Judy Hicks

Sheriff Judy Hicks was a character introduced in Scream 4 (2011) that later re-appears in its sequel, Scream 5 (2022). She is the first starring sequel character to be re-introduced in another sequel.

As Sheriff of the infamous hometown of Ghostface killings known as Woodsboro, she is familiar with its recurring legacy survivors, including the former boss she idolized, Sheriff Dewey Riley and his then-wife she loathed, Gale Weathers.

In her first appearance, she was Deputy Sheriff, a narrow survivor of the Second Woodsboro Murders (known as the Woodsboro Remake Murders) in late-2011, committed by psychopaths Jill Roberts (who shot her) and Charlie Walker. During these events off-screen, her young son Wes Hicks was at home babysat by 14-year-old Sam Carpenter. Almost 10 years later, she and her son Wes became victims of the third Woodsboro Murders, known as the Woodsboro Legacy Murders.

She was also apart of the Woodsboro High School Graduating Class of 1997, which included Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks. During the events of the original Woodsboro Massacre in late 1996 she was in her senior year (alongside her serial killer classmates) After this, she was a Lost Boy in the Woodsboro High theatre production of Peter Pan. She remembered Sidney as Tiger Lily, but Sidney did not remember her when they reunited approximately almost 15 years later.

Judy was the second character to fall victim to the fifth Ghostface killing spree.

Early Life
Judy Hicks was born sometime in 1979. She was a classmate of Sidney during high school at Woodsboro High. They shared the same homeroom and were in drama class together. However, Sidney didn't remember her. She is a Woodsboro High Class of 1997 graduate. Notably, five of her would-be classmates were murdered in October 1996, before they intended to graduate by the summer of 1997. Six—seven years after her graduation in 1997, she gave birth to a son, Wes Hicks, her only child. The father's identity is unknown and Judy was single when her son was seven or eight off-screen in the fourth film (possibly at his father's). Wes took his mother's last name.

Eventually, she decided to become a police officer and Dewey Riley was her idol. She succeeded in this and later became the sheriff's deputy to Dewey Riley himself. She developed a crush on him.

2011 Woodsboro Remake Murders
Judy first appears with another officer taking down Ghostface costumes from lamps. Dewey arrives and they greet each other. She apologizes for the Ghostface costumes on the lampposts and says she wishes she was old enough to have been on the force while he was working on those crimes. Even saying, "It's those intense investigations that really bond relationships." She goes on to ask about his wife, Gale.

She then tells him that she baked him lemon squares. They suddenly get a call saying that they should got to the Randall house because Jenny Randall and her friend Marnie Cooper were murdered. She, along with Dewey, go to Sidney's book sale where they have traced a call from the killer's cellphone. When Gale asks Dewey what's going on, Judy tells her to let the police handle it. Gale tells her that she is speaking to her husband.

They trace the call coming from Sidney's car and when they open the back door the find copies of Sidney's book Out of Darkness (2011) along with blood and a Ghostface mask. When Gale tries to see what's inside Judy stops her, but eventually lets her see what is there. Following this, Judy informs Sidney she cannot leave Woodsboro due to the evidence planted in her car possibly making her a material witness. While at the police station, when Gale goes to see Dewey, who is inside his office, Judy stops her and Gale sarcastically asks if she is gonna arrest her to which Gale tells her that she doesn't mind the fact she has a crush on Dewey or that she baked him lemon squares to draw him in, but that if she wants to start acting like him she must put a mustache on cause she sounds ridiculous.Gale tries to open the door while Judy they start saying each other's name out of frustration. Dewey seeing this goes and opens the door where Gale tells him he should explain to "Betty Crocker" that she has every right to be here since she has helped solves this crimes three times before.

When Judy tells Dewey that Gale wants to be part of the investigation, Gale asks her if she is familiar with the phrase: "I wrote the book on this", referring to The Woodsboro Murders (1997 book). She hears the two of them fighting and, when Gale exits, she tells her, that her lemon squares taste like ass, which makes her somewhat upset, but Dewey tells her they don't and she brightens up again, thanking him. After Jill is done being questioned by the police, she invites Sidney to her house, as she is family. Officers are now keeping watch over the Roberts residence. Dewey is holding a plan in case of an attack from Ghostface which Judy, Hoss, and Perkins are all participating.

Later, after Sidney has checked on Jill in her upstairs room, Judy startles Sidney, as she is in the dark. Judy apologizes and starts down the stairs, but asks Sidney, "You don't remember me, do you?" Sidney replies, "Sorry?" Judy continues by saying "We went to high school together.... Judy Hicks..." and saying they had homeroom and drama club together.

Sidney still can't recall, as Judy continues the story of Sidney being in the Woodsboro High production of Peter Pan, with Sidney as Tiger Lily, as she was a Lost Boy. Judy seemingly a bit upset says, "It's okay, you've had.... a lot of stuff... going on back then." Sidney reluctantly agrees in her mind, she knew her before by saying, "Well, it's nice to see you again, Judy." A smiling Judy replies, "You too." Sidney sobs after Kate Roberts is murdered. As she attempts to escape to Kirby's house, Judy pops out of no-where and claims she saw someone circling around the side of the house. As Judy is about to express sympathies to Sidney, she discovers she has fled the scene.

