Stab (1998)

The Film

A masked killer called Ghost Face stalks the town of Woodsboro and goes after Sidney Prescott, a year after her mother was murdered. As the killings mount up, Sidney, her friends, Deputy Dewey Riley and reporter Gale Weathers try to work out who is behind the mask. The killers turn out to be Billy Loomis and Stu Macher. The film takes the real Woodsboro murders and sensationalizes them, playing the violence up for the big screen.

Stab is the Sunrise Studios slasher movie made from Gale Weathers' best-selling book The Woodsboro Murders. It retells the killings from the first Scream as a true-crime horror film. The studio's own website sold it as the true story of the infamous Woodsboro murders, where an innocent teenager and her friends are terrorized by a killer in a ghost mask.

The film opens with Casey Becker, played by Heather Graham, home alone at night. She is about to take a shower and has popcorn going when the phone rings. The caller asks if she can see her boyfriend out back, then turns nasty, and Ghost Face kills her. This is the scene the crowd is watching at the sneak preview in Scream 2 while Maureen Evans is stabbed in her seat. It plays again at the Stab-A-Thon in Scream 4.

A year after her mother Maureen was murdered, Sidney Prescott (Tori Spelling) becomes the killer's main target. Sidney, her friends, Deputy Dewey Riley (David Schwimmer) and TV reporter Gale Weathers (Jennifer Jolie) try to work out who is behind the mask while more teenagers die. Her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Luke Wilson) also turns up in the Stab footage shown in Scream 2.

The story builds to a party at Stu Macher's house. Film geek Randy Meeks (Christopher Speed) lays out the rules of horror movies, then yells at Jamie Lee Curtis on the TV to look behind her while Ghost Face comes up behind him. Scream (2022) shows this scene, and Chad Meeks-Martin calls Stab the movie where his uncle gets stabbed.

The killers turn out to be Billy Loomis and Stu Macher (Vince Vaughn). The cast list Tara Carpenter pulls up on her phone in Scream (2022) also names Alicia Silverstone as Tatum Riley, Craig Bierko as Cotton Weary and Ron Howard as Principal Arthur Himbry. Only a few minutes of the movie have ever been shown, so the rest of the plot comes from dialogue and tie-in material. Fans inside the Scream films still rate it the best of the series.

Release & Reception

Released: 1997 or 1998 inside the Scream universe (sources disagree; see trivia)
Runtime: 110 minutes (Sunrise Studios tie-in website, 2000)

The first public screening seen on film is a midnight sneak preview near Windsor College in Scream 2. Students Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens are murdered during the show. The SunriseSucks.com tie-in site calls it the infamous Cincinnati Stab preview screening.

In Scream 2, Gale Weathers says the studio would be stupid to pull the movie, because all the press will bring huge numbers that weekend.

Stab became a hit and started an eight-film series. The Woodsboro High Cinema Club holds a yearly Stab-A-Thon marathon, and the Casey Becker opening plays at the one in Scream 4. In Scream (2022), Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman are super-fans of the original who hated Stab 8 and start killing to get a better sequel made.

Scream 2 itself opened on December 12, 1997, and grossed about $172 million worldwide according to Wikipedia.

Deleted Scenes & Trivia

The 2000 Sunrise Studios website gives a different cast from the films: Lori Thomas as Gale Weathers, Joey Garfield as Randy Meeks, Austin Croshere as Stu, Kathryn Elizabeth as Tatum and Michael Neithardt as Cotton Weary. Later films replaced those names with Jennifer Jolie, Christopher Speed, Vince Vaughn, Alicia Silverstone and Craig Bierko.

Trivia

In the first Scream, Sidney jokes that with her luck she would be played by Tori Spelling. Stab cast Tori Spelling.
In Scream 2, Randy complains that Dewey got David Schwimmer while he got a nobody who had been on two episodes of Dr. Quinn. The Scream Wiki says the joke pointed at Joey Garfield, who played Randy in the Stab 2 trailer. Scream (2022) cast Christopher Speed as the movie Randy instead.
Heather Graham's Casey is getting ready for a shower, while the real Casey was dressed and making popcorn for movie night.
Unconfirmed, fan wiki only: the Scream Wiki says the screening in Scream 2 shows the date April 12, 1997 on screen, and that Tori Spelling's Sidney is a redhead while the real Sidney is a brunette.
Release year: the Sunrise Studios website and Will Kennison's bio say 1997, the Scream Wiki gives December 12, 1997, and the Fandom history of the series says 1998.
The Fandom history of the series says Ron Howard's casting as Principal Himbry is a joke on Happy Days, where he starred with Henry Winkler, who played the real Himbry.
On SunriseSucks.com, Sunrise commissary chef Martin Stevens turns out to be the father of Phil Stevens, killed at the Stab preview. The site says the studio paid him $400,000 to keep his story quiet.
Nancy O'Dell interviews Tori Spelling about Stab on TV in Scream 2. She returns as a reporter in Scream 3 and Scream 4.
Unconfirmed, fan wiki only: the Scream Wiki gives the runtime as 111 minutes, one minute longer than the Sunrise Studios website.
Unconfirmed, fan wiki only: the Scream Wiki reports that Tori Spelling said on Instagram she auditioned for Sidney in the real Scream.
Sidney jokes in the first Scream that with her luck they would get Tori Spelling to play her. Stab went and did exactly that.
Critics inside the Scream universe called Stab the scariest movie in years, and it was sold as a heart-stopping thriller audiences would not dare miss.

