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In Scream (2022 film), Dewey said this after shooting the Ghostface several times:

You have to shoot ’em in the head, or they always come back.

Then he came back to shoot the killer in the head but failed.

Near the end of the movie, Sam shot Richie (who was revealed to be one of the murderers) in the head; after he was dead for sure, in order to prevent another killer to rise.

Why was it necessary to shoot them in the head? How was this supposed to prevent them from coming back? Can't killing them by shooting in the heart prevent them from coming back too?

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    Every 'evil villain/monster' has to have an Achilles heel. It's the law of narrative imperative. Vampires, stake through heart; werewolves, silver bullet, yada yada...
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 15, 2022 at 16:01
  • @Tetsujin But the killers in Scream franchise were all regular human beings. They didn't have special powers or magic so that an Achilles heel be important!
    – Etack Sxchange
    Jul 15, 2022 at 16:48
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    Scream is a horror/comedy franchise. Its very point is to poke fun at the horror genre. Narrative imperative/trope/meme becomes more important than ever, otherwise there's no 'joke'. …Oh, he was only human. I shot him. He's dead. The End [forever, no sequel...]
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 15, 2022 at 16:58
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    What kind of comedy was in scream?! BTW, scream had sequels because all killers were somehow connected to Sidney Prescott (the franchise protagonist) (except for the last film). Killers are killed and replaced by other killers. Not the same person represents as the killer in other films. So still not satisfied by the reason it's important to shoot them in head!
    – Etack Sxchange
    Jul 15, 2022 at 17:39
  • How many of them did you watch? Right from the first, it's apparent that the characters already know how horror movie cliches work. The whole thing is a spoof.
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 15, 2022 at 17:39

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To make sure that they're really dead

It's a reference to the scene in the original Scream (1996), where Billy Loomis (Ghostface), who appeared to be dead after being shot by Gale in the chest, suddenly rises, and then Sidney quickly finishes him off with a headshot.

The scene in the original Scream references and subverts the "Not Quite Dead" horror movie cliche.

Randy: Careful. This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life... for one last scare.

Sidney: [shoots Billy in the head]


Sidney: Not in my movie.

- Scream (1996)

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