The second Woodsboro Murders, also known simply as the Remake Massacre, refers to a series of violent murders that occurred in Woodsboro, California in September 2011 over a three-day period, committed by two Woodsboro High School students wearing a Ghostface costume, on the 16th anniversary week after the original Woodsboro Murders began in 1995 (and concluded the following year in 1996). The events were initially reported in the media as a "21st Woodsboro Killing Spree" and the "Woodsboro Massacre Reboot".
Charlie Walker, the muscles to the operation.
The fourth Ghostface killing spree (and second overall, situated in Woodsboro) was spearheaded by 17-year-old Jill Roberts, the niece of the first Ghostface victim, alongside her partner and secret boyfriend, Charlie Walker, who was a Stab fanatic that ran Woodsboro Cinema Club. During the killings, they followed the rules, calling their victims on the phone, taunting them before stabbing them to death with an eight-inch hunting knife. In their "new, 2.0" version, they filmed the murders and planned to upload it to cyberspace, making not only their tragedy immortalized through an apparently inevitable Stab film, but also their violent crimes, as Roberts said "nobody reads anymore". This was done to outdo "the original" and create a Real-Life Horror Remake.
Jill Roberts, the mastermind.
Due to the victim fame of her cousin, Sidney Prescott, being raised by a jealous, neglectful mother Kate Roberts and being cheated on by ex-boyfriend Trevor Sheldon, Jill snapped and conspired with Stab fanatic Charlie Walker to plan their own real-life horror movie remake, a trend of the horror movie genre in the 2000s and early 2010s. They successfully committed the first murder spree in their home town in 15 years, and committed more murders than the original killers.
Its story was later documented with an eye-witness, firsthand account by reporter, Gale Weathers. Key survivors were used as characters in the eighth Stab film directed by Rian Johnson almost 10 years after the events occurred, with the exception of Jill herself, who desired fame, fans and fortune above anything else. Its excessive brutality also ceased all Stab films from being made for 10 years.
Murders and story
The Second Victims: Casey Becker from Scream (1996). Below: Jenny Randall from Scream 4 (2011).
It began with the 16th anniversary week of the Original Woodsboro Murders, where Jenny Randall and Marnie Cooper were murdered. In a typical Remake move, Charlie and Jill framed Jenny's death to match the murder of Tatum Riley, a victim of the original murders who died in Act 3. In their movie, the kill is in the opening scene. Marnie's death is unseen to the audience until Act 3.
After causing a diversion tactic of stealing Trevor's phone and planning to frame him, a distracted Trevor circled around Jill's residence, where the guarding deputies Hoss and Perkins noticed the peculiarity and went after him. Despite their diversion tactic to go after the "killer", this allowed Charlie to break into Olivia's home and sneak in her closet, waiting to ambush and video tape her murder. Olivia's death later became the most violent of all Ghostface victims.
Media personnel Rebecca (above) receives the same treatment as fellow media personnel, Kenny (below) from the Original Woodsboro Murders.
Following this period of time, Jill went to the hospital with Sidney to tend to their wounds. Amid this, Sidney fired Rebecca, her opportunistic publicist. Rebecca later was stalked in the parking lot, and attacked and stabbed. She was then carried and thrown off the building by Jill later, causing her demise.
Following this event, Charlie explained the "rules of a horror remake" at Cinema Club, including a subtle hint at his own makings. Charlie stated the killer, to be the new version / 2.0, should be filming the murders, something he was already doing. Another thing mentioned in his rules that he had already committed was "the reversal becomes the new standard", hence the opening death scene reverses the standard idea of the more vulnerable, innocent character dying second, while the less innocent dies first. In another case from the opening, Jenny's opening scene death is an Act 3 reference to Stab, while Charlie betraying Kirby in Act 3 is an opening scene reference to Stab. He portrays the role of first victim, Steven Orth and Kirby inadvertently remakes the fears of Casey Becker as she watches her love interest tied to a chair and seemingly about to be killed from the patio door.
False ending at Stab-a-thon
Gale (above) and Principal Himbry (below) in mirrored diversion attacks. Gale is spared for Jill's need in her writing a book.
Charlie then traps Gale with the alluring appeal of a party as the Final Act of the Horror Remake, with it being Friday night, where the third annual Stab-a-thon (2011) occurs. Gale tracks the location to an abandoned farm on Fort Dillon Road where Woodsboro High students watch all seven Stab flicks back-to-back. Gale was merely stabbed in order for her to write the book for Jill to launch her stardom. Following this diversion tactic, the killer pairing reconvened for their planned Final Act. After Jill stabbed Hoss and Perkins, Charlie drove two blocks away to finish them off for good, and left their bodies there.
