Editorials
Ghostface Glossary: A Guide to Every Horror Reference in ‘Scream 2’
Welcome to the Ghostface Glossary, a guide to every horror reference and nod throughout the first five films of the Scream franchise.
After a lot of pausing, rewinding, and zooming in, as well as researching, we’re catching all of the many horror-specific references Williamson, Craven, and Co. included in this beloved postmodern slasher franchise. If we’ve forgotten any glaring ones, kindly let us know.
This guide will exclude homages from previous Scream films and their respective sequels— we’re only looking at outside horror franchises and inspirations, because any red-blooded Ghostface fan is likely already aware of those. (Goes without saying that the beloved faux franchise ‘Stab’(s) 1-8 will also not be counted, since, even though our neon green ‘Stab’ t-shirts and mock VHS tapes feel very real, it’s still a very fake franchise). If we’ve forgotten any glaring ones, kindly let us know.
“By definition alone, they’re inferior films!”
With a lightening speed turnaround of exactly one year after the release of its OG predecessor, Scream 2 has less to say about the horror genre itself (or its then-current state of its 1997 release year). Instead, Williamson and Craven continue to drop old slasher movie Easter eggs galore, both mainstream and obscure, while also focusing on the specificities, tropes, and rules of movie sequels, in general. From its arguably all-time best opening sequence within a room full of jacked-up ‘Stab’ fans to its Pamela Voorhees-inspired “good old fashioned revenge” motive, this first sequel is right up there amongst some of the other great Part 2 horror pantheons (Friday the 13th Part 2, Child’s Play 2, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, etc.) as a respected pinnacle of what constitutes as a superb follow-up and beginning of a decades-spanning franchise. Could it have included more commentary about said horror sequels? Sure.
But these horror references are more than satiating to horror fans of any level— elementary or expertise.
‘House on Haunted Hill’
House on Haunted Hill (1959): 1) Ghostface dummies fly over the heads of the rowdy audience before ‘Stab’ begins and 2) the glow-in-the-dark “Stab-O-Vision” appears on the screen before the ‘Stab’ title card— both odes to William Castle gimmicks.
Psycho (1960): 1) The ‘Stab’ version of Casey Becker removes her clothes and turns on the shower. 2) Later, Mrs. Loomis sticks her eyeball through a hole in the door, in the same fashion as Norman Bates does to spy on Marion Crane.
Demons (1985), Popcorn (1991), He Knows You’re Alone (1980), Anguish (1987), and Messiah of Evil (1973): All five are distinct influences for the film’s opening movie theater sequence and/or Maureen’s death in front of the movie-going audience. Anguish also later parallels Mrs. Loomis’ killer mommy reveal.
Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and House II: The Second Story (1987): Randy and Mickey’s film class debates which horror sequels rival their predecessors. T2 is also later referred to again, when Mickey compares Sidney to Linda Hamilton.
Nosferatu (1922): Cici settles on watching the expressionist vampire classic as she talks on the phone with her friend.
‘Friday the 13th’
Friday the 13th (1980): Arguably Scream 2’s most prominent homages come from the 1980 film in the following circumstances:
1) Cici’s friend says a variation of the famous “Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma” as a joke over the phone
2) Randy says later, “Mrs. Voorhees was a terrific serial killer!”
3) Mrs. Loomis is finally revealed to be the mommy revenge killer a la Pamela Voorhees, of course. Mrs. Loomis also attempts to break down a door with Sidney on the other side, just like the ending scene with Pamela and Alice in the 1980 film.
Black Christmas (1974): Cici, the sorority girl, gets a freaky phone call from Ghostface inside her sorority house, akin to Billy harassing the girls inside their sorority house in BC.
Halloween (1978): While the 1996 film takes the whole cake in terms of odes to Halloween, Scream 2 can’t help itself, either. 1) Cici’s body splayed on the ground after falling off the roof looks very similar to Myers’ body in the Carpenter film, before he’s revealed to have survived and his body disappears. Of course, Cici is not as fortunate. 2) The detectives assigned to protect Sidney are named Richards and Andrews, likely after child actors Kyle Richards and Brian Andrews. 3) Finally, Debbie Salt’s actual last name is revealed to be Mrs. Loomis, obviously.
Faces of Death (1978): Cameraman Joel complains to Gale: “I was brought here to do an interview— not ‘Faces of Death 14.’” To be fair, there are only 8 volumes in the series (to date.)
‘Beetlejuice’
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) or Beetlejuice (1988): Ghostface says “It’s showtime!” to Sidney via phone, in the post-college party scene. This could be a nod to either film…but we’re leaning towards the former, knowing Williamson’s love for the Friday films.
Candyman (1992): While explaining who he thinks the killers could be to Dewey, Randy notes there is “always room for Candyman’s daughter,” when discussing the possibility of Hallie. “She’s sweet— she’s deadly! She’s bad for your teeth.”
The House on Sorority Row (1982), The Dorm that Dripped Blood (1982), Splatter University (1984), Graduation Day (1981), and Final Exam (1981): Showing off his horror expertise to Ghostface, Randy lists these college campus-themed titles over the phone while attempting to locate him.
‘Slumber Party Massacre’
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982): Randy gets yanked into the news van, in the middle of the afternoon, where he meets his demise— similarly to another shortly-lived character’s fate in the early moments of this 1982 slasher. However, there was no blaring boom box to comically cover the sounds of agonizing screaming, like what occurred to poor Randy.
