Every Horror Movie Reference In Scream 5

This article contains major spoilers for "Scream" (2022).

Back in 1996, Wes Craven's "Scream" redefined the horror genre with a meta masterpiece that simultaneously celebrates and roasts all that horror has to offer. If you've ever sat down and thought about your favorite scary movies collectively, it's not difficult to notice the patterns and amped-up tropes that most films follow within the genre. Sure, we've come a long way with horror since the '90s, and some of these often toxic tropes get thrown to the wayside, but they still play out in many films — including the 2022 requel "Scream." 

By repeating the same title as the original film, "Scream" (2022) honors the legacy cast, characters, and tropes while putting a fresh spin on the plot and introducing a new generation of scream teens (not to be confused with scream queens). "Scream" is best-known for its meta-commentary, so along with the parody of its tropes, the movie references a plethora of horror movies and characters. However, given how much has changed within the genre since the OG film first debuted, there's a whole new slate of films for the characters to excessively namedrop. Of course, we still get the classics, but Jordan Peele and films like "Hereditary" and "The Babadook" get their time to shine, too. Does your favorite movie make its way into the vast catalog of "Scream" references? 

There's one film that certainly isn't elevated horror, and that's the "Scream" in-universe meta film "Stab." As it turns out, despite living in Woodsboro, Tara is not impressed with Gale Weathers' movie franchise. She's more than happy to criticize her hometown horror story while she's unknowingly on the phone with Ghostface, calling it overlit with weird hair. Come on, Tara — the first rule in "Scream" is to never mention Gale's tragic '90s bangs.

Despite her lack of enthusiasm over the "Stab" films, Ghostface forces Tara to answer trivia to save her best friend, Amber. She may not be a big "Stab" fan, but you can't grow up in Woodsboro without getting a few things right. Tara knows that Sidney is the main character, remembers that Gale Weathers is the writer of the books, and recalls the actress who played Casey Becker.

Like Becker — Drew Barrymore's "Scream" character — Tara messes up a trick question. While Casey says Jason is the killer in "Friday the 13th," Tara recalls that Billy is the killer from the first "Stab." However, she forgets that Billy is only one-half of the deadly duo. What about Stu, Tara? Due to her fumble, she gets stabbed, but unlike Casey's bloody demise, it's not fatal. Back in 1996, director Wes Craven received a lot of raised eyebrows for bait and switching audiences by immediately killing Barrymore's character (the film's rising star) instead of making her the final girl. However, this fakeout has become one of the most iconic decisions in horror history. Still, it's cool to see the debut character survive the opening scene in this iteration of the franchise.

It only follows that Tara is also a fan of the movie "It Follows" — another trivia suggestion from the stalling horror savant. However, whether Tara likes it or not, the David Robert Mitchell film boasts a classic scary movie trope: the horror virgin. If you ask Randy Meeks how to survive a horror movie, he'll tell you not to have sex. 

Apparently, Jay (Maika Monroe) never got that memo. So, what does a romp in the sack with some guy named Hugh (Jake Weary) get her? A dreadful curse in the form of a paranormal stalker. Seriously, can women not catch a break? It's bad enough horror nerds coerce the ladies of Woodsboro into answering deadly trivia on the phone, but now they're getting stalked on another plane of existence? Do they have catcalling in hell?

Despite its utilization of this outdated trope, the film still falls under elevated horror. "It Follows" is a deep dive into psychological horror that intently studies the human condition. Basically, Hugh carries the STD from hell (literally), and like most horror movies, the moral of the story is to avoid sex or live a life of misery (or death). It just does it in an arthouse kind of way instead of using buckets of fake blood.

Tara may love her elevated horror, but "Scream" (2022) follows in the footsteps of its OG predecessor when it comes to the most-referenced film in the movie. That's right — the "Halloween" homages come pouring in during the updated film just as much as its 1996 counterpart. There's no denying that John Carpenter's "Halloween" has irrevocably altered the course of horror history since its 1978 release. In fact, "Scream" 2022 using the OG film's title for the requel is the very same thing "Halloween" did in 2021.

