What actually happens
Fifteen years of therapy, one rental car
In the anniversary week of the original Woodsboro murders, two high school students, Marnie Cooper and Jenny Randall, are killed by Ghostface. The next day Sidney Prescott returns to town with her publicist, Rebecca Walters, to promote her self-help book. Evidence turns up in Sidney's rental car, which makes her a suspect and keeps her in Woodsboro until the case is solved. Her teenage cousin Jill Roberts, who is still dealing with her ex-boyfriend Trevor Sheldon cheating on her, gets a threatening call from Ghostface, and so does her friend Olivia Morris. Dewey Riley, now the county sheriff, questions them with help from his deputies Judy Hicks, Anthony Perkins and Ross Hoss, while his wife Gale Weathers, who has writer's block, starts her own investigation against his wishes. That night Sidney stays with Jill and her aunt Kate, and Olivia is murdered while Jill and Kirby Reed watch from across the street. Ghostface then confronts Sidney, and they fight until Perkins and Hoss arrive.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
The Stab-a-thon has a guest list
Sidney, at the hospital, fires Rebecca once she learns she wants to use the murders to sell more books, and Rebecca is then killed in a parking garage. Gale recruits two high school film fans, Charlie Walker and Robbie Mercer. Charlie works out that the killer is playing by horror-remake rules, so Gale and Sidney decide the next attack will come at the Stab-a-thon, a barn party where teenagers watch all seven Stab movies in a row. Gale sneaks in to look around, and Ghostface stabs her in the shoulder. Meanwhile the deputies guarding Jill's house, Hoss and Perkins, are murdered. Another taunting call tells Sidney that Jill has left for Kirby's house, and then Ghostface attacks Sidney and Kate, killing Kate.
Kirby's house, where the guest list gets shorter
Jill, Kirby, Charlie, Robbie and Trevor gather at Kirby's house for an after-party, and Ghostface kills a drunken Robbie. Sidney arrives to take Jill home, and Ghostface chases them both. This is the scene people dread most, and it happens near the end. Charlie is bound and gagged, Kirby frees him, and he immediately stabs her, revealing that he is Ghostface, and leaves her to bleed out. Charlie and a second Ghostface then corner Sidney, and the second one takes off the mask to show Jill. Jill explains that she was jealous of the fame Sidney got for surviving the earlier killings and wants to be known as a victim of these ones. Her plan was to frame Trevor, so she kills him, stabs Charlie to make him look like Trevor's accomplice, and then stabs Sidney and injures herself to make the story hold.
Jill's second attempt, with hospital equipment
The police arrive with Dewey, and both Sidney and Jill go to the hospital. When Jill finds out Sidney is still alive, she goes to her room to try again. Elsewhere, Dewey and Gale work out that Jill is involved, because she mentioned a detail of Gale's attack that had not been made public. Dewey, Gale and Judy rush over to help, but Jill gets the better of all three. Sidney uses the confusion to electrocute Jill with a defibrillator and then shoots her in the heart. Dewey calls for backup, and reporters outside announce that Jill was a hero right out of the movies.
The ending, explained
Dewey and the police arrive and take Sidney and Jill to the hospital. Jill, the second Ghostface, has killed Trevor and Charlie and set up the scene so that she looks like the lone survivor. She goes to Sidney's hospital room to finish the job, and Dewey, Gale and Judy figure out in time that she is involved, but she overpowers them. Sidney electrocutes her with a defibrillator and shoots her in the heart, which finally kills her. Dewey calls for backup. Outside, the reporters get it wrong and call Jill a hero right out of the movies. Sidney, Dewey and Gale are all alive at the end.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Scream 4 scary?
Barely. Scream 4 is a 3 out of 10 with low dread: it is a slasher with phone calls, sudden lunges and graphic stabbings, and most teenagers handle it fine.
How does Scream 4 end?
Jill turns out to be the mastermind, and she tries to finish Sidney in the hospital. Sidney electrocutes her with a defibrillator and shoots her, and outside the reporters call Jill a hero.
Does the dog die in Scream 4?
No, no dog dies in Scream 4. No other animal dies either.
Is there a post-credits scene in Scream 4?
No. Scream 4 has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Ghostface in Scream 4?
Charlie Walker and Jill Roberts. Charlie is revealed first when he stabs Kirby, and Jill is the second Ghostface and the planner, who kills Charlie and Trevor to make herself the only survivor.
