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Liv McKenzie

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“ Are you afraid of me, Mindy? You think I did something to your brother, huh? You think I'm gonna cut you up? (...) I thought you said I was too boring to be the killer, but maybe that's the twist. What do you think, huh? You're the expert. You know what eventually happens to the expert? ”

–A frustrated Liv's speech taunting Mindy about being Ghostface before hand gesturing a throat slash.


Liv McKenzie was a supporting character in Scream (2022 film), known informally as Scream 5. She was the first girlfriend of Chad Meeks-Martin. Liv was also the ex-girlfriend to Vince Schneider, one of the original Ghostface killers, Stu Macher's nephew.

In the film, she is also referenced as a co-worker of Tara's during the previous summer. Her surname is a nod to the McKenzie family, the first family mentioned in the franchise, during the opening scene of the original Scream (1996); her exact relation is undetermined.

The freshest member of Tara's friendship group, Liv was unfamiliar with her friend, Tara's troubled older sister, Samantha Carpenter who returned to Woodsboro after a 5-year absence. She is an artsy person, who wears vibrant clothes and dons dip-dye pink hair. Mindy Meeks-Martin, her boyfriend's twin sister still thinks she is boring, and overcompensates for this through these things.

As the 26th anniversary of the Woodsboro Murders emerged (an anniversary in which two murders occurred at her closest neighboring house before she was born), a new legacy killing spree occurred.

After finding her boyfriend stabbed and left for dead outside, a distraught Liv returns to Amber Freeman's house with bloody hands unknowingly and in shock. She was shot directly in the head mid-sentence by the true killer, Amber herself after Amber accused her of being the killer.

Liv is the sixth and final character to fall victim to the fifth Ghostface killing spree, the 26th anniversary Legacy Killings.

She was portrayed by Sonia Ben Ammar.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Liv was born to the McKenzie family (mentioned in the original film's opening scene) sometime in approximately October 2003 (if kept with original birthday, she'd be 18 going on 19 in 2022; sixth film retcon changes birthday to October 2004 instead). Given her age in proximity to the age of Mr. and Mrs. Becker who considered the McKenzies a close confidante, she is likely the youngest of her family, and has older parents.

Having grown up in Woodsboro, California, she was not close to Tara Carpenter until she worked with her the summer before their junior year at Woodsboro High. She is also unaware of Samantha Carpenter, her sister prior to the murders who abandoned Woodsboro in 2017.

In the summer of 2021, Liv dated 21-year-old Vince Schneider, the nephew of Stu Macher, one of the men who murdered her close-by neighbor, Mr. and Mrs. Becker's only daughter, Casey almost 25 years prior. However, Liv was oblivious to this information, being unaware of Stu's existence, not having seen the original Stab film, starring Vince Vaughn as her neighbor's killer. She had only seen the recent reboot, Stab (2021), directed by "the Knives Out guy".

The Woodsboro Legacy Murders (2022)[]

“ Oh, yeah! The one the Knives Out guy directed, right? You know, I actually really liked that one... ”

–Liv to Mindy Meeks-Martin when at her and her twin brother being her boyfriend's house as Mindy lays out rules about requels in the new murders, as Liv comments about Stab (2021), Scream (2022)

S22-WoodsboroHigh-15

Liv is now a 17 year old senior and joins her friends at Woodsboro High School, outside where they are all questioned by Sheriff Judy Hicks in regards to their friend, Tara Carpenter's attack the night before. Liv shares Chad's plan to add each other on the FindMyFam app to the group, but Wes Hicks warns her against the idea as it makes her vulnerable to being tracked by Ghostface.

Liv is perturbed by the return of her "summer hookup", Vince Schneider, now 22, to Woodsboro who is now stalking her, doing so on Instagram for the "last, couple of weeks", and posting "the creepiest shit" as she states how he used to work with her and Tara at an unknown job a year or two prior (unstated), which makes him a suspect, which Liv and the others take note of. Chad says he should introduce him to "Hobbs and Shaw", and flexes his biceps, which Liv tells him not right in front of the sheriff, as Judy Hicks is just feet away.

Liv is not able to visit Tara at the hospital due to unknown reasons, but later joins her friends at a bar (despite all being high school seniors) to play poker pool where they are then interrupted by Vince who demands Liv go with him, much to her dismay. A fight almost would break out between Chad and Vince and they are all kicked out of the bar and Vince is later murdered outside, once Liv and the others went home.

Liv joins her friends the next day at Chad and Mindy's house the next day to discuss the attacks and Mindy insults her by saying she is too "boring" to be Ghostface. That night at Amber Freeman's party to honor Wes' memory, Liv tells Chad she's ready to go all the way with him, but being fearful that Liv could be the killer, he declines and Liv storms off, unaware that the Killer has stolen her phone and used it to lure Chad outside by having him follow her on the FindMyFam app.

