Kirby Reed

"No, you've found the anti-party and it's invitation only."

- Kirby Reed to Trevor Sheldon.

Kirby Reed is the sole teenage survivor of the Second Woodsboro Murders (2011), known as the "Woodsboro Massacre Remake", the highest body count and most violent massacre of all Ghostface killing sprees. She is a former resident of Woodsboro, California.

She was introduced in Scream 4 (2011) as a main character, and is set to re-appear as a main character in theuntitled sixth film (2023). She initially appears to serve as the "side-kick archetype", with her best friend, Jill Roberts serving as the new Final Girl, until she subverts it with all the younger characters indirectly revolving around her by the film's climax, as well as her best friend's role as a psychopath revealed.

Despite her uncertain fate in the climax after being stabbed and bleeding out, Wes Craven, and many fans, asserted that she did not die; Hayden Panettiere was also contractually obligated to not die on-screen.

Her fate was confirmed a decade later, as she re-appears via video thumbnail in Scream 5 (2022 film). She is shown having given a Bloody Disgusting interview three years prior in 2018. Richie Kirsch observes this on his laptop; the scene occurs ten years after her near-death experience, amid the 2021 Woodsboro Legacy Killings.

Her high school best friends appeared to be Jill and Olivia during the fourth film. She also appears close to Robbie Mercer and Charlie Walker, Cinema Club VP and President, the latter having an obsessive crush on her. Inside her own home, Ghostface terrorizes her during the Stab-A-Thon after-party she hosts to answer questions to save Charlie's life. He betrays her after she unties him, non-fatally stabbing her twice, leaving her to bleed out. Prior to her death and assuming she would get away with it, Jill, the other killer, believed Kirby had died.

Background
Kirby Reed was born to the Reed family sometime in 1994, one year before Billy Loomis murdered Maureen Prescott.

She lived at and grew up in 329 Whispering Lane, Woodsboro, California. She is either an only child or is the youngest daughter with distantly older siblings, as she was left home alone during the events of Scream 4 (2011 film). At Woodsboro High, she sat behind Charlie Walker during Mr. Baker's English class.

2011 Woodsboro Massacre Remake Murders
Kirby Reed is first seen speeding to pick up her friends past Sheriff Dewey Riley. He simply yells for her to slow down without any real warning or discipline. She shouts to apologize and then proceeds to pick up her friends, Jill Roberts, and Olivia Morris. It is the fifteenth anniversary of the original Woodsboro Murders.

Thursday, 29 September 2011: On the way to school, Kirby almost gets into an accident. Olivia regards as a sign of the "angel of death", Sidney Prescott, Jill's cousin. Kirby remarks how Sidney is in town as a last stop on her self-help book tour, and the "first stop on her road to a new life", which Kirby calls "very dramatic".

Kirby appreciates the sentimental nature of the tour, and declares Sidney "the reason why I love horror movies".

Once the three arrive at school, they are pestered by Cinema Club nerds, Robbie Mercer and Charlie Walker. Robbie is seen with a camera against his face, filming his entire high school experience as a blog, which irritates Olivia and Kirby, but Jill is nonchalant. Kirby states her favorite film is "Bambi", much to Charlie's amusement. Charlie is seen flirting with Kirby, which is noticeable to everyone, but it is brushed off by Kirby when Jill brings it up.

Killer in the Closet
Following the discovery of Jenny Randall and Marnie Cooper's murders, Kirby is brought in alongside Olivia and Jill to the police station where they are questioned by Sheriff Riley and Deputy Judy Hicks. Another attendee is Sidney Prescott.

Inside the room where they face police questioning, Kirby fears she may not live as long as Olivia and Jill because she did not receive a phone call from Jenny or Marnie's phones like Olivia and Jill did. Kirby is then seen at the Roberts residence, where she is staying over with Jill and her mother, Kate. Deputy Hoss and Perkins are giving the girls 24/7 police protection, though Olivia does not want to come upstairs with them.

Kirby and Jill are watching Shaun of the Dead (2004), while Jill calls Olivia next door. Kirby answers a call from Trevor Sheldon's phone, and the Ghostface voice begins speaking to her.

Meanwhile, Jill pranks Olivia next door pretending to be Ghostface. The real Ghostface claims to be in the closet, but, as Kirby checks Jill's closet, the killer reveals he did not say which closet he was in. The killer brutally murders Olivia next door while Kirby and Jill helplessly watch through Jill's window.