He returned to Jill's house where she killed her mother Kate, after Charlie had scared both her and Sidney while at the back door. Jill had already asked to be picked up by Kirby for the after-party at 329 Whispering Lane, the Reed residence. After escaping, Charlie and Jill finally made their way to Kirby's, and he left the door open for Trevor, after Jill texted Trevor to arrive at Kirby's, using her phone. Charlie cracks open a Red Bull. Both Jill and Charlie played it smoothly, but Trevor was skeptical, even suspecting Charlie of sending the text as Jill went to "look" for her phone.
Kirby's House
Kirby, resident of 329 Whispering Lane, Woodsboro California.
Charlie, after his "frustrations", left to murder Robbie. Due to Sidney's timing in her arrival, it diverged plans for Charlie to kill Kirby through the front door, as Jill done with Kate previously. Jill then "hid" as Sidney distracted Charlie as Ghostface long enough for her to get away. Meanwhile, Jill put on the Ghostface mask and cloak to attack Charlie and pretend he was a victim, tying him up like Steven Orth in the opening of Stab. Kirby was high strung with emotions naming endless horror remakes to save Charlie's life. With Ghostface's silence, Kirby had a moment of arrogance, and prematurely untied Charlie, just for him to stab and critically wound her.
Sidney then heard a noise of someone entering from the basement, as she asked, "Kirby?" before Charlie subdued her with a knife. Later, Jill revealed herself as the other killer. He revealed they had filmed the murders, and later, the missing Trevor Sheldon was revealed to have been kidnapped. He is murdered, as he was the Remake Billy Loomis in their plan.
Twist
Jill, the false public media hero of the Second Woodsboro Murders (as well as the false protagonist and Decoy Final Girl of Scream 4.)
The End?
Jill eventually betrayed Charlie (her so-called Randy) after shooting Trevor Sheldon. She ultimately used Charlie to be her own "Remake Stu", while her ex-boyfriend Trevor would serve as the "Remake Billy" in her perfect Stab remake vision.
With Jill having only two confirmed kills being her own Billy and Stu remake, she successfully recreated Sidney's role in the original Stab and the original massacre. After stabbing Sidney, seemingly to death, the torch had passed and she successfully outdid the original, with a higher kill count, a much more violent killing spree and this time, seemingly only one teen sole survivor this time around (as far as she was aware).
Staging the crime scene.
She then caused a scene of self-mutilation, clawing her own hair out and placing it on Trevor's hand, stabbing her left shoulder and jumping backwards through Kirby's glass table, before collapsing next to a seemingly dead Sidney, their one arm lying next to each other. Sheriff Dewey Riley and Deputy Sheriff Judy Hicks then arrived with the rest of the police.
Sidney's Alternate Ending at the Hospital / True Climax
Following the false ending in Jill and Charlie's plan at the third annual Stab-a-thon, where Gale Weathers was stabbed, the core teen characters relocated to 329 Whispering Lane, the Reed residence. Unbeknownst to Jill, this after-party, her so-called "ending" would be the actual false ending trope that horror remakes use. The true climax would eventually be at the hospital, which was noted by Sidney as an "alternate ending".
Jill, the intended sole survivor.
In reality, Jill's plan had actually failed. She accidentally exposed herself as Gale's attacker by identifying the position of the wound on her left shoulder at the hospital. Dewey reported this information to Gale casually, until Gale connected the dots. Sidney, who was left for dead to be replaced, had recovered in ICU and was on bedrest. She also was unaware of Kirby's survival, after Charlie appeared tearful and emotional, almost regretful in sloppily stabbing her in the abdomen twice, as he abandoned her while she was still moving.
Jill was later defibrillated by Sidney Prescott at Woodsboro Medical Center, then shot in the chest. Meanwhile, reporters prematurely declared her the heroine of the 15th anniversary killing spree. Various reporters refer to it as the "21st century killing spree", "Woodsboro Massacre Reboot", "Woodsboro Remake", while a final reporter's comment refers to her as an "American hero, right out of the movies".
Victims
Deja voodoo: Sidney's roof fall is remade.
Primary target:
Sidney Prescott (Survived)
Victims:
- Marnie Cooper † (Killed by Jill)
- Jenny Randall † (Killed by Jill)
- Olivia Morris † (Killed by Charlie)
- Rebecca Walters † (Killed by Jill)
- Deputy Hoss † (Disputed; Likely Caused by Jill, Finished by Charlie)
- Deputy Anthony Perkins † (Disputed; Likely Caused by Jill, Finished by Charlie)
- Kate Roberts † (Killed by Jill)
- Robbie Mercer † (Killed by Charlie)
- Trevor Sheldon † (Killed by Jill)
Survivors
- Gale Weathers (Survived)
- Kirby Reed (Survived) (confirmed)
- Sheriff Dewey Riley † (Survived; later victim of the Third Woodsboro Murders)
- Deputy Sheriff Judy Hicks † (Survived; later victim of the Third Woodsboro Murders)
Perpetrators
- Jill Roberts † (mastermind; intended "Remake Sidney")
- Charlie Walker † (betrayed accomplice; "Remake Stu")
Framed victim
- Trevor Sheldon † (victim of framing as "Remake Billy")
The Remake Design
Jill's Remake Masterplan Archetypes
The new Randy Meeks?