Deputy Hicks later reports the news to Dewey about Kate's murder via phone call. She also reveals Hoss and Perkins were found dead in their police car two blocks away with multiple stab wounds. Dewey orders Judy to report all units to 329 Whispering Lane, the Reed Residence.

In the supposed climax, Dewey and Judy arrive late. They find Trevor Sheldon and Charlie Walker dead, while Sidney and Jill are arm aligned and lying stabbed, unconscious next to each other. Later, after Dewey realizes that the killer is Jill Roberts, he calls Judy for backup. Gale goes with them and they attempt to defeat Jill. Dewey is knocked out, and Judy saves Gale and herself by throwing them behind a hospital bed for protection against Jill's pistol.

When Jill orders them to get out from behind the bed, Judy tries to be "the hero" like Dewey, but Jill shoots her in the chest. After Sidney kills Jill, Judy leans up from behind the hospital bed, shocking them with her survival. She says, "Nice one". Gale expresses her shock, "Hicks, you're alive!" Judy reveals that she wore a bulletproof vest and pretended to die once she was shot: "Wear the vest, save your chest!" However, as soon as she says it, she faints out of exhaustion.

Aftermath and late-2010s Promotion
After surviving a massacre, Hicks continued as Sheriff Deputy for another four years — until at least 2016 (as Sam, who abandoned town at 18, addresses her as Deputy).

Outside of her work-related activities chasing a killer, she is a single mother to Wes Hicks, explaining her baking habits. Her son's babysitter Sam, however, turned into a troublemaking teen. As Deputy, Hicks was forced to attend to her son's babysitter for drugs and other crime related incidents, much to her disappointment.

After Sam turned 18, likely closer to 19 (2016), Hicks was promoted from Deputy Sheriff to Sheriff. This event occurred in the late-2010s, and 2019 at the maximum timeframe. As Dewey moved to New York with Gale in 2019, which would mean Hicks was chosen as his successor no later than this event. However, it is also possible upon Dewey's return after two months, cutting the move short, he was temporarily reinstated before he was forcefully retired due to his alcoholism.

2022 Woodsboro Legacy Murders
When the attacks started again, Judy goes to extreme lengths to ensure her son and his friends were safe. She and her Deputies question students of Woodsboro High School, and Judy keeps an eye on Wes, a proud mother.

Judy was not particularly pleased with her son's former babysitter, 24-year-old Sam Carpenter returning to Woodsboro, given their friction from her troubled teen days. After Sam is attacked by Ghostface in the hospital, Judy interviews her, also revealing that Vince Schneider was killed at a bar on Main Street. Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman accuse each other of being the killer, unbeknownst to all that they were working together, and Judy tells them to stop arguing before taking Sam into the hall to tell her to leave town and leave the investigation up to those who "care about this community".

The next night, Judy orders Sushi for dinner and leaves Wes home alone as she goes to pick it up. Whilst she's driving, she gets a call from Ghostface who reveals that he is at her house watching Wes in the shower. Judy begs Ghostface to spare Wes's life as he is a good kid and wouldn't hurt anyone but Ghostface states that isn't enough.

Judy calls for backup to get to her house and as she returns home, she runs up to the porch screaming for Wes and Amber, as Ghostface, jumps out of the bushes and stabs her in the gut. Judy tries to fight back but Amber is able to force the knife into her again and repeatedly stabs her until she is dead.

Family

 * Wes Hicks † - Son

Allies

 * Dewey Riley † - Friend / Former Boss / Love Interest
 * Sidney Prescott - Former Classmate / Friend
 * Gale Weathers - Friend / Former Enemy
 * Woodsboro High School
 * Kirby Reed
 * Trevor Sheldon †
 * Robbie Mercer †
 * Woodsboro, California
 * Deputy Hoss † - Former Co-worker
 * Anthony Perkins † - Former Co-worker
 * Samantha Carpenter
 * Tara Carpenter
 * Chad Meeks-Martin
 * Mindy Meeks-Martin

Enemies

 * Jill Roberts † - Killer
 * Charlie Walker † - Killer
 * Amber Freeman † - Killer
 * Richie Kirsch † - Killer

