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Billy Loomis
Scream character
First appearance	Scream (1996 film)
Created by	Kevin Williamson
Portrayed by	Skeet Ulrich
In-universe information
Alias	Ghostface
Classification	Serial killer
Primary location	Woodsboro

Billy Loomis

Biography

"We all go a little mad sometimes"

Concept an creation

Portrayal

Reception

Sex appeal

Loomis became popular with female fans who found him attractive both for his appearence and for Ulrich's portrayal of him as a "dreamy, but emotionally clueless bad boy". Many of the women were distraught when his true nature was unveiled. When revisiting Scream in 2018 Kristy Puchko of Syfy Wire stated "For over 20 years, horror fans have known Billy Loomis is not to be trusted, and yet, when revisiting Wes Craven's self-aware slasher Scream, it's impossible not to fall for this homicidal hunk all over again." She identified him as many young girls of the 90s "first problematic crush" and described the appeal of the character to be in the way the film repeatedly singled Billy out as the obvious choice for the killer, but much like his girlfriend Sid, the audience didn't want to believe it, his "wickedly good looks" and seeming love of the films likable main character, being passionate but simultaniously respectful of his partners sexual boundaries, compelled the viewers to hope for any other possibility. Making the female fans think; "Just not our Billy!" Puchko went on to note that the character teaches an important lesson to teen girls in that they should not let a beautiful face fool them when there is reason to be suspicious, and that the films creators used this to add dread to the final reveal when the audience realizes the object of their desire is actually a treacherous monster. Puchko belivies this lesson cemented the character as important to young female watchers who kept it with them growing up. She also named his smile, brown eyes and slick hair as some of his sexiest qualities. In another Syfy Wire article, of a Halloween themed "Fuck, Marry, Kill game", all four women picked Loomis for the fuck category. Rosa Heyman from People calls him "psychotic perfection" and states that he "still haunts our nightmares and daydreams". Delaney Strunk of BuzzFeed placed him at fifteen of her list of "21 Movie Villains That We're Weirdly Attracted To". When conducting a poll on women's ideal film serial killer for BuzzFeed Ariel Ray summed up Loomis as a "misguided popular stud". Britt Hayes of ScreenCrush ranked him seventh among the "hottest bad guys in movies". Hayes motivation reads; "Billy Loomis is the epitome of your bad teenage boyfriend; creeping into your bedroom at night, hanging out at the local Blockbuster and quoting horror movies, making your dad worry." She also mentioned his "soulful puppy dog eyes" as an especially appealing feature. Trisha Chambers of Dread Central felt the character was brilliant due to his "cunning ways" and fantastic appearence, naming him a "bad boy of horror". WatchMojo positioned Loomis at number six on their top 10 of Sexiest Male Villains. They give their reason as; "We all have that friend who's a little too ready with his horror movie trivia, but what if he was also super hot? Let’s also imagine that he’s playful, fun at parties and a great dresser. You’ve got yourself the whole package with Billy." He was also a honorable mention on their top 10 "hottest male horror movie characters" list. Tori Danielle of PopHorror put Loomis sixth on her list of "14 of the Hottest Psychos in Horror" and states that the character had a way to lure in people with his "devilish eyes and a wicked smile". Tracy Allen, also of PopHorror, situated him at number four of the "sexy psycho valentines day dates from hell" and explains his best qualities as his love of horror films and respect for his partners abstinence. Alain Proviste of Sinemia placed Loomis at number 14 of "the top 20 hottest bad guys from movies we all rooted for" and wrote that she "was personally extremely heart-broken" at the reveal of his villainous nature and that she expected that most women "swoon[ed] all over him throughout the whole movie". Samy Nikk of Steemit listed Loomis as second hottest of all the "sexiest killers in movies" and went on to write that the character is simply one of a kind. Punkee's Tara Watson placed Loomis at first place on her list and asserted that he "will forever be the hottest serial killer on screen. Period." Julia Austin of MadameNoire found that the character possesed "everything you wanted from a '90s hotty" when including him on her article of "15 Movie Murderers You Know Are Hot". ClickZoom summarizes that his allure is that he is "playful, fun at parties, and a great dresser". Romance author Gillian Archer felt the character had a mixture of vulnerability to his "bad boy" persona which made him incredibly attractive. An editorial on Rotten Tomatoes about surviving a horror movie noted; "Look, we get it: We would have invited Billy Loomis into our bedroom for a bit of action, too. But in your soberer moments, it's always good to remember: He probably wants to gut you. Block his number and ghost him." Peggy Truong of Cosmopolitan listed him as the 20th hottest man in any horror film, she cited his "pretty face" and "hot bangs" as her reasons. Patti Greco, also of the Cosmopolitan named his bangs, and his haircut in general, as the most attractive feature as well. She also stated that it was best to leave it to a psychologist to figure out exactly why and how the characters sex appeal worked. Fandango on their article about film boyfriend's whom are both loved and hated expressed that it was easy for female viewers to like him initially due to him "bringing back the moody dude bangs made famous by Heathers J.D." and that "he was [initially] so patient with spooked Sidney about her fears and her sexual boundaries". He was ranked at second place among "The Hottest Male Villains That Ever Appeared on TV and Cinema" by Dimitra Kotronia of FLOPmee. She mused that he "killed it" in the film.