Third Annual Stab-A-Thon
Friday, 30 September 2011: In the aftermath, Kirby appears stern and serious at the Cinema Club meeting at Woodsboro High the next day, which is Friday (as noted by Robbie). The group is discussing the murders and the rules of a horror remake.

She shows Sidney, who attends as guest, camera footage on her iPhone 3GS which shows Trevor Sheldon glaring at her from the back of the classroom. The scene paints a parallel between Sidney and Kirby, with both wearing leather brown jackets. Later that night, Kirby attends the third annual Stab-A-Thon. The event is taking place at an abandoned farm on Fort Dillon Road. She tells Jill that she believes Olivia would understand and that she'd "want me to see other people".

However, she becomes irritant when she notices Trevor show up. After Gale is stabbed, she is forced to vacate the premises. Although Jill has already texted her, asking for her to pick her up as her mother is apparently aggravating her.

Homecoming afterparty
From there, Kirby returns to her house, where she is home alone in the early morning hours of Saturday AM. They text Robbie and Charlie to come over as well. Just as Charlie is putting on Stab 7, Trevor also appears, telling Kirby that she should not leave the door unlocked. Kirby appears deeply annoyed at his appearance, and asks what he is doing at her house. He claims Jill sent him a text inviting him over. This angers Jill and she heads upstairs to look for her phone. Trevor then asks who sent the text from Jill's phone and Kirby laughs at him. She asks him, "Isn't your phone missing?" He says he "got a new one" and she comments on how "incredibly convenient" that is while he leaves the room.

Soon enough, Robbie dismisses himself and heads outside drunkly to do a podcast. In this, he says that he thinks Charlie will get the girl (Kirby). It is true.

Back inside, Kirby knocks Charlie out of his Stab trance and tells him he should probably make a move. Charlie asks why doesn't she. She says she already did, telling him she always thought he was cute. They kiss but are interrupted when Trevor bursts in and ruins the moment. Charlie furiously walks out, angered his moment with Kirby is ruined.

The killer first kills Robbie, who wanders around to the front of the house outside. Kirby seemingly hears the commotion and goes to the front door to investigate. She is startled by Jill coming back down the stairs who claims to have found her phone with no text sent to Trevor.

They open the front door to look for Robbie, Charlie, and Trevor, but find Sidney suddenly on the doorstep in tears instead. Sidney grabs Jill's hand, telling her they need to hurry and leave. They start to leave but see Robbie walking up the steps, fatally stabbed. He tells them to run, before collapsing.

Killer in the house
The three girls notice Ghostface rushing in from behind. Kirby runs to another room downstairs while Sidney and Jill run upstairs with Ghostface (Charlie inside the costume) following them. Sidney soon joins up with her and Kirby leads the way to a room in the basement. They lock themselves in.

Charlie appears at the sliding doors, with his hands covered in blood, claiming he found Robbie's dead body. Kirby refuses to let him in, for fear of her own life, but Ghostface soon attacks him.

He yells for Kirby and the outside lights go out. Once they flicker back on, Charlie appears outside tied to a chair. This scene likens itself to the first movie, where Casey Becker is trying to save her boyfriend, Steven Orth, who was tied up outside to a chair.

Near-death experience
Kirby, assuming the role of Casey, receives a call from Charlie's phone at 2.57am, and is forced to participate in movie trivia from Ghostface (who turns out to be Jill Roberts on the other line). She correctly answers the warm-up questions which consists of horror villains' weapons. When the Ghostface voice asks her about a groundbreaking horror remake, she interrupts him and names all the horror movies that have been remade.

Thinking she has answered correctly, she heads out and unties Charlie. He says, "Kirby, this is making a move!" before stabbing her in the stomach, revealing that he is the killer. This refers to their previous talk back in the house, where Kirby told him she already made the first move.

He continues to speak to her, telling her, "Four years of classes together and you notice me now?" Saying this reveals his obsessive crush on her but also his psychotic resentment at never having received attention from her the way he wanted. He catches Kirby from falling and yells, " You stupid bitch. It's too late," before stabbing her once again in the same location. His voice seems to be breaking and quivering at this point as if he's going to cry. "Doesn't happen as fast as it does in the movies, I know," he says as he painfully holds her in place.

These are his last words to her before he lets her fall to the ground. Kirby is left to hold her bleeding stomach. Sighing, he regretfully runs his fingers through his hair and walks away from the scene of the crime. Soon after, Sidney hears a noise coming from the basement and calls out Kirby's name, before Charlie grabs her by the neck.

