10 Horror Movies That Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It)

2. The Scream Franchise Finally Kills Off One Of Its Core Trio

Dewey Scream
Dimension Films

Who doesn't love a good Scream movie, right? Wes Craven's 1996 original completely changed the face of horror, and the subsequent three sequels under Craven's watch all brought plenty to the table..

That first picture established Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers and David Arquette's Dewey Riley as the central trio to take the burgeoning franchise forward (with a special shoutout for Jamie Kennedy's Randy Meeks, of course). The triumvirate managed to likewise make it out of Scream 2 in one piece, but by the time of Screams 3 and 4, horror hounds were calling for one of these big names to bite the bullet.

Despite a few near-misses, Messrs Prescott, Weathers and Riley survived the scheme of Sid's half-brother Roman in Scream 3, then took down Jill Roberts, the cousin of Campbell's character, in Scream 4. With this year's fifth Scream feature, though, that section of bloodthirsty fans finally got their wish, when the movie killed off Dewey in gloriously gory fashion.

The reaction? In a classic case of 'be careful what you wish for', some of those people baying for a major character's blood were left distraught that the landscape of the Scream franchise moving forward now has a Dewey-shaped home. Even more frustrating for some, the recent news that Neve Campbell will not be back for the upcoming sixth entry in the series means Gale Weathers will be the sole original face in that film.

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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.