Mute Witness (1995): While Gale and Dewey are studying Joel’s news footage in the campus’ projector/editing room, Ghostface finds them and (nearly) murders Dewey. The 1995 film features a similar set piece and chase sequence within the walls of a film editing space.
Twin Peaks franchise (1990 series and subsequent films): As Sidney and Hallie are riding with the detectives, for a few frames, the camera focuses on the changing traffic lights— similarly to the ominous usages of changing traffic lights within the bulk of the TP series.
Stage Fright (1987): Scream 2’s final battle between Sidney and Mrs. Loomis, which takes place on a stage set piece, is akin to this ’87 slasher about a bunch of stage actors prepping for a play. Scream 2 also notes you must shoot the killer between the eyes for them to finally die, which is another direct reference to Stage Fright– except, Mickey and Mrs. Loomis are a lot more dead than SF killer Wallace may be…
Thanks to IMDb and the Zack Cherry YouTube channel for picking up a couple this writer had missed for this comprehensive guide.
‘Scream 2’
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Kraus took the literary world by storm back in 2023 with the release of his hit novel Whalefall. A terrifying yet intimate survival thriller with mythological undertones, the book was almost immediately bombarded with offers from movie studios wanting to adapt its claustrophobic imagery to the big screen.
Fast forward to June of 2026, and we finally got our first glimpse at Brian Duffield’s long-awaited adaptation of Whalefall, starring Austin Abrams as our unfortunate lead who gets swallowed alive by a sperm whale. While this two-and-a-half-minute teaser only covers the beginning of the story, it’s already been making waves online (and in-person at select 4DX promotional screenings) as one of the most stressful cinematic experiences of the year.
In fact, my own wife had to cover her eyes and exclaim, “You’re definitely not dragging me to watch this one” when we saw the whale’s jaws begin to close in on Abrams, with this incident alone already leaving me convinced that this will likely be one of the biggest genre hits of the year. With that in mind, I’d like to invite you to take a closer look at the teaser in order to break down interesting details and get a better idea of what’s in store for genre fans when the movie finally comes out this October.
Of course, as usual, don’t forget to comment below if you noticed something we didn’t!
Now, without further ado, here are five things we learned from the Whalefall trailer!
5. Austin Abrams Performed Many of His Own Stunts
Much like in his previous film, No One Will Save You, Duffield insisted that this visceral experience should be grounded by our main character’s believable reactions, regardless of the plot’s effects-heavy setup. That’s why the camera always makes sure to linger on Abrams through his diving mask, so we know that it’s really him going through this ordeal alongside the audience.
While plenty of CGI was used in order to bring this larger-than-life story to the big screen without killing our leading man, Abrams apparently insisted on performing many of his underwater stunts himself (several of which are visible in the trailer) – much to the chagrin of a worried Duffield and the flick’s stunt coordinator, Shauna Duggins.
4. The Film Seamlessly Transitions Between the California Coast and Underwater Sets
Duffield obviously wasn’t about to drag his crew out to the middle of the ocean and shoot inside a real sperm whale, but it’s reassuring to see the filmmaker blend on-location footage with the underwater tank segments and the literal belly of the whale set.
There may be plenty of CGI stitching these elements together, but the trailer shows us that only the truly impossible shots are completely digital, meaning that the filmmakers didn’t take the easy way out when it came to adapting this unique story.
3. The Whale is Only Part of the Story
Book adaptations tend to leave out inner monologues and the occasional flashback in order to streamline the narrative (which is one reason why it’s so difficult to translate Stephen King novels to the big screen), but a claustrophobic parable like Kraus’ Whalefall would get a bit dull after a while if the whole thing was entirely set within the creature’s stomach.
That’s why it’s such a relief that the trailer hints at how Duffield will also be adapting many of the book’s introspective moments chronicling our protagonist’s harsh upbringing under his troubled father. Not only do these inclusions give the audience some much-appreciated breathing room, but they also give Josh Brolin a chance to shine as a truly complicated character.
2. The Movie is Keeping the Book’s Scientific Accuracy…
While Kraus’ novel was inspired by a viral video of kayakers nearly being swallowed by a humpback whale, the writer ended up consulting with marine biologists about exactly what kind of situation might lead to a whale actually eating a human being alive.
The answer was surprisingly specific, as cetaceans are almost universally known to be friendly towards humans. However, even a gentle giant can make mistakes, and as we see in the trailer, Abrams’ unpleasant fate is more of an accident than anything else – with the massive sperm whale only trapping the poor diver in the first (and thankfully acid-free) chamber of its stomach due to a mix-up involving a giant squid.
Fortunately for the film’s special effects artists, they can now reference the first-ever footage of a real-life sperm whale chowing down on one such squid, as this freaky recording was released late last year.
1. …With a Catch!
Duffield may be doing his best to recreate the grounded (or is it submerged?) thrills of Kraus’ novel, but there are limits to what can be depicted onscreen while still guaranteeing an entertaining movie. That’s why it’s no surprise that Whalefall will take advantage of certain cinematic parlor tricks as the director tests the limits of both physics and biology so we can actually watch his movie.
For starters, the innards of the whale itself have been greatly exaggerated so there’s enough space to make out the action, and in the spirit of movies like Neil Marshall’s The Descent, there also seems to be plenty of non-diegetic lighting meant to show us what’s going on even if Abram’s character wouldn’t necessarily be able to see anything.
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