The Scream franchise is not only a champion of the slasher subgenre but also stands as one of the pivotal horror franchises of all time. Centered on killers slaughtering teens in the now-iconic Ghostface mask, the franchise is smart and rewarding to longtime horror fans while also acting as the perfect entry point to the genre for newcomers across three decades. And 30 years after her first encounter with the Ghostface Killer, Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott must take everything she’s learned to protect her family in Scream 7.
However, before you return to Woodsboro once more, now is an excellent time to refresh yourself on Sidney’s journey so far. Here is my personal ranking of the Scream movies:
6
Scream 3
Having survived two massacres, Sidney attempts to enjoy a quiet life away from the limelight as the Woodsboro Killing-inspired in-universe Stab! movie franchise prepares to film its next installment. However, when a new killer emerges and Sidney receives calls from her long-presumed-dead mother, she makes her way to reunite with Gale (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette) on the set in Hollywood to unmask the new Ghostface copycat. As Sidney revisits her ordeal through the Hollywood retelling, surprising new details come to light that shine a new light on Sidney’s mother’s life and the darker side of Hollywood.
I do not feel there isn’t a bad Scream movie so far, but Scream 3 is easily the weakest installment of the series. The cast’s chemistry remains strong, and the franchise’s trademark meta humor works perfectly with its Hollywood setting, allowing for fun cameos from Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and the great Carrie Fisher. Ultimately, the killer behind the mask is one of the weakest villains. Additionally, the revelations about Sidney’s past are an incredibly convoluted attempt to tie into the first movie that feels especially jarring, considering no later installment has truly referenced them.
Release Date
February 4, 2000
Runtime
116 Minutes
Director
Wes Craven
David Arquette
Dewey Riley
Neve Campbell
Sidney Prescott
Courteney Cox
Gale Weathers
Patrick Dempsey
Mark Kincaid
5
Scream 4
While the Stab! franchise may be killing the competition at the box office, Sidney has turned her life around in Scream 4, using her experience to help others with a new book she has penned. But, as the fifteenth anniversary of the Woodsboro Killings comes around, Sidney is not only dragged back into the mystery but also made a prime suspect. With a killer who wants to leave their own mark, Sidney reunites with her old friends once more to put a stop to the latest copycat.
Scream 4 was a return to form after Scream 3‘s convoluted trilogy-capping tale but lacks the same spark that made the other movies special and, to me, lacked any memorable kills or set pieces. Furthermore, while the killer has an intriguing motive and Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby Reed had the potential to be a great lead, the movie rests too hard on the returning cast to successfully kick off a new chapter in the same way one later installment would succeed in doing.
Release Date
April 15, 2011
Runtime
111 minutes
Director
Wes Craven
David Arquette
Dewey Riley
Neve Campbell
Sidney Prescott
Courteney Cox
Gale Weathers-Riley
Emma Roberts
Jill Roberts
4
Scream VI
Scream VI took the franchise to the Big Apple, as siblings Sam and Tara Carpenter (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) attend university in New York City. However, an even more violent Ghostface is eager to end their lives after they survived their first massacre in Scream 2022. It soon becomes clear that this new killer is incredibly familiar with past Ghostfaces, leading to a cross-generation team-up between Sam and friends, Kirby, and Gale.
Scream VI does tread on several familiar tropes and follows the premise of Scream 2 but twists it into a sick cat-and-mouse game across the city streets. Witnessing a team-up between Sam’s group, Scream 4‘s resident movie buff, and original Woodsboro survivor Gale feels like a perfect celebration of the franchise so far, but the violent tactics of the new killer keep the tension high. As such, Scream VI was a welcome follow-up that proved Sam and friends could carry the franchise going forward
Release Date
March 10, 2023
Runtime
123 minutes
Director
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Melissa Barrera
Sam Carpenter
Jenna Ortega
Tara Carpenter
Jasmin Savoy Brown
Mindy Meeks-Martin
Mason Gooding
Chad Meeks-Martin
3
Scream 2
While Sidney leaves Woodsboro behind for college in Scream 2, a new killer stalks the campus hoping to take a second swipe at the survivor. To make matters worse, Gale’s book based on the first movie’s massacre has inspired a movie adaptation, complicating Sidney’s hunt for the killer. With the new Ghostface hoping to write their own sequel in blood, Sidney and her friends must grapple with new rules to survive.
Despite a quick turnaround that led to Scream 2 releasing just a year after the first movie, the sequel is no cheap cash-in. Alongside using the franchise’s meta angle to address sequels and the effect of movies on audiences, the movie feels like an incredibly thoughtful and natural progression of the core cast’s journeys, as they are forced to handle the mental and physical wounds of their first Ghostface encounters. Scream 2 may feature some debate around sequels, but this installment is easily among the best slasher follow-ups.
Release Date
December 12, 1997
Runtime
120 minutes
Director
Wes Craven
Neve Campbell
Sidney Prescott
Courteney Cox
Gale Weathers
David Arquette
Dewey Riley
Jerry O’Connell
Derek Feldman
2
Scream (2022)
While this choice may be controversial, I feel Scream (2022) was a better franchise revival than Scream 4. In Woodsboro, a new killer sets their sights on killing kids connected to the original victims of the first massacre, forcing Sam Carpenter to turn to Dewey to find out how to survive a Ghostface spree. However, as the bodies continue to pile up, Sam also has to grapple with a dark family secret that forever ties her to the murders that reshaped Woodsboro.
Released in an age where every large franchise was returning with a legacy sequel, the fifth Scream drags the franchise into the 2020s by turning its sights on requels, toxic fandom, and “ascended horror” with Scream’s meta charm. This isn’t just limited to returning characters and meta writing, as the subject of legacy is tackled through Sam’s character in a way that firmly sets her apart from past survivors’ characterizations and promises to take the franchise in a new direction. As such, Scream (2022) stands out as one of the best modern horror revivals that sets out a bright but ultimately bloody future for the franchise.
Release Date
January 14, 2022
Runtime
114 minutes
Director
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Melissa Barrera
Sam Carpenter
Jenna Ortega
Tara Carpenter
Mason Gooding
Chad Meeks-Martin
Jasmin Savoy Brown
Mindy Meeks-Martin
1
Scream
As any film aficionado may proudly say, it is impossible to beat the original movie. After a pair of teens are viciously murdered before the eve of her mother’s murder’s anniversary, Sidney Prescott finds herself targeted by the masked Ghostface Killer. Everyone is a suspect, as the murderer carves their way through Sidney’s loved ones.
Scream single-handedly revitalized the slasher genre for a generation, acknowledging the tropes audiences had picked up on and creating a genuinely fascinating mystery that will still have you picking up on new clues with every rewatch, even after you find out who the killer is. Sidney instantly solidifies her place in the pantheon of Final Girls, but the entire cast is full of memorable characters with just as iconic lines. Scream was an instant horror classic upon its release, and it still stands strong to this day.
Release Date
December 20, 1996
Runtime
112 minutes
Director
Wes Craven
David Arquette
Dewey Riley
Neve Campbell
Sidney Prescott
Courteney Cox
Gale Weathers
Matthew Lillard
Stu Macher