Confirmed on screen

Also known as Stab: The Woodsboro Murders. It was marketed with the taglines "This Is Gonna Hurt" and "Based on a True Story."
The film has its sneak preview at the Rialto Theatre at the start of Scream 2. The cinema hands out Ghost Face masks and robes to the audience as a publicity stunt, and that crowd of masked people is exactly what lets the real killer murder Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens without anybody noticing.
The opening of Stab is Casey Becker in a bathroom during a thunderstorm, played by Heather Graham. She answers the phone, the caller asks who she is, and she is killed.
A later scene shows the Stab versions of Sidney and Billy, with Billy telling her they let him go and he did not do it.
The credits that run in Scream 2 read "A Robert Rodriguez Film" and "Based on the book The Woodsboro Murders by Gale Weathers."
Wes Craven directed the Stab footage you actually watch in Scream 2. Inside the Scream universe the film is credited to Robert Rodriguez.
Randy Meeks complains in Scream 2 that they got Tori Spelling to play Sidney and cast a nobody to play him, while Dewey at least got David Schwimmer.
The same Casey Becker opening plays again in Scream 4 at the Stab-a-thon. It is loud enough to cover Gale’s screams while she is being attacked in the barn, which is the same trick that killed Maureen Evans in Scream 2.
In Scream 5, Ghost Face asks Tara who played the girl at the beginning of the first Stab. The answer is Heather Graham.
The glow in the dark Ghost Face masks handed out at the premiere turn up again years later as a display piece in the shrine in Scream 6.

Differences from the real events

Casey’s death is made far more sensational. In real life she was making popcorn and watching television. In Stab she is in the shower.
A thunderstorm is added to the opening. There was no storm on the night.
Kenny Jones had his throat cut. In Stab he is gutted instead.
Steven Orth’s part looks to have been removed, changed, or folded into the film some other way.
Sidney is a brunette. Tori Spelling plays her in Stab with red hair.

Unofficial

A running time of 111 minutes.
A release date of April 1997 rather than 1998.
Joey Garfield rather than Christopher Speed as the actor playing Randy Meeks. The two fan wikis that carry this contradict each other.
Detailed comparisons of wound counts against the real murders.

Connections

Scream 2: the Windsor College murders begin at a sneak preview of Stab, and several scenes from the film play on screen.
Scream 3: Jennifer Jolie, who played Gale in Stab and Stab 2, returns for Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro. Sunrise Studios and producer John Milton are introduced.
Scream 4: the Casey Becker opening plays at the Stab-A-Thon, where Gale is stabbed.
Scream (2022): Ghost Face quizzes Tara on Stab trivia, and Mindy watches the Randy scene at Amber's house while the real killer stands behind her.
Scream VI: a Stab poster hangs outside the shrine, and premiere masks, knives and costumes sit in the memorabilia case.
Followed by Stab 2.

Sources

Cast & Production

Cast

Tori Spelling

Sidney Prescott

Seen in Scream 2, credited as Stab Sidney. Also seen there in a TV interview promoting the film.

Heather Graham

Casey Becker

Seen in Scream 2, credited as Stab Casey. Archive footage in Scream 4. Named in the cast listing in Scream (2022).

Luke Wilson

Billy Loomis

Seen in Scream 2, credited as Stab Billy. Named in the Stab cast listing Tara looks up in Scream (2022).

David Schwimmer

Dewey Riley

Named by Randy in Scream 2 and in the cast listing in Scream (2022). Never seen.

Jennifer Jolie

Gale Weathers

Fictional actress. Scream 3 establishes she played Gale in the first two Stab films. Parker Posey plays her in Scream 3.

Christopher Speed

Randy Meeks

Named in the Stab cast listing Tara looks up in Scream (2022), and seen in the Stab footage there, credited as Movie Randy.

Vince Vaughn

Stu Macher

Named in the cast listing in Scream (2022). The Scream Wiki notes that a different performer plays Stu in the Stab footage Mindy watches.

Alicia Silverstone

Tatum Riley

Named in the Stab cast listing Tara looks up in Scream (2022).

Craig Bierko

Cotton Weary

Named in the Stab cast listing Tara looks up in Scream (2022).

Ron Howard

Principal Arthur Himbry

Named in the Stab cast listing Tara looks up in Scream (2022).

Crew

Robert Rodriguez

Director. Scream 2 credits him on the Stab footage, which editor Patrick Lussier called Wes Craven's nod to Rodriguez.

