In a slasher film, it's a necessity that some moments need to be viscerally upsetting. After all, there are blood and guts splattering everywhere, knives rending skin and bone, homes invaded and innocent lives lost. Once the tables turn, and the heroes have the upper hand on the villains, then it becomes time for catharsis, one-liners, and splendid, righteous revenge. For instance, Tara executing murderous creep Ethan and quipping "Die a virgin," is about the right level of nasty.
However, one of the leads of the rebooted "Scream" franchise is Sam Carpenter, who wrestles with some truly psychotic impulses, and her capacity for cruelty is, appropriately, a bit beyond the average audience's comfort level. During the final confrontation with the three new Ghostfaces, who turn out to be the late Richie Kirsch's surviving family, Sam shoots her treacherous roommate Quinn in the head, right in front of her father, Detective Wayne Bailey.
Sam kills Quinn in self-defense, but the figurative twist of the knife comes when Sam has the gall to smirk about it while standing face-to-face with Bailey. Yes, Bailey is a serial killer and he's earned his comeuppance, but there's something shocking about the film's hero relishing in the pain of a guy who's just watched his last two offspring die violent deaths. Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers could be pretty cutthroat (remember last year, when they set a teenager on fire?), but Sam is on another level.
