Scream Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
Scream Wiki
Scream Wiki
1,044
pages
in: Characters, Nancy Loomis' Victims, Brothers,
and 14 more

Randy Meeks

View source
For alternate versions of Randy Meeks, see Randy Meeks' Character Hub


“ There are certains rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex. (...) Sex equals death, ok? Number two: you can never drink of do drugs (...); its a sin, its an extension of number one. And number three: never, ever, ever, under any circumstances say, 'I'll be right back' because you won't be back. (...). You see, you push the laws, and you end up dead. ”

–Randy listing "The Rules" for surviving a horror movie.


Randy Meeks was a major character in Scream (1996 film) and its sequel, Scream 2 (1997 film). He was a film student at Windsor College and previously a graduate of Woodsboro High.

He is the original horror geek character depicted in the Scream franchise, though he detested sequels. After narrowly surviving the original Woodsboro Murders in 1996, he relocated from California to Ohio with fellow survivor-friend and crush, Sidney Prescott.

He became the fourth victim of the 1997 Windsor College Murders at the hands of Ghostface copycat killer Nancy Loomis (known simply as Mrs. Loomis in the film). In the film, Randy speaks to the Ghostface entity on Gale Weathers' phone and makes critical remarks about Nancy's son, Billy Loomis, enraging his mother.

While Gale was her target, Mrs. Loomis chose to kill Randy instead, sneakily pulling him inside the news van of Gale's second cameraman, Joel, in a fit of rage. Later, Gale and Dewey, who split up to search for the killer on a phone nearby, as well as Joel who notices his windows are smashed, simultaneously find his slashed corpse inside the van.

Biography

Early Life

Randy as a kid

Randy as a kid

Randy Meeks was somehow born in late-1978 or early-mid 1979. He is the firstborn child of Mr. and Mrs. Meeks. His parents do not appear in the series, and only his mother is mentioned in Scream 2. He grew up alongside his younger sister, Martha Meeks, who is 3-4 years his junior.

As an excitable horror movie geek and Woodsboro High School student, he worked at a local video store, even though he was fired and re-hired twice.

He had a severe crush on his good friend Sidney Prescott. He primarily hangs out with her, Billy Loomis, Stu Macher, and Tatum Riley.

The Woodsboro Murders (1996)

“ There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. ”

–Randy as he starts to recite The Rules, Scream

Randy ate lunch with his group of friends the day after Casey Becker and Steven Orth were murdered. He went to the school's water fountain and sat with Sidney, Billy, Tatum, and Stu. Then gossiped and joked about their deaths. He even suspected, that Stu was the killer pointing out that Casey dumped Stu for Steve making Tatum confused because she thought, that Stu dumped Casey for her. Stu defended himself saying "I didn't kill anybody". He went to work at the local video store the next day, where he discussed the murders with Stu. He believed that Sidney's father Neil Prescott would pop up dead somewhere, and that Billy was the real killer. Billy confronted Randy and Stu took Billy's side. Stu enjoyed watching Billy confront and menace Randy in front of the other people in the store; even menacing Randy himself.

Randy

Randy, seen with the gang near the school's fountain.

Randy managed to get out of work early due to the town curfew and went to Stu's party. During the party, he is partying and seen talking to the other teenagers, but mainly concerned with talking to Sidney. He talks to her about Jamie Lee Curtis. Shortly after Tatum's murder, Billy arrives and he asked Stu, "What's Leather face doing here?" He says to himself, "There goes my chance with Sid, dammit." as Billy and Sidney go upstairs bedroom "to talk". He stays at the house watching Halloween with the other teenagers.

Randy continues partying with the other guests and then as a murder scene comes up in the movie they are watching; Halloween, he explains the infamous rules to surviving a horror film; "You can never have sex. You can never drink or do drug. It's a sin factor; an extension to number one. Never, ever, under any circumstance say 'I'll be right back' because you won't be back."

Randy Explains

Randy explains the rules of survival in a horror film.

As the movie progresses, he eventually left there by himself as the others have left to see their recently murdered principal's corpse. When Sidney is being chased to the News Van where the cameraman is, they view Ghostface sneaking behind him unexpectedly in an attempt to kill him, but Sidney's scream draws the killer's attention and saves him. Kenny, the cameraman, realizes that the camera setting is off and starts outside, but Ghostface is right outside having followed Sidney's scream to the news van. Ghostface claims the cameraman's life instead of Randy's.

