10 Dumb Mistakes That Killed Horror Movie Characters

2022's homonymous Scream sequel saw the demise of one of the franchise's original three. But it didn't have to be this way...

Twenty-five years after the original Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer has crawled out of the woodwork to take apart a whole new group of teenagers. And, naturally, to aid them in this fight for their lives, they call upon the survivors of every other massacre – Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and fan-favourite Dewey Riley (David Arquette).

With its tongue planted firmly in its cheek, Scream deals up another solid slice of meta-horror, simultaneously affirming and subverting many of the genre and series' tropes. Amongst these is the long-standing rule of not only the slasher playbook, but the horror genre as a whole – the double-tap: Once the killer is down, execute a quick, sharp, final blow (ideally to the head) to ensure they stay there.

After facing, and apparently beating, the killer in the local hospital, Dewey declares that he has to do just that. Smart, right? Well, it would be if he got on with it. But, rather than chucking a few bullets into his pistol and blasting away from a distance, Dewey does the hero walk right up to the killer, and then pauses long enough to allow himself to be distracted and skewered like a kebab.

Though the character survived nine stab wounds throughout the series, this time he definitely ain't coming back.