Scream 6 is just as full of twists and turns as its predecessors, with meta nods to the franchise and a fair few Ghostface fake outs and surprises. Naturally, then, you might be a bit confused by what exactly happened at the end of the film. Have no fear, though, because we've broken down all your biggest questions to reveal exactly what goes down at the end of Scream 6.
The film sees Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), her younger sister Tara (Jenna Ortega), and their friends Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) relocate to New York City after the events of Scream 5. Hayden Panettiere returns as Scream 4's Kirby Reed, and Courteney Cox is once again back as Gale Weathers.
So, for all you need to know about the Scream 6 ending explained, look no further than the below. It goes without saying, but there are major spoilers for the movie below! Turn back now if you haven't seen the film yet!
Scream 6 ending explained
The Scream 6 climax sees Kirby (now an FBI agent), Sam, Tara, and Chad go to the Ghostface shrine they discovered earlier in the movie, which belongs to the killer, to trap the murderer and take him out themselves. Unbeknownst to them, Mindy has already been stabbed by the killer when she was separated from the rest of the group on the way to the shrine.
When they arrive, Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) calls Sam, who is alone downstairs, and warns her that Kirby has been fired from the FBI and is mentally unstable. A video then starts playing in the Ghostface shrine. Meanwhile, upstairs, Tara and Chad share a kiss. It's a sweet moment swiftly ruined by Ghostface; two killers arrive and stab Chad repeatedly.
Sam and Tara reunite downstairs, and the Ghostfaces finally reveal themselves. There are three of them this time: Detective Bailey, his daughter Quinn (Liana Liberato), and her brother Ethan (Jack Champion). Quinn is the biggest shock, as she was thought dead after being attacked by Ghostface in her bedroom. But, as Bailey explains, being a cop meant it was easy for him to switch out her fake dead body with a real one.
Richie Kirsch, Scream 5's Ghostface, is revealed to be Bailey's son and Quinn and Ethan's brother. They want revenge on Sam after she killed Richie at the end of Scream 5, and Quinn was the one who started all the rumors that Sam was actually behind the previous killings all along. They plan to frame someone obsessed with Ghostface as the killer this time around, and pose Sam's body in the costume.
Luckily, though, despite being wounded by the killers, Kirby is still alive, and she resurfaces in the nick of time. Sam attacks Ethan but doesn't kill him, and her and Tara attempt to escape to the shrine's exit by going up a ladder. They end up stuck over the balcony, though, with Ethan right below them, swiping at them with his knife. Sam and Tara quickly devise a plan, with Tara taking her sister's knife, letting go of her hand, and dropping down on Ethan. She stabs him in the mouth.
Then, Sam shoots Quinn dead, repeating that famous franchise rule: "You've always got to shoot them in the head."
Detective Bailey is then the last remaining killer to be dealt with. Sam dons Billy Loomis's Ghostface mask and costume – he is her father, after all – and uses the voice changer to stalk Bailey through the shrine. "What's your favorite scary movie?" she asks him over the phone.
Sam, in full Ghostface regalia, then attacks Bailey in a frenzy of stabbings. She holds back from completely butchering him, though, when Tara arrives at her side. Sam has been fighting her inner darkness throughout the movie, and here makes a decision not to give in… until Tara gives her a significant look, that is. Sam stabs Bailey through the eye, finishing him off.
Sam and Tara have a heart to heart, but, in true Scream fashion, the fight isn't over yet. Ethan is still alive, and runs at them – until Kirby drops a TV on his head. "I saw that in a scary movie once," she says: this is the way Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher was killed in the original Scream.
Outside the shrine, it's revealed that Mindy, Gale, and Chad will all survive; Mindy reappears frantically telling everyone she's discovered who the killer is, but of course she's too late.
Kirby tells Sam that "legacy doesn't always have to be a bad thing" before she leaves. Sam looks down at her father's Ghostface mask as if hypnotized, but Tara snaps her out of the brief spell and the duo walk away together, the Ghostface mask forgotten on the ground behind them.
Who is Ghostface? What is their motive?
For the first time in the franchise's history, there are three Ghostfaces in Scream 6 – Detective Bailey, his daughter Quinn, and her brother Ethan. As it turns out, Richie Kirsch, one of the killers of Scream 5, is Bailey's son and Quinn and Ethan's brother. They want revenge on Sam after she killed Richie at the end of Scream 5.
Quinn started the rumors that Sam was the real killer, and they plan on killing Sam and Tara, then framing someone obsessed with Ghostface as the murderer.