Death[]

Liv is shot by Amber.

Liv returns to the party and vents her frustrations to Mindy who is now suspicious because Chad went looking for Liv. Liv gets angry at Mindy for accusing her of being a killer even though she said she was too boring, and asks whether Mindy is scared of her before leaving again. After Mindy is attacked, a fight breaks out and Liv is accused of being a killer, having blood on her hands after allegedly discovering Chad's body outside.

Liv shouts that she's not the killer and Amber tells her she knows because she is and then pulls out Dewey's gun and shoots Liv in the head in front of the others, thus ultimately killing her.

Relationships[]

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Quotes[]

  • "Are you afraid of me, Mindy? You think I did something to your brother? You think I'm gonna cut you up?"
  • "I thought you said I was too boring to be the killer."
  • "Enjoy your stupid movie"
  • "Fuck you, Amber. I'm not the fucking KILLER!"

Trivia[]

  • Her character name was confirmed by HelloSidney.com.[2]
  • She is the (likely youngest) child and daughter of the McKenzies referenced in the opening scene of the original Scream (1996).
  • Each new teen character has a connection to the original Scream film. In Liv's case, she is an Easter egg homage to her late neighbor, Casey Becker (portrayed by Drew Barrymore), having a very similar life story to the character in their respective films:
    • Similar to Casey who dated, then dumped Stu Macher, Liv dated, then dumped Vince Schneider (Stu's nephew), Leslie Macher's son.
    • After dumping a Macher family member, they both dated a jock/football player (Steven Orth/Chad Meeks-Martin).
    • Prior to their murders, they were distraught after finding their football player boyfriends attacked and (seemingly for Liv's case) killed by Ghostface.
      • As a result of their deaths, both a teenage daughter of the neighboring McKenzie and Becker families were murdered 26 years apart (continuity error), by the same Ghostface persona (possibly the exact same day, as Act 3 is not the exact day of Billy Loomis' death anniversary, as a reporter notes).
      • Liv's fate is a plot inverse to Casey: she is the final on-screen target/victim of a Ghostface in her respective killing spree, while Casey is the very first target on-screen in her respective killing spree (and the overall franchise). (Casey is the second murder victim overall, however after Steve).
  • In the original draft script, Liv's surname was "Tate".[3]
  • The original script explained Liv's dip dye pink hair color more thoroughly. According to Mindy in the original script, Liv dyed her hair pink to overcompensate for the fact that underneath her artsy exterior, she is drab. In the final cut, Mindy simply calls her personality boring.
  • Liv's death (along with the Hicks's deaths, Deputy Clay, and her ex) is one of the quickest to occur in the franchise (via gunshot), and who died with or without having been attacked or injured, although killed by their killer regardless after the fact, whether suspecting or not, preceded by that of and is also suceeded by:
  • While Chad and Liv homage Steve and Casey as people, the friendship group and their relationship scene at Woodsboro High resembles that of the Stu-Tatum relationship.
  • Liv being a red herring trope, as well as her relationship with Chad, is also paralleled to that of Sidney-Billy’s relationship.
    • Inversely, Liv was shown to be trying to get Chad to commit with her and have sex with her. This is exactly what Billy had done with Sidney 26 years prior (continuity error) to the date of the Woodsboro Murders while at the same house, 261 Turner Lane. However, this was just a decoy as Liv wasn’t the killer and after stumbling in calling for help from Amber, Tara, Richie, and Samantha after finding Chad outside with his blood, similar to how Randy had asked Sidney and Billy for help before being shot by Billy, revealing himself just like how Amber did (although Randy is only shot non-fatal while Liv’s was a head shot, fatal).
  • Liv’s personality is artsy and while seeming innocuous, is shown to be on edge and who’s sassy and demeanor traits resembles that of various characters such as
  • Liv's snarky remarks and clothing resemble Tatum Riley. Tatum's vibrant, artsy clothing colors were custom picked by actress Rose McGowan herself to give Tatum personality that she felt the costume department did not give the character.
    • Likewise, Liv’s death also taking place at 261 Turner Lane (despite the difference of how each died; Liv was shot while Tatum was crushed by the garage door) is an exact homage to Tatum’s death almost 26 years later (continuity error) to almost the exact week apart to the original Woodsboro Murders, seeing as they are the only victims to have died after being confronted in the same house albeit different locations (Liv in the living room, Tatum in the garage).