In order to outdo the original, Charlie and Jill formed a structural plan that was to kill the new archetypes of past survivors, including Remake Neil Prescott and Remake Gale Weathers, and also kill any collateral damage. One exception was Sheriff Dewey Riley as the Remake Archetype of the retired Sheriff Burke, needing to use the actual Dewey's well-known naivety to her advantage.
Jill claimed to Charlie they both would use Trevor Sheldon as Remake Billy Loomis, while the killer pairing would be the Remake 2.0 versions of Sidney and Randy, the last two teenagers standing. Despite the false persona, Charlie does inhabit a few character traits of Randy: an unrequited interest in the eventual revealed, covert Final Girl, Kirby Reed (who implicitly shares many characteristics of Sidney). He also is a film geek. In Charlie's case, however, he is a fan of sequels and enjoys remakes, even wanting to out-do the original.
Unrequited love slaves: A drunk Kirby playfully concedes to Charlie's interest in her.
With Jill as the True Billy Loomis (both wearing plaid shirts as symbolism), and Charlie Walker as the True Remake Stu Macher, it is the survival of Kirby Reed that suggests she is the Remake Sidney Prescott. Other scenes are used as careful Framing Device techniques to let audiences know their true roles. Kirby Reed, in her drunken state, admits to finding Charlie slightly attractive, and Trevor mocks Kirby for drunkenly flirting with Charlie.
It is implicated with Charlie's betrayal that they fulfil a Stu-Tatum Relationship (or Stu-Casey Relationship) Remake, given Stu is a participant to the murder of both of his girlfriends.
Original Planned Archetypes
Who is who? A mirror flip framing device to show the audience that despite being similar shots, with Jill resembling her cousin, Sidney as a new, younger version of her, and Kirby, the Blonde Best Friend Archetype (Tatum), things are not what they seem.
The First Two Intended Victims Remake
- Jenny Randall as Remake Casey Becker (with Tatum Twist)
- Olivia Morris as Remake Steven Orth
Planned Party Diversion Victim Remake
- Gale Weathers as Remake of The Diversion Strategy / Arthur Himbry
The Family Tragedy Victim Remake
- Kate Roberts as her sister, Maureen Prescott (née Roberts)
- Sidney Prescott as her father, Neil Prescott. (The ultimate target, though covertly functions in the role of her father throughout the film, including walking in on Jill and Trevor as he sneaks through her bedroom window).
Media personnel
- Rebecca Walters as Kenny Brown, as her death mirrors Kenny's corpse on top of the news van in the original. Rebecca is treated as a subordinate to Gale. She is also discarded for her close confidante role in Sidney's life, needed to isolate her. (Unbeknownst to Jill and Charlie, she is as insensitive and opportunistic as the Original Gale, and Sidney has fired her, rendering her death almost pointless.
Parallels between Dewey in the original (below) and Hoss (above) in the Remake Massacre.
Intended Cop Victims
- Target: Deputy Deputy Hoss as Remake of Deputy Sheriff Dewey Riley.
- Possible Target: Deputy Perkins as Remake of Deputy Sheriff Riley.
- Non-target Victim of Deception: Sheriff Dewey Riley as Sheriff Burke. (Similar to the original Sheriff, Dewey is misled and believes Jill's story, similar to how Burke believed Neil was the killer).
Planned Act 3 Victims
After betraying Charlie, Jill would become the ultimate sole survivor, and beat Sidney as the Ultimate "Victim".
- Jill Roberts as Remake of Sidney Prescott [Intended Sole Survivor]
- Kirby Reed as Remake Randy Meeks [in Jill's True Plan]; Remake Tatum Riley (in Jill's possible proposed plan to Charlie)
- Robbie Mercer as Remake Gale Weathers, the camera savvy tech friend who records the party in the Final Act. He dies in the same position where Gale was intended to be shot in the head.
Planned Perpetrators
- Trevor Sheldon as Remake Billy Loomis
- Charlie Walker as Remake Stu Macher [True Role]
Collateral damage
- Marnie Cooper (Wrong place at the wrong time)
- Possibly Anthony Perkins
- It appears one cop was intended to be collateral damage / a kill count upper, given they replicated Dewey's near-death in the original, while another was stabbed in the head.
- If he had not played a practical joke, and responded to Hoss' question on the job, he might have lived and called for Hicks as backup.
Unanswered questions
Who did Charlie believe to be Remake Stu Macher in their plan together before Jill's betrayal?
