10 Horror Movie Characters Punished For Not Believing

6. Tatum Riley - Scream

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Dimension Films

Oh, Tatum...

The feisty, ferocious, smartass best pal of Sidney Prescott, Rose McGowan's Tatum Riley is memorably killed in the most unique of ways in Wes Craven's Scream; Tatum's neck broken by an electric garage door after she got herself wedged in a cat flap.

Why did Tatum end up trying to burst through a cat flap? Why, that was because she was desperately trying to evade the clutches of Ghostface.

Of all of the kills across the Scream franchise, Tatum is one of the few victims to actually have an in-person face-to-mask conversation with Ghostface before she meets her demise. And to be fair, it's a very jovial, cheery conversation, with the youngest Riley sibling poking fun at her would-be killer.

That's where the problem lies, for Tatum didn't actually believe she was confronted with the actual Ghostface killer, who had by that point had already killed two of her classmates and Principal Himbry. Instead, Rose McGowan's character thought film nerd Randy had decked himself out in the Ghostface garb as part of a prank.

For Tatum, she would've been far better positioned to survive - or, y'know, at least not have to make a run for it through a cat flap - if she'd have believed that Ghostface was, well, Ghostface.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.