Scream: Ghostface's Identity Revealed and Ending Explained

With some slasher series, the identity of a murderer is well-known, yet with the Scream series, one of the biggest draws is finding out who is capable of committing the heinous acts that have been depicted over the decades. In addition to the actual identity of the killer (or killers) being a mystery, so is the justification for why they've pursued such deadly activities. The latest Scream is no exception to a surprising reveal, especially given how many entirely new faces have joined the franchise alongside veteran actors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette. With Scream out in theaters now, all mysteries have been revealed.

WARNING: Major spoilers below for Scream

The new film begins with attacks on Tara (Jenna Ortega), which results in her sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) returning to the town of Woodsboro for support. Relatively early on in the film, we realize a rift developed between them because Sam realized her real father was Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) from the original film and she left home after discovering her father was a serial killer. Accompanying her to Woodsboro was Richie (Jack Quaid), who is revealed in the finale as being one of the killers.

Like many installments in the series, this Scream features more than one killer, allowing for misdirects where Ghostface can attack victims solely to take suspicion away from the actual killers. Tara's friend Amber (Mikey Madison) is revealed as being in partnership with Richie to commit the heinous crimes. 

In the film's finale, which unfolds at the former home of Billy's partner Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) from the first film, we learn that Amber's parents purchased the home, which inspired an interest the murders in Amber, resulting in her crossing paths with Richie on the internet. One of the things they bonded over was their disappointment with the direction the Stab series of slashers (based on the "real" Ghostface attacks) took later in the franchise, resulting in them teaming up to orchestrate a new series of brutal crimes that would hopefully inspire more effective Stab films in the future.

Much like how Billy and Stu had planned to orchestrate their murders to be pinned on an unwilling suspect, Richie and Amber also hoped to orchestrate a plot involving Sidney Prescott (Campbell), Gale Weathers (Cox), and Sam, centering around Sam being the daughter of a murderer. As is the nature of the franchise, things don't go entirely to plan. as they both meet their demise.

The new Scream is in theaters now.

What did you think of the killers' identities? Let us know in the comments below!