Fred Rifkin

Director according to the 2000 Sunrise Studios website, which contradicts the film

Will Kennison

Screenwriter

Gale Weathers

Author of the source book The Woodsboro Murders

Don Crosby

Executive producer

Bill Birch

Executive producer

Virginia Grey

Producer

Floyd Malone

Producer

John Milton

Producer (Scream 3 and Scream Wiki; not listed on the Stab page of the Sunrise website)

Dante Paltrow

Composer

Wes Craven

Real-world director of Scream 2, which contains all the Stab footage

Kevin Williamson

Real-world writer of Scream 2, where Stab was introduced

Production

Inside the Scream universe, Sunrise Studios bought the rights to Gale Weathers' book The Woodsboro Murders and brought in producer John Milton to turn it into a slasher film with an eye on a franchise. The studio's 2000 website credits Don Crosby and Bill Birch as executive producers, Virginia Grey and Floyd Malone as producers, Will Kennison as writer and Dante Paltrow as composer.

The director credit changes depending on the source. The Stab footage in Scream 2 credits Robert Rodriguez. The Sunrise Studios website made for Scream 3 lists Fred Rifkin as director, and that site's studio history calls Milton and Rifkin the horror team behind the smash Stab series.

Writer Will Kennison's studio bio says he sold his first spec script, Real Estate Agent of Death, to Sunrise Studios five years after arriving in Hollywood, and gained national attention for his witty style of gore with the smash hit Stab.

In the real world, the Stab scenes were made for Scream 2, directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. The name Will Kennison swaps the letters of Kevin Williamson's first and last name. Williamson told ScreenRant in June 2025 that Robert Rodriguez almost directed Scream 2 before Craven decided to come back. Editor Patrick Lussier said in a 2021 interview that the Rodriguez credit was Craven's nod to Rodriguez for stepping aside, saying Scream 2 was Craven's movie to make.

Tori Spelling, Luke Wilson and Heather Graham each play the Stab version of a role in Scream 2. Spelling was cast because of Sidney's joke in the first film. According to Wikipedia and Movie-Locations, the Stab movie footage was shot in Malibu, California, and the sneak preview opening of Scream 2 was shot over three days at the Vista Theater.

Filming locations

Malibu, California: Filming of the Stab movie footage for Scream 2 (Wikipedia, Movie-Locations)
Vista Theater, Hollywood: Interior of the theater showing the Stab sneak preview in Scream 2
Rialto Theater, South Pasadena, California: Exterior of the theater showing the Stab sneak preview in Scream 2

Props and costumes

At the sneak preview in Scream 2, the theater hands out Ghost Face masks, robes and fake knives to the audience. With a room full of masked people, nobody takes the real killer seriously when he attacks Maureen Evans.

Scream VI puts a case of Stab memorabilia in the Ghost Face shrine: a mask, fake knife and costume like the ones handed out at the premiere, plus Blu-rays and a shirt.

A Stab poster hangs in the theater hallway outside the shrine in Scream VI, along with posters for Stab 2, Stab 3, Stab 4, Stab 5, Stab 7 and the 2021 Stab.

Official Stab posters made for Scream VI were displayed at the Scream VI Experience pop-up in Los Angeles in early 2023. According to the Fandom history of the series, those posters credit Dante Paltrow with the music for Stab.

Killers & Deaths

The killers

Billy Loomis

Played by: Luke Wilson
Motive: Not stated in any footage. The film adapts Gale Weathers' account of the real Woodsboro murders.
Death: Not shown in any footage.

Stu Macher

Played by: Vince Vaughn
Motive: Not stated in any footage.
Death: Not shown in any footage. In Scream (2022), Tara Carpenter cannot name him as the second killer without looking him up during Ghost Face's Stab trivia call.

Deaths

Maureen Prescott

How: Murdered a year before the story, off screen
Where: Woodsboro
By: Billy Loomis and Stu Macher

Casey Becker

Played by: Heather Graham
How: Stabbed repeatedly after a threatening phone call
Where: Her house during a thunderstorm
By: Ghost Face

Kenny

How: Gutted. The Scream Wiki reads this from Scream 2 dialogue about Gale's book. Unconfirmed, fan wiki only.
By: Ghost Face

Randy Meeks

Played by: Christopher Speed
How: Ghost Face comes up behind him while he watches Halloween. Chad calls Stab the movie where his uncle gets stabbed in Scream (2022). Whether he dies is not confirmed.
Where: Stu Macher's house
By: Ghost Face

Music & Home Media

Dante Paltrow is credited with the music. The Sunrise Studios history page calls him an Oscar-winning composer who started in the studio mailroom before scoring the cult hit Is Somebody There?

Home Media

A Stab box set holding the first seven films appears in Scream 4 and in Scream (2022). The box lists this film as STAB: THE WOODSBORO MURDERS.
The Sunrise Studios website made for Scream 3 lists a DVD-direct release called Stab: Back In the Back among its upcoming titles.