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Sidney Prescott
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Real name Sid
Sidney Prescott is a fictional character and the primary protagonist of the Scream series. The character was created by Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven and is portrayed by Canadian actress Neve Campbell. She first appeared in Scream (1996) followed by three sequels: Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011). The character appears in the Scream films as the target of a series of killers who adopt the Ghostface persona, a ghost mask and black cloak, to pursue her. In each film, the Ghostface killers often murder people close to Sidney and taunt her by phone with threats and intimate knowledge of her life or the murder of her mother, leading to a final confrontation where the true killer is revealed.
The killers that target Sidney have varying motivations ranging from revenge in Scream to the fame that will come from killing her in Scream 2, due to the fame she herself has obtained as a survivor of the murder spree in the original film. She first becomes the focus of her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and his friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Billy seeking revenge for his mother's abandonment following his father's affair with Sidney's mother Maureen Prescott. Scream 3 later reveals that Billy learned of this affair through Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), Sidney's half-brother, himself seeking revenge for his abandonment and rejection by Maureen, sparking the chain of events that permeate each film.
Drew Barrymore was originally cast as Sidney Prescott but scheduling conflicts led to her taking a smaller role, with the lead being offered instead to Campbell, who at the time was starring in the TV show Party of Five. She was hesitant to take another horror role after finishing work on The Craft (1996) but took the opportunity as it would be her first leading role in a feature film. Campbell reprised the role in Scream 2 and Scream 3 though her own scheduling conflicts meant she could only film for a short period of time while the third film was in production. This resulted in her character's role being reduced significantly from prior installments and focus was shifted onto the series' other lead characters, Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley. Campbell initially refused requests for her to return for Scream 4, with scripts written with her character's absence in mind, but ultimately agreed to return.
The character is depicted as an intelligent, resourceful young woman who slowly becomes stronger over the course of the series as she attempts to overcome the threats and deaths around her. Neve Campbell's role as Sidney Prescott has received significant critical praise throughout the series, earning her the title of Scream Queen in the 1990s and won her the Saturn Award for Best Actress in 1997 for Scream and the MTV Award for Best Female Performance in 1998 for her role in Scream 2.
Best films
Played by the actor
Filmography of Sidney Prescott (5 films)
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Scream 4 (2011)
, 1h51Directed by Wes Craven
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Horror comedy, Action, Adventure, Horror, Slasher
Themes Films about writers, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Serial killer films, Comedy horror films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Carlos Alazraqui
Rating62%
On the 15th anniversary of the Woodsboro Massacre, high school students Jenny Randall and Marnie Cooper are attacked and brutally murdered in their home by a new Ghostface.
, 56minutesOrigin USA
Genres Documentary, Horror
Themes Documentary films about business, Documentary films about the film industry
Actors Andrew Robinson, Grace Kirby, Ashley Laurence, Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince, Simon Bamford
Rating62%
Scream 3 (2000)
, 1h56Directed by Wes Craven
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror, Slasher
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Serial killer films, Comedy horror films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Patrick Dempsey, Jenny McCarthy, Parker Posey
Rating57%
Cotton Weary, now living in Los Angeles and the host of a nationally syndicated television show, 100% Cotton, is called by Ghostface, who demands the whereabouts of Sidney Prescott, who has gone into hiding ever since the events of the second film. Cotton refuses to divulge that information, and when Ghostface comes to his home, both Cotton and his girlfriend Christine are murdered.
Scream 2 (1997)
, 2hDirected by Wes Craven
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Horror comedy, Horror, Slasher
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Serial killer films, Comedy horror films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Sarah Michelle Prinze, Elise Neal
Rating63%
While attending a preview of the film Stab, a film within a film based on the Woodsboro murders depicted in Scream, two Ohio Windsor College seniors, Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens are murdered by Ghostface. Phil is stabbed through the ear in a bathroom stall while trying to eavesdrop on strange whimpering noises. The killer, wearing a Ghostface costume, then returns to the screening and sits beside Maureen, before mortally stabbing her. At first the audience believe she is part of the raucuous acting out by audience members, until she falls dead in front of the cinema screen.
Scream (1996)
, 1h51Directed by Wes Craven
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Horror, Crime, Black comedy, Slasher
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Serial killer films, Comedy horror films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich
Rating74%
High school student Casey Becker receives a flirtatious phone call from an unknown person, asking her, "What's your favorite scary movie?" The situation quickly escalates as the caller turns sadistic and threatens her life. He reveals that her boyfriend Steve Orth is being held hostage. After Casey fails to answer a question correctly about horror films, Steve is murdered. When Casey refuses to cooperate with the caller, she is attacked and murdered by a masked killer. Her parents come home to find her body hanging from a tree.