The "Stab" films, which began more than a quarter century ago as a joke in the first Scream, are more alive now and have almost as much history as a lot of actual movie franchises. At eight installments as of Scream (2022), the series has had quite a number of highs and lows, to put it mildly. Even in Hollywood, where all kinds of strange creative decisions are made every day for a multitude of money-shaped reasons, the "Stab" story is unique. Any film series where almost the entire principal cast of one of the sequels is murdered and there are still another six movies to follow, at least, would be one for the record books.
Even before the film franchise within a film franchise officially became a monster of its very own, several characters in Scream were already making their casting predictions for who would eventually play them in the movie based on their lives. Silly comments and wry asides became reality for Sidney (Neve Campbell), however, when Scream 2 kickstarted the "Stab" franchise into existence. Right from the opening scene set at the premiere of "Stab," a movie adaptation of the best-selling novel, "The Woodsboro Murders," written by Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), the value of this fake movie in the Scream world is apparent. Instead of being some forgotten joke made by one of Scream's many wonderful supporting characters, the "Stab" franchise is just as much an ongoing feature of the Scream series as its several ongoing characters and storylines, though often the lines between the two can bleed into each other.
Which Actors Are in the "Stab" Movies?
"Stab," directed by Robert Rodriguez in what would have been his follow-up to From Dusk Till Dawn, stars Tori Spelling, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey), Luke Wilson, and Heather Graham, among others. It actually seems to begin more like the stereotypical horror movies Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson were poking fun at in the first place. At the beginning of "Stab," Graham’s version of Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is about to take a shower for no reason other than some gratuitous nudity (which the Scream series has always avoided). A bunch of the dialogue is a lot more generic and cookie-cutter than in the real Scream movies. (“That’s the way the cookie crumbles,” per Ghostface).
Is the Plot of the "Stab" Movies the Same as the 'Scream' Movies?
There are several liberties taken with specifics, but between Gale’s book version of events, which she acknowledges aren’t entirely accurate, and a film adaptation making changes of its own, the lack of accuracy to its source material is expected. Thanks to Dewey (David Arquette), though, some excerpts of "The Woodsboro Murders" are known. As he quotes back to Gale in Scream 2, “Page 32. ‘Deputy Dewey filled the room with his Barney Fife-ish presence.’" & “Page 41. ’Deputy Dewey oozed with inexperience.’" Aside from those barbs against Dewey, and the fact that Kenny’s mode of death was altered in the book (gutted instead of throat slashed), the story specifics of the first "Stab" are generally that of Scream. Based on some comments from Chad (Mason Gooding) in Scream (2022), it also seems that Randy (Jamie Kennedy) is stabbed in the movie, whereas he was shot in reality. Well, Scream’s reality. (He would end up getting stabbed in the second movie though.)
As for "Stab 2," that one is based on Gale’s book about the Windsor College murders, "College Terror." Aside from Gale and Dewey being married in "Stab 2," which obviously wasn’t their reality at the time, the general plot seems to be that of Scream 2. It’s unknown if Rodriguez returned to the director’s chair, but based on some comments from Tyson (Dean Richmond) in Scream 3, it seems Randy’s death in "Stab 2" was as well received by fans as his death in Scream 2 (so, not well at all). If the "Stab" franchise’s existence wasn’t odd enough already, "Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro" is where things become extra notable.
No, not because Spelling and Schwimmer opted not to come back (a decision which apparently saved their lives), but more due to just about the entire cast being murdered during production by the director. This is where it must be said that Scream 3, while nobody’s favorite of the franchise, would have been that much more amusing if Schwimmer and Spelling actually joined the cast to play themselves in this meta-slasher. Anyway, if famous people being murdered while making a movie wasn’t enough fodder for entertainment news to feast on for years, the murderer being Sidney Prescott’s unknown half-brother, Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) who was the product of Maureen Prescott being gang-raped in the home of recently murdered movie producer John Milton (Lance Henrikson) certainly made several TV news producers drop everything they're doing to report on the story.
The "Stab" Movies Go Off the Rails
It took a while for another "Stab" to get made after all those murders, for many obvious reasons, but nothing can keep a bloody successful horror franchise down forever. "Stab 3: Hollywood Horror" was based on Gale’s published retelling of the events in Scream 3, which continued the tradition of "Stab" movies being based on her best-selling accounts of these crazy murder sprees. Gale and Dewey remain married in this version of events just as they were in "Stab 2," instead of getting engaged once it’s all over as they did in Scream 3, and there are two killers as opposed to Roman acting alone–at least that’s what Charlie (Rory Culkin) suggests in Scream 4.
While it isn’t stated who Roman’s partner was in "Stab 3," according to various Scream 3 behind-the-scenes intel (commentary, interviews, etc.), Angelina Tyler (Emily Mortimer), the actress playing Sidney in "Stab 3," was originally going to be the second killer. Craven and Williamson were overruled by the studio, for whatever reason, so that’s been relegated to non-canon/fan-fiction territory. "Stab 4" was apparently pretty good – both murderer and non-murderer approved – per a couple of different characters in Scream 4. It was the first "Stab" to not be about Sidney and all that craziness, both because there were no more murder sprees to base things on and thanks to Sidney pursuing legal action to no longer be associated with the series. Any other specifics are unknown, and details on "Stab 5" are just as sparse. The fifth featured some kind of time travel element to it and, according to Jenny (Aimiee Teegarden) in Scream 4 & Richie (Jack Quaid) in Scream (2022), it was the worst of the series, and when it really went off the rails.
"Stab 6" was the whole first opening sequence of Scream 4, the one with Sherrie (Lucy Hale) and Trudie (Shenae Grimes) being terrorized over Facebook before the two Ghostfaces kill them both. There’s not much else to that one, really, except for Rachel (Anna Paquin) laying into its lameness and predictability before Chloe (Kristen Bell) sinks a huge knife into her gut–which is when things have officially changed hands into "Stab 7." That one seems to be a very meta take on the "Stab" series where the first six are just movies in the world of "Stab 7," surely a fun nod to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.
No second killer is shown in the opening of "Stab 7," but it’s stated several times by a number of characters that there are always two killers in "Stab" movies, so perhaps that was where the mystery element of that one came in. And that leads into "Stab (2021)," a reboot of the series that seems to be fairly divisive. Between Ghostface having a different mask and using a flamethrower, among other complaints, many "Stab" fans did not warm to Rian Johnson’s take on the 8th installment of their favorite series (a nod to Johnson apparently ruining Star Wars with his The Last Jedi). A couple of them, in fact, hated it so much that they felt compelled to murder friends and strangers to try and make things better.
What Does the Future Look Like for the "Stab" Franchise?
Considering every single Scream has had some kind of update on the status of the "Stab" franchise, ranging from off-hand comments foretelling its existence in the first place to one of the productions being the main setting to demented love of the movies perversely inspiring the latest killers, it would be unheard of for the upcoming New York City-set Scream VI to not advance that slasher saga as it adds to its own legacy. So, will "Stab 9" see Ghostface slicing and dicing in space? Or maybe it’ll be some kind of "Ghostface Takes Elm Street" mashup where Freddy Krueger somehow gets involved in the blood-soaked, meta hijinks? Whatever the angle, more "Stab" lore is always a fun added value element. Scream VI’s solid reviews and good box office prospects are already leading to some Scream 7 chatter, in which case the "Stab" franchise should be able to further its stranglehold on the world of fictitious horror franchises.