Beyond the film title similarities, though, when Sam explains Woodsboro's history to her outsider boyfriend Richie, he says, "Like 'Halloween'?" The reference is a significant clue that Richie might not be as oblivious as he pretends to be about all of this horror stuff. Additionally, when we meet Tara's friend group, Chad mentions Michael Myers when they callously discuss how Ghostface stabbed Tara.

Later in the film, Sam gathers everyone to interrogate the friend group with Dewey, and "Halloween" gets another shoutout when the group explains the concept of a requel. And finally, when Amber monologues after her Ghostface reveal, she explains why she needed Sidney to return to Woodsboro: "You can't have a bonafide 'Halloween' without Jamie Lee." After all, Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie) is one of the most iconic scream queens, but none of the new movie's references can top Randy's "Look behind you" scene when he watches "Halloween" in the OG movie.

There's nothing like a sequel of a '90s movie that references a remake of another '90s movie, right? The Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and Julia Roberts movie "Flatliners" released in 1990 before getting remade 27 years later with Elliot Page, Nina Dobrev, Diego Luna, James Norton, and Sutherland snagging a new role. Sound familiar?

While the "Flatliners" remake isn't a requel, there's just about the same amount of time between the OG and the remake as "Scream" (1996) and "Scream" (2022). During Dewey's interrogation of our new group of wayward teens, they randomly throw out the "Flatliners" reference in yet another meta moment. The movie reference feels a bit out of place against the likes of "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th," but the 2017 cast is no doubt popular with Gen Z crowds. It also has the elevated horror element that Tara loves so much. The film centers on a gaggle of medical students with near-death wishes who try to get a taste of the afterlife by stopping their hearts to see what lies in the beyond. While tackling the notion of heaven and hell, the movie shows the group's earthly actions put to the test when they continue to tread the water between this realm and the next.

When it comes to horror franchises, none are more twisted, brutal, and hard-to-watch than the "Saw" series. Though the James Wan-directed movie debuted in 2004, by the time of "Scream" (2022)'s release, "Saw" already produced nine films. Whatever happened to the implications of the seventh movie's title, "The Final Chapter"? Yet when there's a sequel, prequel, or character study that can get milked from a popular franchise, it inevitably happens. Hell, that's the entire reason the 2022 Ghostface killers start their murder spree — they want a better sequel.

During the social group interrogation scene with Dewey, the teens namedrop the "Saw" series, though it's vastly different from most of the movie's references so far. However, you could argue that there is a psychological component to these movies. Though Jigsaw gets off on brutal torture, he's testing what length people will go to in order to survive as he copes with his own terminal diagnosis. Bruh. Just buy a copy of "Chicken Soup for the Serial Killer's Soul" and be done with it. 

The "Halloween" references in "Scream" (2022) and the OG movie don't stop at verbal quotes. To fans' delight, the requel offers one major surprise that fans didn't see coming: the return of Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis. No, the franchise doesn't become paranormal all of a sudden with his resurrection, but he's ever-present in the film nonetheless.

As it turns out, our new final girl has a dirty little secret. After discovering that she's Billy Loomis' biological daughter, Sam works through some mental health struggles. As a result, her insecurities manifest her serial killer biological father into hallucinations that egg her on and feed into her darker tendencies. These moments are a pretty clever way to bring the fan-favorite character back, but fans who didn't watch "Halloween" closely might not realize the connection Billy has with series staple Donald Pleasence — their characters share a last name. 

That's right. Our very own Billy Loomis is named after Michael Myers' psychiatrist. Does this mean the two universes are connected? Unlikely, especially given the number of heavy references and movie-watching that occurs throughout the franchise. However, it's a fun nod, just the same. Pleasence reprised his role as Dr. Loomis right up until "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers," which was released the year of his death.