Scream-Randy

After sometime, Randy gets up and wonders where everyone is. He goes outside to ask a frightened Gale about what's going on, but is knocked down by her trying to survive. Later, he finds Tatum dead. After seeing Tatum dead he finds a frightened Sidney running back into the Macher's house. He tells Sidney, "We have to get the fuck outta here. I found Tatum, she's dead. I think Stu did it!" Stu runs up claiming Randy's the killer and trying to persuade Sidney to give him the gun. Sidney rebukes them both and locks herself in the house telling them while sobbing to "Go Away! Leave me alone" Billy having "survived" comes downstairs and easily wins Sidney's judgment having been intimate with her and gets the gun from her. He opens the door and Randy runs in. Randy exclaims, "Stu's flipped out. He's gone mad!" Billy agrees in a sinister voice, "We all go a little mad sometimes." as he points the gun at him.

Scream-4-0

Randy with his longtime crush, Sidney

During the climax, he is shot by Billy and crashes through a table after Billy reveals that he's indeed the killer. After Sidney believes that it is all over, Randy suddenly wakes up, alive and well. He says to Sidney, "I never thought I'd be so happy to be a virgin." As soon as he says this, he is then punched out by Billy, who was previously unconscious. After Billy is shot by Gale Weathers, a relieved Sidney helps up the injured Randy to his feet. Randy reveals that the killer always comes back to life for "one last scare." Indeed, his prediction was right, and Billy wakes up one last time, before being shot in the head by Sidney. He tries to help Sidney rescue her father, but falls because of his gunshot wound.

The Windsor College Murders (1997)

Randy and Dewey

So, who's the killer this time? Dewey and Randy exchange theories

“ The way I see it, someone’s out to make a sequel. You know, cash in on all the movie murder hoopla. So it’s our job to observe the rules of the sequel. Number one: The body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate. More blood, more gore. Carnage candy. Your core audience just expects it. And number three, if you want your sequel to become a franchise, never ever- ”

–Randy to Dewey explaining the rules before he’s cut off, Scream 2

After graduating from Woodsboro High in the summer of 1997, Randy and Sidney both attended Windsor College, where he took film classes. Later that year, he is seen with Mickey Altieri, Cici Cooper and several other unidentified students in the film class, having a debate over whether films could have been responsible for the murders of Phil Stevens and Maureen Evans, which later developed into a debate as to whether horror movie sequels are a good thing or a bad thing.

Right before his class lets out, Sidney appears by the door having been looking for him after the news of the murders of Phil and Maureen. She warns a very nonchalant Randy that it's starting again which he doesn't want to talk about. Suddenly her boyfriend Derek comes looking for her. He kisses her in front of him to cheer her up making Randy repressed his jealousy saying under his breath, "Get a room..." Gale Weather then appears at the campus where the group of friends can see her. Randy makes a comment about her saying, "She got calve implants."

IMG 1410

Randy is pulled into the news van by Ghostface.

Death

“ Oh, yeah? Well, let’s redirect the moment, Mr. I’m So Original, huh? Where’s your innovation, huh? Why copycat two high school loser ass dickheads? Stu was a pussy ass wet rag. And Billy Loomis? Billy Loomis? What the fuck?! Jesus, what a rat looking, homo repressed mama’s boy. Why not set your goals higher, huh? You wanna be one of the big boys, huh? Manson, Bundy, O.J, Son of- ”

–Randy taking to Ghostface for the first time, and his final words before his murder at the hands of Billy’s mother, Nancy, Scream 2

After the murder of Cici at her empty sorority following attending a sorority party he attended across hers , he and Dewey Riley try to solve the case. While Gale and Dewey try to find the caller, Randy talks to Ghostface on the phone. Randy says that the new killer will never become as famous as Billy and Stu before going on to insult Stu first, then Billy. He goes on to say Billy was a rat-looking, homo-repressed mama's boy. After that was said, Ghostface suddenly appears and drags Randy into a news van and throws him against the windshield before slitting his throat and stabbing him four times in the chest. During his murder, there was a group of college students blasting Hip-hop music, which unintentionally covered up the sound of the murder. Dewey and Gale notice he is nowhere to be found and they search. Dewey, Gale and Joel stumble upon Randy's bloody corpse the next moment. This makes Randy the first legacy survivor to be killed off.

Randy Dead

Randy's corpse after being stabbed to death by Ghostface

Dewey later informs Sidney of his murder leaving Sidney very emotional saying, "It shouldn't have been Randy, it should've been me. I should call his mother." Dewey informs her that he had already reached her and let her know about his death. During the climax of Scream 2, it is revealed that the killer is Nancy Loomis, who tells Sidney that when she heard Randy insult her deceased son Billy on the phone, she "got a little knife happy".

