Warning: Spoilers ahead for Scream 2022.
Scream 2022 introduced Sam Carpenter to the horror franchise - here’s why Sam sees visions of Billy Loomis, the original Ghostface. Scream 5 took a page out of Wes Craven’s 1996 film by bringing back Billy, the ex-boyfriend of Sidney Prescott and one of two serial killers from the original movie. However, the ways in which 2022’s Scream goes about his return is a big reveal within the story.
Originally from Woodsboro, Sam moved to another part of California for a few years, but was drawn back to her hometown following Ghostface’s attack on her younger sister, Tara. Like Sidney, Sam and her loved ones were being targeted by the serial killer(s) for a specific reason. Ghostface — who ultimately turned out to be Tara’s friend Amber and Sam’s boyfriend Richie — lured her back because of her connection to a dark secret from her past. The secret affects Sam so much over the years that she starts to see visions of Billy Loomis, often smiling or staring at her in mirrors and other reflective surfaces, effectively terrifying her.
Sam sees visions of Billy because he’s her biological father — crucially, she’s scared of becoming a serial killer like him. These fears drive much of her past actions and distance from her sister. Seeing Billy is essentially Sam’s subconscious fear manifesting itself visually. With Sam, Scream writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick attempt to tackle the idea of the sins of the father causing great pain upon the children. Billy acts as Sam’s “Dark enger,” a term often used in the TV show Dexter to describe the burden of past trauma that lingers and is capable of driving someone to do bad things.
The visions Sam has of Billy appear when she’s feeling most unnerved and brings up questions about what she might also be capable of doing — when she sees Billy for the last time, Sam realizes she has to stab Richie to death. It’s something she was unsure about when Gale and Sidney brought it up earlier. Billy, now a ghost of a dark past, is a representation of how history can repeat itself. It’s also commentary on how the sinful actions of the past can continue to color someone’s life. In this case, Billy’s murders in the original Scream cause ripple effects that haunt Sam and her family more than two decades after they happened. Sam’s murderous specter alludes to her possible future. With all the copycat Ghostfaces, is Sam destined to follow in Billy’s footsteps or is it something she can prevent from happening because she’s a better person?
Scream certainly sets up these aspects of Sam’s future for a potential sequel to explore. In the Scream franchise, knowing the history of the Ghostface murders is important, but the unfortunate connection Sam has to Billy weighs greatly on her mind. It’s possible the visions of Billy will stop following the events of 2022's Scream. After all, Sam unburdens herself by telling Tara the secret that drove her from the small town of Woodsboro to begin with. And with Sidney and Gale also in on the secret, Sam no longer has to carry it on her own and she might finally be free.
