Scream VI's release is inching closer and closer, and with every glimpse, it seems the upcoming movie is honoring its predecessors. Even though Scream (2022) set up a new set of main characters, it's near impossible to ignore the legacy of the original's final girl, Sidney Prescott. Her five-movie-long battle hits differently when her age is taken into account.
Scream is a revolutionary horror franchise that perfectly blends satire and a classic slasher story. In general, the franchise follows a young woman named Sidney Prescott -- played by Neve Campbell -- and a fight that no one should have to endure. She's constantly stalked by a group of serial killers called Ghostface. Each killer is draped in a Father Death costume, hidden behind a white ghost mask and a voice filter. It seems as if every time the phone rings, Ghostie slashes their knife, and Sidney faces off.
Sidney Prescott Starts Scream at 17
Even though Scream starts when Sidney's 17 years old, the first real horror of her life happens one year prior as her mother, Maureen, is brutally murdered, leaving her as a witness and eventual target. The girl can't get a break as, near the first anniversary of her mom's death, her classmates start popping up as Woodsboro's latest murder victims. This culminates in a massacre on the actual day of the anniversary. That night, Sidney realizes that her mom's killers are her boyfriend, Billy, and his best friend, Stu. She doesn't leave the Macher house unharmed, but she does defeat her first round of Ghostface killers, leaving her mark as the series' final girl.
Ghostface Returns When Sidney's 19
Unfortunately, going off to college doesn't save Sidney from her past. Scream 2 takes place about two years after the first Woodsboro massacre, Sidney is a college student at Ohio's Windsor College, and history starts to repeat itself. At a screening of Stab, the movie based on the Woodsboro Massacres, two students are brutally murdered, thus starting the Windsor College Massacre. The killer behind the spree is none other than Ghostface, and the victims are, again, people she's semi-close to, considering the copycat Ghosties are her classmate, Mickey, and Billy Loomis' mother, Debbie. She, once again, survives the chaos even though she loses more people, including Woodsboro survivor Randy Meeks.
Sidney Prescott's Nightmare Continues at 21
After two different massacres in places beginning with W that result in her losing her boyfriends, Sidney goes into hiding. She hides away in an isolated house with a beautiful Golden Retriever guard dog, plenty of security devices, and old-fashioned locks. Her location is hidden from most people except for her father and Dewey Riley, and she works as a remote crisis counselor under the name Laura. While she's in hiding, the murders start up again, as a new Ghostface slices through Hollywood, willing to literally kill for her location. Of course, she comes out of hiding to protect innocent people. Sidney's barely featured in Scream 3, but her time surviving Ghostface in LA features her being chased through a stage set up of Woodsboro, meeting her on-screen counterparts, finding out about her mother's history, and even meeting her future husband, Mark.
Ghostface's 10-Year-Vacation Ends When Sid's 32
Scream 4 is the first glimpse of Sidney as she's started to really heal after surviving three different massacres back-to-back. This is likely due to the decade-long gap between the third and the fourth incidents. During this Ghostface hiatus, Sidney has become an author, and her book about healing from great deals of trauma is a bestseller. Unfortunately, her book tour brings her full circle back to Woodsboro, and the killings start back up. Her reunion with more estranged family members adds even more loss to this round for Sidney and brings her closer to the Ghostface killers, her horrible cousin Jill Roberts, and her classmate Charlie. She obviously survives, but with a few more scars added to the list.
Sidney Prescott's (Possibly) Final Battle Culminates at 42
After about another decade, the three remaining Woodsboro survivors have moved on and started to live their lives. Gale and Dewey are post-divorce, and the former is living her dream as a big-city TV personality. Sidney, on the other hand, is finally enjoying a peaceful and ordinary life as a wife and mother in a healthy, non-murderous situation. That is until her past drags her back to Woodsboro in a massacre targeting a new set of Woodsboro High teenagers. Scream (2022) pays homage to the original, from killing the nephew of Stu Macher to Scream 3's Judy Hicks. It seems every victim is connected to the first Woodsboro Massacre. Following a similar path to the one she took in 1996, Sidney is brought back to the Macher house and reinforces her legacy as one hell of a final girl.
While looking forward to the upcoming Scream VI, it's hard to picture the franchise without Sidney Prescott. But, unfortunately, Neve Campbell isn't returning for Scream VI. As such, even though her iconic character is sitting this film out, it's time to really appreciate the nearly 30-year history of one of horror's best final girls.