Legacy

Hollywood (2000)

“ Told you I’d make a movie someday, huh? Well, if you’re watching this tape, it means as I fear, I did not survive these killings here at Windsor College ”

–Randy in a posthumous video recorded prior to his death, which he would layout the rules to trilogies, Scream 3

Randy's sister, Martha, snuck onto the Stab 3 production and delivered a tape Randy made before his death.

Randy on tape

Randy on tape.

He knew (or suspected) beforehand, he was probably going to die in the second killing spree, because he lost his virginity and because of the rules of horror movies and that´s why he left this tape, because he also foresaw the possibility of a third killing spree, including one with an unexpected background. So he warned the survivors (Sidney, Gale and Dewey) of what to expect from a trilogy in the horror field.

He is wearing the same clothes from Scream 2, so it can be assumed he made this video before getting changed and going to the sorority party.

Sidney Scream 3-0

Sidney's face when discovering the "Randy tape"

It is shown how much Sidney and the others miss Randy when the tape is played.

The original script revealed that Randy had survived and that his parents were secretly hiding him. However, this was cut from the final film, because it was considered to be too unrealistic and therefore not considered to be canon.

The Second Woodsboro Murders (2011): 15 Years Later

In the fourth Ghostface killing spree, committed by Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker, the then unknown Ghostface accomplice, Walker tried to become the new generation's Randy Meeks, only to fail and become the new generation's Stu Macher. Much of Randy is also referenced heavily in Robbie Mercer with the other half in reference to Kenny Brown, Gale's cameraman.

In the original Scream, they were connected. However, in Scream 4, the characters are completely connected; sort of combining the two characters with Randy's horror knowledge and Kenny's camera skills. Thus, you have Robbie talking like Randy as though it were a podcast and video recording, like Kenny, daily.

The Third Woodsboro Murders (2022): 25 Years Later

Randy's younger sister, Martha Meeks, has since had twins, Mindy Meeks-Martin and Chad Meeks-Martin, whom are now teenagers that attend Woodsboro High School. Once the third attack spree starts, Mindy suggest meeting at her place to discuss the events. In her house, there are shrines dedicated to their deceased uncle, Randy, and it is clear his knowledge of horror films and surviving them is passed onto his niece, Mindy.

After the party was over, Mindy continues to watch TV. She is watching Stab and the part where her uncle was almost attacked while watching TV by himself after the party was over. The killer was actually coming to kill her in real like just like Randy. Unlike her uncle, she actually turns around in enough time to realize she is about to be attacked like Randy was. She gets stabbed and goes unconscious, but survives (as well as her twin, Chad), just like her uncle did in the original murder spree.

The New York City Murders: 27 Years Later

At the Blackmore University campus in New York City the evening of Tuesday, October 30th, just a day after the murders of Greg Bruckner, Laura Crane, Jason Carvey, and a Bodega Clerk and 2 unnamed customers at Abe’s Snake Bodega, following Sam and Tara’s close altercation with Ghostface, the Core Four and their new friends (Mindy’s girlfriend, Tara and Sam’s roommate, and Chad’s roommate), Mindy continues Randy’s legacy of survival rules and trying to redeem herself from lacking information in Woodsboro the prior year.

She questions Kirby’s operation to track the killer while in a van on the college campus. She warns Kirby as she is attempting to phone track the killer how her uncle was killed in a van in broad daylight.

However, she forgets Randy was collateral damage as the killer in Scream 2 as the intended to target was Gale; which Randy was precise in prediction. The killer’s phone was traced to downtown; Gale high rise apartment. Randy is still precise in Gale being a target years after his death.

Mindy is attacked and stabbed like her uncle by Quinn Bailey (like Randy was killed also by a female Ghostface), but unlike him she survived (possibly due to Mindy still not being the complete expertise like her uncle).