As Bailey explains, they don't really care about films, but they're doing this since Richie loved movies. In fact, they even helped Richie build the Ghostface shrine.
Where is Sidney?
A few quick lines in the movie from Gale Weathers explain where Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott is during the events of Scream 6. The franchise's original final girl is said to have taken her husband and kids to a safe place – as Gale says, "she deserves her happy ending."
Of course, the real reason Sidney isn't present in Scream 6 is because Campbell chose not to come back over a pay dispute. Still, we have to agree with Gale's assessment that Sidney is due some peace after all she's been through.
Does Gale survive the Ghostface attack?
Ghostface gets Gale pretty badly in their fight, at one point stabbing her with a huge shard of broken glass. It looks like it's all over for Courteney Cox's legacy character, but, as the paramedics rush in after Sam and Tara arrive, Gale asks the sisters to tell Sidney that Ghostface never got her.
That line just seems like some bittersweet last words until, at the end of the film, it's revealed that Gale is going to pull through and survive her injuries. That means the fearsome reporter lives to fight another day.
Do Chad and Mindy survive?
Just like in Scream 5, Chad and Mindy both get attacked by Ghostface, but walk away with their lives. This time around, Mindy is stabbed on the subway when she gets separated from the rest of the group, but reappears at the end saying she knows who the killer is – but, by then, the three murderers are all dead.
Chad, meanwhile, is stabbed multiple times at the shrine with Tara, but also escapes with his life.
Was Kirby really working with Ghostface?
When the group arrives at the shrine to set the trap for Ghostface, Detective Bailey calls and warns Sam that Kirby was fired from the FBI and is mentally unstable. All signs point to Kirby being Ghostface – but of course, Bailey, Ethan, and Quinn are the real killers, and Kirby has nothing to do with anything. Bailey's phone call was just a ploy to throw Sam off and turn her, Tara, and Chad against Kirby.
Who is the reflection Sam sees?
During the film's climax, at the Ghostface shrine, Sam sees a man in the reflection of a glass case. It's none other than Billy Loomis, once again played by a de-aged Skeet Ulrich. Loomis is actually Sam's father, and she hallucinated him in Scream 5, too – though in Scream 6, it's been some time since she last saw him.
Loomis is one of the franchise's original Ghostfaces, alongside Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher, and was Sidney's boyfriend. She ended his life with a bullet to the head.
Who do the Ghostface masks belong to?
At the site of each of the killings, the new Ghostfaces leave a mask behind deliberately. As it turns out, these are the masks belonging to the previous killers, dropped in reverse order. First up is Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman's, the killers of Scream 5. Then it's the masks belonging to Scream 4's Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker, then the mask of Scream 3's Roman Bridger. After that comes Scream 2's Mickey Altieri, then Ethan wears Nancy Loomis's at the climax of the movie. Quinn wears Stu Macher's Bailey has Billy Loomis's.
Who are the fake Ghostface killers at the start of Scream 6?
Scream 6 appears to twist the formula in a huge way by revealing the identity of Ghostface right after the first kill. Samara Weaving's character Laura ventures into an alleyway in search of her date, but it turns out to be a ploy by Ghostface. She's brutally murdered, then the killer removes their mask – it's Tony Revolori's Jason.
Jason then goes back to his apartment and is called by Greg, his accomplice in a scheme to finish Richie's plans and kill Sam and Tara. As it turns out, Laura was Jason and Greg's film professor.
Greg is using a voice changer to sound like Ghostface… or so Jason thinks. It soon becomes apparent that a very real killer is stalking Jason. He finds Greg's dismembered body in the fridge, and is then promptly killed himself by the film's real Ghostface (one of them, anyway).
Is there a Scream 6 post-credits scene?
There is a very brief Scream 6 post-credits scene. Right at the very end of the credits, Mindy complains "not every movie needs a post-credits scene!" It looks to be from the same scene in which she explains the rules of franchises – so how's that for meta?
Will there be a Scream 7?
So far, nothing has been announced, but the events of Scream 6 certainly leave the door open for more movies in the franchise. The Core Four all survive, as do Gale and Kirby, which means there are plenty of characters who could return for another bout against a new Ghostface or two (or three).
Scream 6 is in UK cinemas from March 8 and US theaters from March 10. For even more on the movie, check out our exclusive interview with the cast and directors of the slasher sequel.
You can see what else is on the way with our guide to all the other upcoming major movie release dates.