It is likely this is when Kirby managed to let herself in through her own basement, and waited until the police arrived, remembering Sidney's words that she got through on her cell.

Aftermath
Kirby was presumably resuscitated after she was rescued from her basement, after suffering two stabs to the stomach. It is unknown whether she overheard Jill's rant to Sidney, and the subsequent chaos. Her reaction to finding out Jill was a serial killer is also unseen.

Woodsboro Survivor Interview (2018)
In 2018, Kirby gave a public interview about her survival with Bloody Disgusting 7 years after her near-death experience. By October 2021, it had received 4.6 million views on Youtube.

25th Anniversary Legacy Killings (2021)
In 2021, the interview is visible as an Easter egg in the fifth film. it is the top recommended video for Richie Kirsch as he watches a Youtube video that criticises Stab 8 (2020).

She is seen with long hair in this Youtube thumbnail video clip snapshot (a publicity still of an actual photo of actress Hayden Pannettiere). Her whereabouts after her near-death experience and during the next string of murders is unknown.

Scream 6
TO BE ADDED

Family

 * Unnamed mother
 * Unnamed father

Allies

 * Sidney Prescott
 * Dewey Riley †
 * Gale Weathers
 * Woodsboro High School
 * Olivia Morris † - Former Friend
 * Trevor Sheldon † - Former Friend
 * Robbie Mercer † - Former Friend
 * Woodsboro, California
 * Judy Hicks †
 * Deputy Hoss †
 * Anthony Perkins †

Enemies

 * Jill Roberts † - Former Friend / Killer
 * Charlie Walker † - Former Friend / Love Interest

By Kirby

 * "Oh, that was me. I have powers!" (to Charlie)
 * "It was the killer's voice, from Stab. Or, I mean, you know, from your life. I'm Kirby, by the way. I'm their friend." (to Sidney)
 * "Okay, you continue your little good girl thing and I will drink for the both of us!" (to Jill over the phone)
 * "No. Is... is that a bad thing? Does that mean I'm not gonna live as long as these two?" (to Judy)
 * "Liar! I'm over this." (To Ghostface/Charlie about being in the closet).
 * "Oh, my god, did you hear that? I'm gonna be next!" (to Jill and Olivia)Kirby- Bambi .GIF
 * "Come on, Mr. Ghostface, whisper to me! Aren't you supposed to ask me questions?" (to Ghostface)
 * "I could trivia your ass under the table, Cinema Boy." (to Charlie)
 * "You're actually pretty cute, especially when I'm scared... and lonely... and drunk..." (To Charlie).
 * "No, you've found the anti-party and it's invitation only."
 * "...Holy shit, even if I did just crash land on Planet Dork..."
 * "Yes, Trevor, she's upstairs. Thank God you're here to protect her when you can't even find her."
 * "Who invited you, Trevor? Get out of my house!"
 * (By Robbie) "...What's your favorite scary movie?" (Kirby's response) "Bambi."
 * "Halloween, uh, Texas Chainsaw, Dawn of the Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, Amityville Horror, uh, Last House on the Left, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, My Bloody Valentine, When A Stranger Calls, Prom Night, Black Christmas, House of Wax, The Fog, Piranha. It's one of those, right? Right?" (answering Ghostface's question)

About Kirby

 * "Hey, Kirby, you're a genre nut..." (By Robbie)
 * "So sexy." (By Charlie)
 * "Forget watching Stab, you get to live it." (By Jill as Ghostface)
 * "If you can't trust him, don't open the door." (Sidney mentoring Kirby about Charlie).
 * "Four years of classes together and you notice me now?! It's too late! You stupid bitch..." (Charlie after stabbing Kirby).

Deleted Scenes (Non-canon)

 * "Hey, my parents are gone for the weekend, and there's no way I'm staying by myself. I got Chinese!"
 * "I just don't understand why the killer would call you and Jill, but not me." (To Olivia during the deleted fountain scene)
 * "Wait a second, it doesn't have to be Jill. Sidney Prescott's character has been gone since Stab 3. And plus, she's rejected her victimhood; she's practically slapped fate in the face."
 * "You like that, don't you? Suspense!" (To Charlie)

Character References

 * Personality and archetype initially seems based on a blend of Randy Meeks and Tatum Riley, Sidney's closest friends from the first movie.
 * However, toward the end of the film, she seems to be based on Sidney herself. Examples of this are:
 * When she was about to go outside to investigate a noise, much like Sidney did earlier when she heard the sound of windchimes.
 * When she and Sidney locked themselves in her basement to hide from Ghostface. This is what Sidney did in the first movie when she locked herself in her bedroom when Ghostface attacked her at her house.
 * Kirby is the first character within the "new generation" of teens we are introduced to following the opening kill; a tradition utilized in the original when audiences were introduced to a then-adolescent Sidney Prescott after the sadistic murder of Casey Becker. This could be an indication of her status as the true "Sidney" character of the movie, as they both become sole teen survivors of their respective origin movies.

