Is That Original ‘Scream’ Duo Gay? Neve Campbell Chimes In

With the fifth installment of the iconic Scream franchise just days away, cast members have continued making the interview rounds — and Neve Campbell herself has some thoughts about whether two characters from the original film were actually gay.

Spoilers for 1996’s Scream ahead! (If you haven’t watched it by now, what are you waiting for?)

The Scream films all serve as a commentary on the horror (and to an extent, true crime), first exhibited through the actions of film aficionados-turned-serial killers Billy Loomis and Stu Macher.

The two had a close, complex relationship, and one of the other characters hinted during the second film that he thought Billy may have been gay. But it was 1996, Billy was final-girl Sidney Prescott’s boyfriend, and the idea of the two having some unresolved sexual tension has lived on only in fan interpretations of the text.

In a recent interview with Pride Source, Campbell was asked about the possibility that there was more to the duo’s relationship.

“Perhaps. It’s very much a possibility, and now that Kevin [Williamson, the screenwriter] is out and talking more about that, I would imagine that’s a big part of his thinking,” she said.

After some additional prompting to theorize from the interviewer, Campbell added, “I would say that there was perhaps some confusion… And that maybe some of their anger comes from not being allowed to be who they want to be, if you want to go there.”

Williamson, who originated the franchise and wrote three of the earlier films, recently told Independentthat he felt the Scream films “are coded in gay survival,” in a conversation touching on why horror movies tend to be so popular with the LGBTQ community.

“As a gay kid, I related to the final girl, and to her struggle because it’s what one has to do to survive as a young gay kid, too,” he said. “You’re watching this girl survive the night and survive the trauma she’s enduring.”

The fifth film, again titled simply Scream, is out on January 14.