The Scream franchise got its start in 1996 and has kept on going, right on into the next century, plus a couple decades. Although the main character—Ghost Face, for the uninitiated—wields a knife in his or her masked scenes, there are plenty of guns throughout the movies. Whether you’re new to the Scream family or have been here since day one, this is for you. We’re going to check out some of the guns from Scream, while also highlighting some famous—infamous?—moments.
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The Original: Beretta 92F
The gun that was primarily used in the first Scream movie was included as Officer Dewey Riley’s main sidearm. It’s mostly seen in his holster until it becomes a replacement for the bladed weapon of choice up to that point. It’s actually Sidney Prescott that takes it off Dewey when she thinks he’s dead, and proceeds to threaten Stu Macher and Randy Meeks with it.
Of course, then Billy Loomis convinces her to give it to him, which is basically how she finds out he’s been the bad guy all along. Not long after, intrepid reporter Gale Weathers tries to use it to kill Billy and Stu, but never took the safety off. Whoops.
This is all followed by significant drama and craziness until, finally, Gale gets her hands back on the pistol and shoots Billy in the chest. This leads to Randy saying the line that horror movies are basically based around: “Careful. This is the moment when the supposedly dead killer comes back to life, for one last scare.”
Sidney replies, “Not in my movie,” and delivers a coup de grace shot to Billy Loomis’ head.
Smith & Wesson Model 10
In an interesting turn of events, Dewey goes from a Beretta in 1996 to a revolver in 2022. That’s right, in the 2022 Scream, Dewey has a Smith & Wesson Model 10. It’s a surprising choice and we’re sure this was based on some sort of artistic vision of the director but it still took us by surprise.
The Smith & Wesson Model 10 is a beautiful revolver. It’s a K-frame chambered in 38 Special +P and has a capacity of six rounds. The gun has a length of 8.9 inches, a barrel length of 4.0 inches, and an empty weight of 34.4 ounces. It first went into production in 1899, so you could say it’s a classic. After what Dewey’s gone through over a 26-year span, you’d think he’d go for something a little more dramatic, like a flamethrower or a grenade launcher.
Glock 17
The character of Cotton Weary, who’s played by Liev Schrieber, is a bit of a surprise in Scream 2. If you’ve seen the franchise, you know Sidney’s mother was murdered before the first movie was made, and that she’d had an affair with Cotton (who isn’t in the first movie). In the second movie, Cotton appears, hoping for some payback and his moment in the spotlight after being wrongly accused of murdering Sidney’s mom by…Sidney. This all leads to a showdown on the theater stage at the college Sidney attends.
Scream 2 had some great suspense. You might have suspected Debbie Salt, the reporter many of us recognized from the TV show Roseanne, as the killer. Or maybe you wondered if it was Cotton. They did a nice job of making anything possible, so when Debbie finally gets her hands on Sidney with the intent to kill her, and Cotton comes on the scene with a gun, anything could happen.
Colt Python
The Colt Python appeared in Scream 3, which was made in 2000. That was, of course, about two decades before the gun maker decided to do a new run of the classic revolver.
The Python was made between 1955 and 2005, although the last six years of production were only made as special orders. So that means the gun we see Dewey wielding is a classic, original Python. Maybe this is where Dewey got his taste for revolvers since the wheel gun theme seems to stick throughout the remainder of the movies.
This particular Python had a 2.5-inch barrel (at least it looks like the 2.5-inch, but it could be a 3.0-inch). As with all Pythons, it was chambered in 357 Magnum, which would have quite the recoil out of a snubby. These are awesome guns. There really is a difference between guns hand-fit by gunsmiths and guns made on an assembly line. If you have an original Python, we envy you.
American Derringer Model 1
Yes, it’s definitely the guys portraying cops that have guns in the Scream franchise. In this case, it wasn’t Dewey, it was Detective Mark Kincaid, who was played by Patrick Dempsey. We have to mention the actor by name because some of you might associate him with Grey’s Anatomy rather than horror movies. Or…are those also horror?
The American Derringer Model 1 is carried by Detective Kincaid and then taken away from him by Ghost Face. Kincaid enters a theater, gets knocked out by Ghost Face, and Ghost Face takes the derringer. This particular derringer has a 3.0 inch over/under barrel, as is common for derringers, and holds two rounds of 38 Special. It was also made in 45 Colt, but the model used in the movie appears to be the 38 Special variant. Personally, we’d rather have something a bit more effective against a deranged serial killer.
It’s always a good time for horror movies, and the Scream franchise has become a classic in its own right. Yes, it’s a blade-centric series, but guns do appear now and then. Without the guns, no one would really prevail against a maniac hell-bent on murdering everyone.
What’s your favorite scary movie?
