The most iconic slasher villains are best known for being indestructible entities, taking down their targets as if they were nothing. From the hockey-masked Jason with an impressive reputation to the silent unstoppable, and violent force that is Michael Myers, each is as terrifying as the last. Unfortunately, the Ghostface wearers are not only the least competent of the slasher villains, but they are also the most unrealistic, despite the Scream writers trying to make them the most human.
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Ghostface’s Consistent Size and Strength
Every Scream film places a different face behind the mask. Most times, there are even two. However, to keep their true identity hidden from audiences, as well as the in-universe targets, each Ghostface has the same basic size and shape and matches the look of the previous Ghostfaces.
This feels incredibly unrealistic, especially in cases like Scream 4, when the antagonist is Jill. Throughout the film, Ghostface is an imposing figure menacingly standing above their targets. Then, just before she is unmasked, Ghostface takes on the short and petite figure of the girl wearing the mask.
Many of the killers are also amateurs, with no training beforehand. It doesn’t make sense that more protagonists couldn’t overpower the villain. The costume gives many of the Ghostfaces a ridiculous amount of plot armour until their final reveal at the end of the film.
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The Weird Teleportation Abilities
One thing that the writers of Scream tried to do was make Ghostface more human. They did that by making them clumsy. Suppose they weren’t getting fended off by an overenthusiastic charge that sent them tripping over an obvious chair, running into a fridge or tumbling down a flight of stairs. In that case, they were getting various objects thrown at them or bookshelves dropped on top of them.
Moments like these were great and made it seem like the protagonists would have a better survival shot. Unfortunately, these moments are ruined by Ghostface’s apparent ability to teleport. Many horror films have scenes where it feels like the villains can teleport, and Ghostface is one of those offenders.
Often Ghostface appears in impossible situations before disappearing from the scene just as quickly. Sure, the moments make for a good jump scene, mainly because the antagonist is not where you expect them to be, but it takes away from the writer’s intention to make the villain more human.
While necessary for the film, the Ghostface wearers’ stealth abilities make no sense for characters who have never shown any previous stealth or sneaking skills. Again, most of the people behind the mask are amateurs.
The FBI’s lack of involvement in Ghostface cases following the first film’s events also makes zero sense in the grand scheme of things. Surely the organisation would be a bit more concerned about the return of the masked maniac?
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TL;DR
- Ghostface is quite unrealistic.
- No matter who’s behind the mask, the character remains the same size throughout every movie.
- The character also has a weird teleporting ability that’s never explained and just sort of accepted as a horror film gimic.