Loomis has gotten similar reactions from LGBT audiences. Mikey Rox of PrideSource listed him among the "13 Hot Scary-Movie Villains Who Give Us Beautiful Nightmares", describing him as sexy, mysterious and brooding. He also expressed that the character appears as the perfect boyfriend until his involvment in the killings become apperent. NewNowNext's Louis Virtel describes Loomis' character arc as "tantalizingly dark" and lists him as the sixth hottest movie villain ever. Staff from the site also states; "Billy Loomis had some severe parental issues but damn was he fine! If I had known Billy Loomis in High School, I can't say I wouldn't have been like puppy dog pal Stu and followed him blindly into a psycho rampage" when listing him among "15 of horror's hottest himbos". Rocky Ciarrocchi of Gruemonkey ranked the character as number ten on their list of "horror hunks of the 90s". He was placed at ninth on WhatCulture's top 10 "sexiest on-screen serial killers" by Jack Morrell who expresses that Ulrich's "brooding good looks" is the main reason for the characters cult following along with the films memorable twist. Moviefone's Phil Pirrello rated Loomis as number 10 on his list of "10 Unforgettable Teen Movie Hotties", stating that he was "dead sexy". David Lagachu of the Cinemaholic placed him at the ninth spot of the "10 Sexiest Killers in Movies", calling him a "one of a kind" character.

As a partner

Loomis pressuring of his girlfriend to have sex and the reveal of his true nature at the end of the film has lead to him being placed among some of the worst boyfriends in fiction. Lisa Cowman of Glamour magazine on her overview of the subject of "worst fictional boyfriends" noted Loomis for his two-faced nature, stating that "evil seeps from Billy Loomis' very pores". Kelli Bender of People also placed him near the top of "bad movie boyfriends" due to him not only being a cold blooded killer but for his insistence on taking Sidney's virginity, stating that Sidney is likely to need a lot of therapy to get over that. Joe Robberson of Zimbo expressed that Billy and Sidney made for a sweet couple if it were not for Billy's muderous nature, Robberson placed him as number eleven of his list of "worst movie boyfriends". Fandango's Kristy Puchko placed Loomis on her list of "10 Bad Movie Boyfriends and Why We Love and Loathe Them" expressing that Sidney in the first film had a lot to deal with between her often-absent father, grief over her mysteriously murdered mother and the string of killings amongst her classmates but that she should at least be able to take solace in her good looking boyfriend Billy Loomis but that he completly betrayed that audience expectation.

Carly Lane of Syfy Wire used his image for her list of "the 10 worst horror boyfriends" and placed him the top of the ranking. She wrote; "Honestly, it doesn't get any worse than Billy Loomis. Not only did he straight-up murder his girlfriend Sidney's mom for participating in a totally consensual affair with his dad (it takes two to cheat, BILLY), he also put on the sad, puppy-dog, poor me eyes and thoroughly wheedled Sidney into losing her virginity to him — and then confessed everything he'd done to hurt her and her friends that same night! OK, normally we love a bad boy (especially one who looks like Skeet Ulrich), but as much as it pains us to do so, we can't excuse his actions no matter how soulful his expression."

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
1997	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actor	Skeet Ulrich	Nominated

Analysis

https://prezi.com/agmwavl7vykr/gender-in-slasher-films-then-v-now/

https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=arth_gradetds Billy Source

http://palaverjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Spring-2013_Palaver.pdf

http://www.mtv.com/news/2966187/make-america-scream-again/

http://bufeministreadingofculture.blogspot.com/2015/04/scream-twisting-of-classical-horror.html

The Cell Phone Reader: Essays in Social Transformation

Relationship with mother

Loomis has been compared to Norman Bates (whom Loomis quotes in the film) due to his fixation on his mother.

In the sequels

Depp Stab

Refs

Mentions

Legacy

References in 4th film

Influence on tv series

In the Scream TV series

Influence on Ulrich

Other

Further reading

• Stephanie Washington (July 22, 2015). "Top 6 Sexiest Serial Killers from Hollywood Movies". Echelon. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
• Staff (May 18, 2015). "Who Would You Do: A Ranking Of Horror Movie Killers". Gloss and Dirty. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
• Adams, Jason (November 5, 2010). "All Hail the King of the Queer Creeps". My New Plaid Pants. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
• https://prezi.com/phpohkwube9z/analyzing-complex-characters-in-film/

https://carloandriani.com/2019/09/28/che-cosa-hanno-in-comune-glen-lantz-e-billy-loomis/

https://www.purepeople.com/media/extrait-de-scream-avec-billy-loomis_m448093

https://www.wickedhorror.com/features/the-bad-boyfriends-of-horror-championship-shame/

External links

• IMDb page
• Billy Loomis at Scream (wiki)
• Billy Loomis at Villains (wiki)
• Billy Loomis at Horror Film (wiki)

Category:Scream (franchise) characters Category:Film characters introduced in 1996 Category:Fictional serial killers Category:Teenage characters in film Category:Male horror film villains Category:LGBTQ themes in horror fiction Category:Juvenile delinquency in fiction