Relationships

Family

Allies

Enemies

Quotes

About Randy

  • “I like that thing your’e doing with your voice, Randy. It’s sexy.” (Sidney when mistaking Billy as Ghostface for a prank call by Randy).
  • "Maybe your movie-freaked mind lost its reality button?" (Billy threatening Randy after he suggests he is the killer).
  • "Why are you even here, Randy? You'll never be the leading man." (Nancy to Randy).
  • "No matter how hard you try, you'll never be the hero, and you'll never get the girl." (Nancy to Randy).
  • "Got it figured out yet, Sidney? Keeping with the remake theme, Trevor’s this generation’s Billy Loomis. And we’re the innocent victims, Sidney (Jill) and Randy.” (Charlie when referring to their counterparts from the original, albeit misleading, comparing himself to Randy).
  • “Randy was our uncle. RIP.” (Mindy about her uncle, in his memorial/home movie theatre at the Meeks-Martin house)
  • ”Oooh, suspects! My brother would be so proud.” (Martha when Samantha, Dewey and her twin children’s friends visit)
  • “With Randy as our uncle, though, you and I are probably screwed.” (Mindy to Chad when making determinations of the killers targets in the Third Woodsboro Murders).
  • “You’re just gonna sit here and watch a movie about our uncle getting stabbed?” (Chad to Mindy about watching Stab (1997) and incorrectly referring to his uncle Randy’s attack in the true events, since he wasn’t stabbed but rather shot).
  • ”No, Randy, look behind you. Come on, man, turn around! Dude, what are you doing? You can do it! These are your rules (man)! Own that shit. Look behind— Oh, shit.” (Mindy drunk talking to her uncle’s actor within the film on TV, in a meta reference to Ghostface stalking behind him as in the original events, with the real Ghostface also behind her, in a reverse, as she catches sight of the killer, unlike Randy in the original)
  • “Chad? This was uncle Randy’s.” (Mindy to Chad when visiting the Ghostface Shrine for the first time, and seeing Randy’s work shirt from the video store he worked at).
  • “This is exactly how our uncle Randy died. Broad daylight, public place. Yanked into a van. Stab, stab, stab. No more Randy.” (Mindy referring to her uncle Randy’s death to Kirby as she tracks a phone call, perhaps as alluded in Stab 2, or from knowing based on real life evidence; reverse homage to 2023 New York Murders seeing as Mindy and Chad are inside the van and alive).

By Randy

Scream (1996)

  • "If you were the only suspect in a senseless bloodbath... would you be standing in the horror section?"
  • "I never thought I would be so happy to be a virgin!"
  • "Now that Billy tried to mutilate her, do you think Sid would go out with me?"
  • "It's the millennium; motives are incidental."
  • "Never, ever, ever, under any circumstances say, 'I'll be right back' because you won't be back." (Randy listing the third rule of the surviving a horror movie).
  • "See, the police are always off track with this shit. If they'd watch Prom Night, they'd save time. There's a formula to it — a very simple formula! Everybody's a suspect!"
  • "Oh, really? Was that before or after he sliced and diced?" (To Tatum about Stu, asking about where he was the night Casey Becker and Steven Orth were killed).
  • "Did you really put her liver in the mailbox? Because I heard that they found her liver in the mailbox, next to her spleen and pancreas."
  • "You see? You push the laws and you end up dead, okay? I'll see you in the kitchen with a knife." (To the partygoers about Stu, after he goes to get a beer and says, 'I'll be right back'; dramatic irony as it turns out to be true, only Stu is one of the killers in the kitchen with a knife).

Scream 2 (1997)

  • "I cannot believe it; they get Tori Spelling to play Sid, and they cast Joe Blow Nobody to play me! At least you get David Schwimmer; I get the guy who drove the stagecoach for one episode of Dr. Quinn!"
  • "Life is life. It doesn't imitate anything." (to Mickey in Film Class).
  • "Oh, please! By definition alone, they're inferior films!"
  • "I believe the line is 'Stay away from her, you bitch'. It's film class, right?" (Randy "corrects" Film Class Guy (Joshua Jackson), but is actually mistaken).
  • "That's why it's perfect! It's sort of against the rules, but not really. Mrs. Voorhees was a terrific serial killer, and there's always room for Candyman's daughter. She's sweet, she's deadly, she's bad for your teeth!" (To Dewey about the idea of female serial killers).
  • "Oh, please. This is me talking, Randy! The unrequited love slave of Sidney Prescott. I know all about obsession. (Shows gun shot scar) And pain."
  • "Stu was a pussy-ass wet rag. And Billy Loomis, Billy Loomis, what the fuck? Jesus, what a rat-lookin, homo-repressed mama's boy." (To Nancy, moments before his death).
  • "Why not set your goals higher, huh?! You wanna be one of the big boys?! Manson? Bundy? O.J.? Son—" (Randy's final line before his death).
  • "Why copycat two high school loser-ass dickheads?" (Moments before his death).

