The Stab Movies in the Scream Franchise, Explained

The ‘Movie within a Movie’ Stab series has become a massive part of Scream, as they are vital to the meta commentary that exists in the franchise. Eight Stab movies in total have been released during the Scream timeline. The first one premiered in theaters during the events of Scream 2, and depicts the ‘real life’ events in Woodsboro, California during the first movie. The Stab movies will likely be mentioned in the upcoming Scream 7, but it remains unclear how much the sequel will lean on them for its horror commentary.

A mixture of real life actors and fictional characters play the characters from Scream in the Stab movies. The first movie was directed by Robert Rodriguez (with footage actually shot by the real director, Wes Craven). Tori Spelling plays Sidney Prescott, Luke Wilson stars as Billy Loomis, and Heather Graham appears as Casey Becker in the opening sequence that plays in theaters during the opening scenes of Scream 2.

What Is the Stab Franchise?

In the Scream universe, the horror movie franchise known as Stab is based on the Ghostface killings. It originated from Gale Weathers’ book, The Woodsboro Murders, which tells the story of the events in Woodsboro, California in 1996. Gale’s book was adapted into the first Stab movie, and it spawned seven sequels. As the series progressed, the lines between fiction and reality blurred.

The Stab Movie Series

• Stab
• Stab 2: The Murders Continue
• Stab 3: Hollywood Horror (formerly known as Stab 3: Return To Woodsboro)
• Stab 4: Knife of Doom
• Stab 5: Clock of Doom
• Stab 6: Ghostface Returns
• Stab 7: Knife of the Hunter
• Stab (aka Stab 8)

What Role Do the Stab Movies Play in the Scream Sequels?

Scream 2

The opening kills of Scream 2 take place at the premiere of Stab in theaters. Audiences see a showing attended by Windsor College students Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett) and Phil Stevens (Omar Epps). A copycat Ghostface killer is using the release of the Stab movie, based on the tragic events in Woodsboro, California, to re-traumatize Sidney Prescott. This new villain intends target her and her friends in a new killing spree.

During Maureen Evans’ death, Casey Becker’s murder from the opening of Scream plays out onscreen in Stab, with Casey played by Heather Graham. It is later revealed during an interview on the television that Dewey and Randy are watching, that Tori Spelling plays Sidney Prescott in Stab, in a follow-up to a premonition the final girl had in the original Scream movie.

Scream 3

Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro is in production during the events of Scream 3. The director, Roman Bridger, is revealed to be the Ghostface killer and Maureen Prescott’s long-lost son, and Sidney’s half brother. Dewey Riley works as a consultant on Stab 3, and coaches Tom Prinze (who is playing Dewey in the movie) and Jennifer Jolie (playing Gale Weathers) before they are brutally killed. Ghostface kills the cast of the sequel in the order they die in the movie, until Sidney, Dewey, and Gale bring him down at the end.

Scream 3 is the most Stab-oriented entry in the series, with much of the movie taking place on the set of the fictional sequel. The movie ends up being shut down, but it is revealed at a later date that Stab 3: Hollywood Horror rose in its place, based on the killings in Scream 3.

Scream 4

Eleven years have passed since the cursed production of Stab 3: Return To Woodsboro, but four more sequels have been made in the intervening years. Sidney Prescott’s story is no longer the focus, with no ‘real life’ murders to draw inspiration from. The opening kill victims of Scream 4, Jenny and Marnie, discuss the Stab sequels, and reveal that one sequel even focused on time travel.

The murders do start up again in Scream 4. The teenagers of Woodsboro are less than sensitive towards the murderous events, as they still attend the annual ‘Stab-a-thon’ at a deserted barn. There, they watch all the Stab movies in order, and play drinking games.

Scream (2022)

The Stab franchise, (not unlike the Scream franchise itself), has slowed down its output since the events of Scream 4. There has only been one more movie released, when Scream (2022) starts up. It’s simply called Stab, (instead of Stab 8). Ghostface returns in a requel movie, to reboot the franchise for the next generation of fans. (This was a meta joke, as that was exactly what Scream 2022 was doing as well.)

Rian Johnson directed Stab in the Scream universe. He moved away from what the legacy fans enjoyed about the series, (just like fans claim the real Rian Johnson did with Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and opted for a true crime vibe as he told the story of the 2011 Woodsboro murders. But the requel movie took major creative license with the true story, and even featured a flame throwing Ghostface killer. This irked many in-universe fans, including the Ghostface killers in 2022, Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman. They are hell-bent on creating their own murder spree to inspire a brand-new Stab movie that doesn’t, in Richie’s words, ‘suck balls,’ as he challenges the toxic fandom he is branded as being part of.

Scream 6

Scream 6 has the fewest references to the Stab franchise out of all the sequels, as the series appears to move away from the fictional horror franchise. When the killings start up again in New York City, there hasn’t been another Stab movie based on the events of the Woodsboro requel murders in 2022. However, Gale Weathers has written another book about the latest killing spree (despite saying she wouldn’t). But as Tara points out, they were unable to sell the movie rights, which possibly spells the end of the Stab franchise.