Dewey Scream: Dewey Riley, the Deputy Played by David Arquette

Dewey Riley is a Woodsboro deputy played by David Arquette in every film he appears in. He is credited as Deputy Dewey in scream 1996, directed by Wes Craven, and as Dewey Riley from scream 2 onward. Arquette is billed fifth in the first film, third in Scream 2, and second in both scream 3 and scream 4, which shows how far the character climbs from side player to lead.

Is Dewey in Scream (1996) or Scary Movie? He is in Scream (1996). The 1996 film was developed under the working title Scary Movie, according to a Press Democrat report from the time, which is where the mix up comes from.

In the early films Dewey is the earnest local lawman, a little out of his depth beside the killer's film trivia and the reporters crowding his town. In Scream 4 Courteney Cox is credited as Gale Weathers-Riley, and by scream 2022 he is a former sheriff. You can follow every film with our guide to scream movies in order, and the wider ensemble sits on the scream characters page.

Dewey's defining relationships are with Gale Weathers and sidney prescott. With Sidney he is the protector, first as the deputy sent to guard her at Windsor College and later as the ally who comes back when the killings return. He is also one of three survivors, with Sidney and Gale, still standing at the end of Scream 4.

With gale weathers the story starts in the first film, where Gale is a pushy TV reporter and Dewey is a Woodsboro deputy. By Scream 2 they review Joel's footage together and leave in the same ambulance, and by Scream 3 they share a quiet, hopeful moment at the finale. In Scream 4 she is credited as Gale Weathers-Riley, and the two work out the hospital clue together. In Scream (2022) it is Gale who writes a tribute to him.

Dewey also crosses paths with the franchise's killers. He shoots Roman Bridger in Scream 3, and the legacy of the original ghostface killers, billy loomis and stu macher, hangs over the town he keeps trying to protect.

In my opinion, Dewey's best moment is the Scream 2 stabbing and its aftermath, because the film pulls him out of the action and then brings him back in the ambulance scene. It could be argued that the series earns a lot of goodwill there: Ghostface kills the officers escorting Sidney and Hallie, the audience believes Dewey is gone, and then he is alive with Gale riding along.

Second, I would pick the Scream 3 finale, where Dewey shoots Roman Bridger after Sidney has stabbed him several times and he rises again. It pays off a character who has been Sidney's steady ally since the first film, and the quiet beat with Gale that follows is the most hopeful note in the original trilogy.

Third comes the Scream 4 hospital scene, when Dewey and Gale deduce Jill's guilt from a detail she should not have known. That being said, it is Gale's attack that supplies the clue, so it is a shared win, and it shows how sharp the pair have become together.

Last, the death in Scream (2022) is the hardest to rank. It is effective, and I think it is the right choice for a legacy sequel, but it also leaves the returning cast without its steadiest member. If you want to see how the films stack up overall, our scream movies ranked page gives the full order.