By Judy

 * "Sheriff, you're not cheating on your wife if you eat my lemon squares."
 * "Civilian interference with a police investigation poses many a problem in a court of law."
 * "But if you're gonna start acting like him, you gotta put a moustache on, 'cause you sound ridiculous." (Gale to Judy about Dewey).
 * "And there was evidence in your car connecting the killer to you. You may be a material witness." (Judy tells Sidney why she must stay).
 * "Don't do anything stupid-" (Judy before getting shot by Jill Roberts)
 * "Wear the vest, save your chest!"
 * "Where were you when all of this happened?" (Judy suspects Richie).
 * "Nice to see you Deputy Hicks. So many fond memories." (Sam sarcastically to Judy).
 * "So when the sun comes up, maybe you and your boyfriend can hit the road and leave it to people who actually care about this community."
 * "Please... don't hurt my boy."
 * "Please, I'll do anything."
 * "You'll never make it on time, Sheriff JUD-EE." (Amber as Ghostface taunts Judy.)
 * "Wes! I'm coming! Help! HEL—" (Final words)

About Judy

 * "I don't mind that you're working with my husband, or that you even bake him those little treats as you do. But if you're gonna start acting like him, you better put on a moustache because you sound ridiculous." (Gale to Judy)
 * "She didn't like me very much." "She didn't like me very much either." (Sam and Gale's exchange after Judy dies).

Lemon Squares recipe
Judy is known for her "Judyisms" (Suzy Homemaker/Betty Crocker attributes). As a baker, the references to her favorite baked dessert, lemon squares in the fourth film gained popularity in the latter-2010s digital streaming era, as Gale's disdain for the lemon squares (implied to be due to relationship jealousy) was a source of fans' amusement. Promoting the fifth film, Marley Shelton also commented on the lemon squares' "celebrity situation" finding it "hysterical".

Because of its fan popularity as a gag, a recipe for her lemon squares was revealed before the release of the fifth film, created by Dawn of the Delicious. Marley Shelton who portrayed Judy also teased a subtle nod to the lemon squares in the fifth film.

This was eventually revealed to be a fridge magnet note left by her that her son, Wes notices. She attaches the fridge magnet shortly before her brutal murder, when leaving to pick up sushi. The Easter egg is revealed explicitly after Judy's murder, when Wes hears a noise and investigates this.

Call List
Judy's call list gives several Easter eggs to Wes Craven's past works:


 * Nancy T and Tina G are references to Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street characters, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and Tina Gray (Amanda Wyss).
 * Leroy is the middle name of Heather Langenkamp's husband, David LeRoy Anderson, who she married in 1989.
 * B. Adams is a reference to actor Brandon Adams who starred in Wes Craven's People Under the Stairs, a film Wes planned to remake before his death.

Trivia

 * She is the first (and so far only) Scream sequel character in a starring role to return for another sequel. (Nancy O'Dell also cameos as herself in three sequels.) She is also the first in general, followed by minor character, Martha Meeks.
 * Judy is also the first role that actress Marley Shelton has reprised.
 * Similar to her former classmate Randy Meeks, she narrowly survived one Ghostface massacre but succumbed to the next one.
 * Writer James Vanderbilt confirmed a scene was shot and cut which showed Judy unmask "him", referring to Richie Kirsch, and stated, "You can still see Marley (Judy's actress) playing the recognition in her eyes as she dies". Additionally, the script states her son, Wes' killer is Richie, indicating he did both kills, while Amber went to the hospital for Tara, as part of their diversion.
 * However, it is unknown if this remains canon. Co-director Tyler Gillett, contradicted this claim, in a separate interview, believing Amber did most, if not all of the killings. However, he also stated this was because Richie would be "afraid to get his hands dirty" (which is disputed by violently stabbing Sam and Mindy several scenes apart).
 * Judy is officially the first victim of Ghostface and the first in the Scream film franchise to be murdered outside and in broad daylight.
 * Several other characters have died in broad daylight, but were killed while in an 'inside' location, such as Randy Meeks in Joel Martin's news-van and Sarah Darling. Her murder, in color coded symbolism, is a reference to Sarah's death, including both blonde female characters' similar paranoid inspections of their surroundings.
 * In the entire franchise, television series included, Will Belmont is the first character to be killed out in the open during the day, however.
 * Casting Call: "A police officer, decidedly sexy but a bit off; she knew Sidney from high school. Didn’t make a big enough impression for Sidney to remember her. Likes her boss, Dewey, perhaps a little too much. NAME CAMEOS PREFERRED."
 * Mythology Gag: Her backstory of being an old classmate of Sidney's is an homage to a previously unused script. The character of Angelina Tyler, who was originally planned to be the Second Killer of Scream 3, had the same backstory. These elements were re-used in the form of a Red Herring.
 * Lake Bell was originally cast as Judy Hicks, but she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
 * Marley Shelton co-starred with Scream star Rose McGowan in the Grindhouse segment, first the film Planet Terror and in Death Proof (although they didn't share any scenes together and their roles were small in the latter).
 * Marley also starred in the 1999 film Never Been Kissed with fellow Scream stars Drew Barrymore and David Arquette.
 * Marley also co-starred in the 2009 thriller film A Perfect Getaway and the 2010 indie comedy Elektra Luxx with Scream 2 antagonist portrayer Timothy Olyphant.

Appearances

 * Scream 4 (2011 film)
 * Scream (2022 film) (informally Scream 5)