    • Inversely though, Liv is killed much more quickly than Tatum seeing as she was confronted for being Ghostface by Amber (who was), which Liv denied before she was then shot in the head by Amber who then revealed herself, unmasked. Tatum, however was confronted by Ghostface (Billy) in costume, while alone in the basement and who had to fight him off after he sliced her arm with his knife, which lasted a while before she then tried to escape out of the cat hatch on the garage door which rendered her stuck; she was then killed easily as he pressed the button for the garage door to be lifted, which then crushed her and killed her slowly, as she twitched her foot just before dying as the garage door broke down and shut off after being turned on.
  • Liv also shares the same first name as Liv Reynolds from Season 3 of the TV series.
  • Her death via gunshot to the head and by a gun is similar to how various characters in the Scream franchise have died and/or been include which includes: Billy Loomis, both Mickey Altieri and Nancy Loomis (Scream 2), Roman Bridger (Scream 3), Trevor Sheldon and Jill Roberts (Scream 4), and Quinn Bailey (Scream VI).
    • Additionally, her getting shot by the killer mirrors how Billy shot Randy to unmask himself.
    • Ironically, her very own killer, Amber Freeman, dies exactly how she had been killed by her via headshot with a gun by Tara, paralleling the original film and how Billy had been killed by Sidney the exact same way in the original after having failed to kill by shooting Randy 26 years prior.
  • The directors, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gilett, revealed that initially, Liv was supposed to be a minor character simply known as "Chad's girlfriend", however, they decided to expand her character.
  • To date, she is the 4th of only 4 victims in the franchise to be killed with a firearm, the others being Derek Feldman, Trevor Sheldon and Eli Hudson.
    • Liv and Trevor were the only ones to be killed with headshots.
      • Although, Trevor had taken a gunshot between his legs before being shot in the head by Jill Roberts.
      • Unlike the 3 former, Liv is killed immediately from being shot. Derek was tied up and killed after Mickey convinced Sidney they were partners. Trevor was also tied and shot twice when Jill revealed herself as one the killers (along with Charlie Walker). Eli tried fighting off his cousin, Kieran Wilcox, who was the 2nd Lakewood Slasher.
  • The first female victim in the film series (as well as the entire franchise) to be killed with a firearm immediately after the killer is revealed.
  • Liv is the first female victim of her friend group to be killed by another female as the killer in said group (seeing as how Nancy didn't attack any female character or was part of Sidney's group in Scream 2, nor did Jill in Scream 4 kill Olivia or attack Kirby, nor did Quinn kill Anika or Gale, the latter survived, in Scream VI).
  • Liv becomes the first in the franchise in which a female victim is killed accordingly by another female killer, who is part of the same friend group.
  • Liv, alongside Wes, are the only characters who would correspondingly fit into the Woodsboro High School Class of 2023 in their friend group, after the original class of 2022 graduation date and the Third Woodsboro Murders occurring in September 2021 on the 25th anniversary of the Original Woodsboro Murders in the fifth film was retconned in Scream VI, opting for the Legacy Murders committed on the 26th anniversary of the 1996 murders instead, in September 2022.
    • However, whereas Tara, Chad, and Mindy keep their canonical birthdays, despite its timeline conflicts, but are still viable, Liv alongside her own killer, Amber Freeman, would have to alter their birthdays to 2004 instead in order to align with their age of death, which is both 17.
    • Seeing as if kept with their 2003 birthdates, their ages should be 18 at time of both their deaths in 2022, not 17, thus conflicting, and changing the year to 2004 being the most logical answer to aligning their ages ad mortem.
      • Liv's friend and formerly Amber's, Wes, also has to switch his birthday from 2004 to 2005 in order to align and correspond with his age at death being 17 like his female friend/killer, as if he kept original 2004 birthday would've died at 18 in 2022 instead, not 17, thus the reason why to rectify discrepancy as well with the former.
  • She is the second to be killed from her friend group by Amber after Wes was killed by Richie.
  • It is most likely unknown if Liv and Amber were friends around elementary school/middle school until their death in 2022.
  • SHas possibly the quickest death in the franchise as her death is almost immediate.
  • She and Judy Hicks are the only female characters to be killed in the fifth film just like how Casey Becker and Tatum Riley were also the only first two females in the original film. This pattern is followed in the franchise, as well as the TV series by:
  • Liv is the second to die from her friend group and the only girl, much like:
  • She was Chad Meeks-Martin's first girlfriend.

Gallery[]

Untitled sdsd1
 Liv McKenzie has a Photo Gallery.

Appearances[]

Character Guide[]

References[]

  1. ↑ The Third Woodsboro Murders in Scream (2022) took place on the 26th anniversary, so just after the 25th anniversary of the September 1996 murders, thus in September 2022. Liv was born approximately in October 2004 (originally was for October 2003), so she would’ve been 16 the year before and turned 17 (2021), who in 2022, was now about to turn 18.
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ [2]
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