s rules in the first three Scream movies always felt more like a guide to survival, rather than just mere horror commentaryon what usually happens in the genre, masquerading as rules. Dewey’s rules inScream (2022)were more reminiscent of Randy’s, with the ex sheriff clearly learning from Randy inScream 2, when he was on the receiving end of the rules during a conversation in a coffee shop prior to Randy’s death.
IfKirby returns inScream 7, she would be a good choice to bring back the actual rules,but it’s not looking likely that she will appear in the upcoming sequel. It seems to be a good idea tobring back legacy characters inScream 7to revive the classic rules. Despite Randy being dead, he could be brought back in another unearthed videotape from the grave. However, it might be a case of de-aging Jamie Kennedy to portray his younger self as Randy back in 1997. Another option would be for Sidney and Gale to discover a recording from their old friend, Dewey, before his death, with a run-down of the rules for surviving another attack from Ghostface.
