Replacing Neve Campbell as the face of the Scream franchise is a daunting task for any actress. Sidney Prescott is an icon of horror film, a defining ‘final girl’ for her era of screams. In order to stand out, you have to be a little bit different, and that’s where Melissa Barrera‘s Sam Carpenter comes in.
The self-coined requel (rebooted sequel) sees a new generation of Woodsboro’s finest come head on with Ghostface. This time, however, Ghostface underestimates Sam’s bloodlust, and her bloodline. The secret daughter of Scream (1995) killer Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), Sam has visions of her deceased father which encourage her to forge her own path and take matters into her own hands, which she does, killing her boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid) who had taken on the mantle of Ghostface.
In this year’s Scream VI, Sam is hunted by the remainder of Richie’s family and, in a bloody, gory and fiery finale, finally embraces the killer within her, slaughtering them with satisfaction as she resolves to move on with her life, accepting a part of her will always be a killer. That split in her personality is one that appeals massively to Barrera, and is one she’s keen to explore in a potential Scream 7, as she explained to Digital Spy.
There are so many places that Sam could go. That’s one of the reasons that, when I read the script for Scream 5, I was so interested in the character. There’s so much potential here of where she could go with her mental health – she’s just unpredictable. I find that that darkness in her makes her that much more interesting to play and to watch.She’s the hero but she’s also kind of the villain. It’s this contradiction in her that I find fascinating and, if we get to do another one, I would love to see. The writers have done a really good job with her up until this point, so I trust them just to know where to take her [in a way] that will be unexpected and cool for the fans.
Melissa Barrera Continues Her Scream Queen Era
Barrera has a busy schedule coming up, so finding time to put on Ghostface’s mask again – for supposedly good or nefarious intentions – may have to wait a while. Last month, she was cast in The One, a horror film which has been described as an “erotic nightmare” as she continues her Scream Queen era. She will star opposite Nicholas Hoult, Riley Keough, and Lana Condor in the movie. She’s also heading up the untitled big-budget Universal monster movie, which is being directed by her Scream directors Radio Silence, in which she stars alongside Dan Stevens.
You can check out Collider’s Perri Nemiroff in conversation with Barrera for Scream VI down below.