Scream 3 (2000)

  • "...And that giving up my virginity to Karen Kolchak was probably not a good idea."
  • "Yes, Karen Kolchak."
  • "Told you I'd make a movie someday. Huh?"
  • "Paul, fifteen minutes. I'm leaving my legacy."
  • "Fifteen minutes, Paul! Damn!"
  • "Shut up. She's a sweet person, okay? We were working late putting away some videos in the porno section and ya know, shit happens."
  • "It's the final chapter, it could be fucking Reservoir Dogs before this thing's through."
  • "One: You got a killer that’s gonna be superhuman. Stabbing him won’t work. Shooting him won’t work. Basically, in the third one, you gotta cryogenically freeze his head, decapitate him, or blow him up."

Trivia

  • Described as "a tall and gangly kid... A witty jokester who elevates geek to coolness" in the Scream (1996) script.
  • Detested sequels, and died in the first sequel of Scream ever made.
  • In Scream (1996), Randy tells Jamie Lee Curtis to look behind her, because there's a killer preparing to kill her. Ironically, Randy is played by Jamie Kennedy, and the killer is behind him, preparing to kill him at the same time.
  • He didn't consider Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back a sequel, because it is apart of a pre-planned trilogy.
  • Randy makes a mistake correcting Film Class Guy #2, as the line from Aliens (1986) really is "Get away from her, you bitch". He claims it is "Stay away" instead.
    • The scene was intended for the dialogue to come from the opposite actors, with Jamie Kennedy as Randy stating "Get away" as a correction. Due to the actor failing to memorise the line, they swapped lines for rehearsal practice, and it was mistakenly kept in the final product.
    • The mistake is often taken by fans to mean that Randy is finally slipping up, from his geekdom ways, and unintentionally foreshadows his demise, as well as the retroactive revelation he lost his virginity between the two-year time jump of the first and second film.
  • Breckin Meyer was offered the role of Randy Meeks.
  • Given Randy was killed by Nancy Loomis incidentally in place of Gale, it is unknown whether she or Mickey Altieri intended to kill him later.
    • Given Nancy asks him, "Why are you even here?" and makes a reference to him following Sidney to college all the way to Ohio, it is likely he was not an intended target on her part.
  • Randy is, after franchise heroine Sidney, (and both Gale and Dewey), the fourth character to be reiterated in the franchise within both the films and TV series, by other characters (excluding his successor and niece, Mindy Meeks-Martin), such as:
  • Randy, alongside with Billy and Stu, has been mentioned in all six films.
  • Overall in the franchise, he is the ninth Ghostface victim and the fourth male victim out of the subsequent six massacres throughout the film series.
  • In the Scary Movie franchise, there are pair of siblings named Shorty and Brenda Meeks played by Marlon Wayans and Regina Hall, who are an homage to Randy’s character and expertise.
    • This is perhaps a loose reference, in-universe, to Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin being Randy’s nephew and niece and also taking from his character in Scream (2022), applying 22 years after the first Scary Movie parodied the original film.
  • Jamie Kennedy starred alongside Omar Epps (Phil Stevens) in an Independent Slasher called Trick (2019). Epps played a Detective investigating killings at a Halloween Party by a teen known only as Trick (that is probably a joke to trick or treat as he wore a pumpkin mask) while Kennedy played a doctor. It has some Similarities to Scream 3's original plot.
    • In Scream 3 there was going to be a fanclub of killers and in Trick there are multiple killers dressed as Trick after being inspired by him (trick was able to gain a large following online).
    • Early on in the movie, the real Trick appears to have been killed, but later resurfaces as one of the ring leaders (the other being Jamie Kennedy's character at the end) of the killings just like how Stu Macher from the first Scream was going to be revealed to be alive after seemingly being killed by Sidney Prescott. This could also be similar to the scraped plot for Season 3 of the series were, Kieran Wilcox is reveled to be alive despite seemingly being killed by the 3rd Lakewood Slasher.
  • Similarly, to Randy, Helen Shivers (played by Sarah Micheller Gellar) in I know What you Did Last Summer (written by Kevin Williamson) is killed not far from bystanders. Helen is killed by Ben Willis during a 4th of July Parade while Randy is killed on campus while inside the news van in broad daylight.
  • Randy and Stu might have been childhood friends in the 1980s.

Gallery

Untitled sdsd1
 		Randy Meeks has a Photo Gallery.

Appearances

Character Guide

  1. ↑ According to Scream 3 DVD Bonus — Joey Garfield played Randy in Stab 2; continuity error.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Scream Wiki