Fan Theory: Kirby is the fallback Accomplice Killer in Jill's false plan she sold to Charlie. (In case Trevor is not believed as sole killer).
- A theory suggests Charlie believed they planned to frame Kirby as the fallback Accomplice Killer, in case their story did not add up, which is why they planned the Final Act to be set at her house, 329 Whispering Lane. (Stu Macher's house, 261 Turner Lane was the Final Act of the Original Woodsboro Murders).
- This may explain why Jill is seemingly recording Olivia's murder from her window. It is possible she convinced Charlie that she will later frame Kirby as the accomplice as a back-up plan/fallback should Trevor not be convincing to the police, forensics and media as a sole mass murderer. By video taping the kill from a different angle (by Jill's window), Kirby would have been present in the same room and frame.
- Considering Charlie did not stab Kirby fatally, and appeared emotional, it is possible they needed to ensure she would have been severely injured almost but not quite fatally, in order to ensure their back-up/fallback plan was successful (at least in Charlie's view, as Jill always intended to betray him).
True Archetypes
Framed: Trevor is the Red Herring of the film, and the Remake Neil Prescott.
The Official First Two Victims of the Remake
- Marnie Cooper as Collateral Damage
- Jenny Randall as Remake Casey Becker (given Tatum's Death as the Remake Twist) [Achieved]
Night Two Victims
- Olivia Morris as True Remake Tatum Riley (Intended Steven Orth; Given Orth's Death as the Remake Twist) [Achieved; stalled with Marnie as Unintended First Victim]
- Rebecca Walters as True Remake Gale Weathers / Collateral Damage
Friday Night Party Diversion Victim in the Remake
- Gale Weathers as Remake of The Diversion Strategy / Arthur Himbry [Achieved; Did Not Kill]
As Robbie states, "the school's hot chick" is "savaged beyond recognition".
The Family Tragedy Victim Remake
- Kate Roberts as the True Remake of her late sister, Maureen Prescott (née Roberts) [Achieved]
Cop Victims
- Deputy Deputy Hoss as Collateral Damage, attacked like Dewey Riley, later finished off.
- Detective Anthony Perkins as Collateral Damage. Dewey Archetype.
Act 3 Victims
- Robbie Mercer as True Remake of Kenny Brown.
- Trevor Sheldon as True Remake Neil Prescott.
Jenny, the Second Victim that embodies Remake Casey is given a Tatum-inspired death.
The True Perpetrators
- Jill Roberts as Remake Billy Loomis / The Mastermind
- Charlie Walker as Remake Stu Macher / The Accomplice.
"Alternate Ending" Hospital Revelations
- Deputy Sheriff Judy Hicks as True Remake Dewey Riley. (Not an intended target, murder attempted later).
- Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley and Sidney Prescott as themselves. (Remake failed)
Aftermath (off-screen)
- Kirby Reed as Remake Sidney Prescott, the True Sole Teenage Survivor.
Behind the scenes
Stu's House
An early draft of the film revealed Kirby's house, 329 Whispering Lane was actually Stu Macher's house. Aspects of this idea remain in the theatrical release. For example, Kirby's house appears almost like a renovated version of the house, and the interior kitchen walls are red, similar to the dining hall being red in 261 Turner Lane. This idea was eventually re-used for Amber Freeman's house in Scream 5 (2022 film).
Opening scene
The original release plan for the film, and therefore Jill's plan, was for Jenny to die first, then Marnie. With Marnie as the more innocent female character, and her appearance resembling a modern version of Casey Becker, Jenny would have fulfilled the role of Steven Orth. This is later confirmed through the deleted autopsy scene footage, showing Jenny tied to a chair like Steven, and also Marnie being hung to the ceiling. This would have implied Marnie's death was less collateral damage and more by intention.
However, the final version makes more logistical sense, if Jenny was among the girls Trevor sought after Jill dumped him, as this is referenced in the Alternate Version. (Or perhaps the one he cheated with). Fans have mistakenly believed Jenny's presence meant Jenny was the actual girl, and while possible, it likely would have raised more suspicions on Jill early on and made her a suspect).
Test-screenings responded poorly to the original opening. As a result, Jenny became the primary focus, with Marnie killed first. Then Jenny is given an elaborate chase scene, where she is led to the garage like Tatum Riley. Given the Final Act uses a callback to the opening with Kirby as Casey and Charlie as Steven (but secretly being the Stu archetype), it explains why the autopsy scene was deleted regardless, as they would use this idea later.
Trivia
- The most violent Woodsboro Murders of the three massacres, with a total of nine victims.
- The only recorded murders.
- Its violence and Sidney's legal protection prevented a direct, faithfully adapted retelling through a Stab sequel film based on its events.
- Its violence also prevented a Stab sequel being made for another near-decade.