There’s nothing like a killer on the loose to show whether a character is brave or not. The newest film in the Scream franchise, Scream (2022), provides audiences with a combination of new and legacy characters, all fighting for their lives against the newest Ghostface killers.
Some characters are more likable or well informed than others, but they are almost all brave when it comes to fighting off a killer, protecting the people they love, and having the strength to continue living their lives and going to ill-conceived parties despite the terror of what’s going on around them. While most characters have the kind of bravery that comes from self-preservation, some characters are braver than others, taking the fight to a whole new level.
Wes
As one of the first kills in the film, Wes doesn’t have the chance to prove his bravery to any of the fans. He’s a useful character, bringing Sam to town and giving Deputy Judy Hicks a reason to panic and be killed, but beyond that, audiences don’t see much from him.
Because he has so little screen time, it’s difficult to judge how brave he might have been had he stuck around longer. He wasn’t afraid to be home alone when a killer was on the loose, which earns him a few points, but that’s really all that audiences can judge his bravery by. Because of that, he has to be judged the least brave character in the film.
Liv
Liv as a character mostly seems to exist for the purpose of adding another red herring to the film and creating conflict with Chad. Liv’s defining character trait is being upset at being thought a suspect, which leads her to run off on her own.
Being alone near a party with a Ghostface killer on the loose is either very brave or very stupid, but her indifference to much of the horror around her makes it seem more like a bad decision than a calculated, brave move.
Sidney
It feels wrong to judge Sidney as not being brave when that’s a defining part of her character, but Sidney is barely present in this film because she makes the decision to mind her own business and leave the fight to a younger generation. Rather than being the mentor that the trailers made her out to be, Sidney stays away from Woodsboro for the majority of the film, only returning when Dewey is killed.
Once Sidney is in Woodsboro, she is smart enough to put a tracker on Sam’s car, and jumps into the fight with the bravery audiences have come to expect. She puts up a good fight and helps to save the day, but that isn’t enough to make her braver than those who were in the fight the whole time.
Mindy
Mindy is the primary character to fill the Randy role, telling everyone the rules of the re-quel and following them herself. The moment when she thinks to look behind herself is brilliant and makes it so that she is able to fight Ghostface off enough to survive the night.
Mindy also was brave enough to attend the party, despite knowing it was the obvious third act of the film, and goes down to the basement with Amber despite it being smarter not to go anywhere with any potential suspect alone. Because she knows the rules so well, every time she breaks them, the audience can safely assume it is an active decision on her part to be brave and put herself in danger.
Richie
It’s hard to judge the bravery of someone who kills people with the element of surprise, but there’s something to be said for the willingness to put on the Ghostface mantle, despite knowing that it never goes well for the killers in this franchise. Ghostface gets beaten up, stabbed, shot, and killed routinely, so taking that risk on is itself a brave move.
With that being said, Richie is the more cowardly of the killers, only revealing himself when it’s an easy place to attack. While Amber put herself into a dangerous situation during her reveal, Richie reveals himself with a covert stab and generally avoids situations with anyone who isn’t already injured or pinned down.
Judy Hicks
Sheriff Judy Hicks earns a lot of points for her reactions to dangerous situations—reactions that are probably instinctive after surviving the events of Scream 4. When there is an unexplained noise in her house, she immediately grabs a knife to use in case of a surprise attack.
Her self-preservation instincts decrease when her son is in danger, immediately driving into a trap to try to protect Wes. While this may not have been the smartest move for staying alive, it is definitely brave.
Chad
Like Mindy, Chad knows the rules of the slasher film, and particularly the rules of the Stab franchise. This puts him in a place of power, but also marks every dangerous decision as brave.
The most significant of these is his decision to go after Liv when she runs off. Being alone is never a smart idea in a slasher, and neither is checking on someone who has gone missing. His determination to keep her safe led to his own attack, but does show off his bravery.
Amber
Amber is the braver of the Ghostface killers, repeatedly putting herself in risky situations beyond the general danger of putting on the costume. She was willing to go up against a four-time survivor, even after being shot multiple times, which is a seriously risky move as a killer.
In addition, she revealed herself while in a group. Shooting Liv was a terrifying moment, but it was also a brave one, because she easily could have been stopped then and there by the others mobbing her at once. Luckily for her, fear makes many people run, and she is able to continue her plan despite taking a big risk. She repeatedly takes on poor odds and succeeds, which makes her the braver of the two killers.
Gale
While there are many moments that show off Gale’s bravery, one of the biggest was her returning to town at all. Dewey texted her to tell her not to come, but she came to Woodsboro anyway to make sure that he was okay, clearly showing that she would face another set of killers to try to keep him safe.
From there, Gale repeatedly puts herself in association with the teens, which makes her yet another target for the killers. Her grief fuels many of her actions, but there is no arguing that her determination to stop the newest set of killers is brave.
Sam
Sam fights back against Ghostface as much as, if not more than, anyone else in the film, but her base instinct is always to run, not fight. This is, generally speaking, the right decision to try to survive a horror movie, but it does make her seem less brave.
However, Sam has a reason for trying to run instead of fight. She is terrified that fighting will turn her into the same kind of deranged killer that her father was, and running means not giving in to the darkness that she feels is inside of her. Despite the fear she has, her desire to protect her sister will always win out over her fear of herself, making her go back to the house for her sister’s inhaler, and fighting with everything she has to make sure Tara gets out of the Macher house alive.
Dewey
Dewey is the first of the legacy characters to get involved in the current killing spree, and the film itself makes a point to show that, in every brave moment, there was a choice to make the safer decision or to make the brave one, and Dewey always chooses bravery.
He gets involved in the fight, follows Sam to the hospital, and makes the decision not to leave when he had the opportunity to because he wanted to make sure the Ghostface was down for good. While this didn’t go well for him, it clearly demonstrates his bravery.
Tara
Despite not being the main character, Tara is the show-stopper of Scream (2022). She plays the trivia game to save Amber, fights Ghostface when he comes for her, and repeatedly keeps running and fighting when anybody else would be down for the count. Tara is also unique in being the only character to survive their opening scene attack.
Sidney and Gale have fought through some major injuries, but fighting with a broken leg and an injured hand takes more bravery and fighting instinct than anything else. Because of her repeated actions to keep herself and those she loves alive, despite having the most reason to be afraid, Tara is the bravest character from the newest Scream film.