Character Notes



 * Casting Call: "Cute and quirky, was a tomboy until a year ago, now she’s alternative, cool and sexy. Jill’s best friend. She’s a pop culture, horror aficionado, and a nerdy film geek".


 * In an early draft, she is described in her introduction as "A cute and quirky girl. Was probably a tomboy until a year ago. Now, she’s alternative. Or so she wants you to believe. Either way — she’s cool."
 * Kirby-Reed.GIF joke line "I have powers" is a reference to Hayden Panettiere's role in Heroes.
 * Possible Stab film counterpart proposed by fans is that her Stab character may have been the "Mary Sue lead" (in Mindy's words) of Stab 8: In the Scream universe, the fourth Ghostface killing spree was not officially adapted into a Stab film. It was possibly intentional, so Jill did not receive the fame she wanted through infamy. However, it is possibly Charlie that appears as Flamethrower Ghostface (portrayed by Matthew Lillard), due to the call reference at the beginning of Scream (2022 film), and Judy Hicks being mentioned as a character (a fellow second Woodsboro Murders survivor).


 * Hayden Panettiere stated she had good preparation for Scream 4 as shortly before production.
 * Tomboy Kirby Reed .jpg
 * The power inside the actresses home was shut off briefly. When the lights came back on, she had witnessed her office door being rattled as someone was trying to break in. She grabbed her panic button and a taser and locked herself in the bathroom. After 15 minutes, with no sign of the police and her alarm had been going off with her dogs barking, she crawled out of her tiny bathroom window and ran around the side of her house to find sniper lazers being aimed at her. She yelled out to the police that she was the owner of the house and to not shoot.
 * At the start of the film, Kirby tells Jill "Before you get in the car, you have to promise not to kill me." after arriving late to her house. While seemingly metaphorical, it becomes literal, as Jill, one of the killers, does not kill her, and her accomplice also fails to do so.


 * Wes Craven felt that Hayden was a "powerhouse" who elevated the role of Kirby in the best friend archetype. He later expressed interest in creating a fifth film, with her involvement (subsequently revealing Kirby's survival). Fans, at the time, attributed this to mean a fifth film would reveal Kirby's survival. Kevin Williamson stated that in Kirby's script, she died, and he did not express interest in revisiting the character. However, Williamson stated this shortly before the release of the fifth film, possibly so as not to spoil the surprise Easter egg of her survival.

Survival

 * On January 14, 2012, Wes Craven answered a fan question asking if Kirby died, tweeting, "I don't think so. She was still moving when we cut away from her..." On January 14, 2022, the sequel's release exactly ten years later confirmed Kirby had survived.
 * Fate Confirmed: Kirby is the first ever character to be presumed dead but later revealed to be alive in a sequel. (Prior to the fifth film, it was a general rule for a character's fate to be revealed whether their death was uncertain or not, such as Dewey in several films, Judy in Scream 4 or Gale in Scream 2).
 * Kirby accidentally gained what her envious psychotic best friend Jill desired in her pursuit to be the perfect victim — fame as a sole survivor.
 * Covert Final Girl: She is technically the Final Girl of the millennial teens in the fourth film, but her uncertain fate and subsequent survival as an Easter egg in the sequel makes it less apparent.
 * She was led to believe she would not live as long as her friends, Olivia and Jill for not receiving a Ghostface phone call, but she later outlived both of them.
 * Only teen Final Girl to be a sole survivor among the teen friendship circle in her original massacre. She also is a survivor of the bloodiest and largest body count of all Ghostface massacres (including the killers).
 * There were two teen survivors in the first film (Sidney and Randy).
 * There were three teen survivors in the fifth film. (Tara, Chad and Mindy).
 * In May 2022, it was confirmed that Hayden Panettiere would reprise her role as Kirby.

Appearances

 * Scream 4
 * Scream (2022 film) (thumbnail photo of actress Hayden Panettiere only)
 * Scream 6