Now that the latest Scream sequel has hit theaters, it’s time to take a look back at all Scream films, ranked from worst to best.
Last updated on: March 20, 2023.
Over the past week, the fifth installment in the Scream franchise graced the silver screen, introducing a new generation of horror hounds to the series that redefined and revolutionized the slasher genre just 26 years ago. While this was the first sequel without series creator Wes Craven at the helm (who passed away in 2015), Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were more than prepared to pay tribute to his legacy.
With a script from James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man) and Guy Busick (Ready or Not, Urge) that blended the past with the present in petrifying fashion and a cast comprised of both the characters we already know and love (Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers, David Arquette’s Dewey Riley) and a new generation of Ghostface bait (The Babysitter: Killer Queen‘s Jenny Ortega, In the Heights‘ Melissa Barrera, The Boys‘ Jack Quaid), the fifth Scream was a staggering success and a strong step forward for the series. However, with its release, the time has now come to compare the chaos this crew cooked up to what’s come before and relook at all Scream films, ranked from worst to best.
6. SCREAM 3
(2000)
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Ehren Kruger
Let’s just get one thing out of the way real quick – there are no “bad” Scream films, period. Though many have unfairly maligned Scream 3 for years (often due to the absence of the series’ lead screenwriter Kevin Williamson), when viewed alongside its predecessors, it’s not only an immensely satisfying step forward for the franchise – that doubles down on the movies’ meta genre subversion and further blurs the lines between fact and fiction as it hones in on the state of horror in modern-day Hollywood – but one that compellingly wraps up Sidney’s character arc and features the most gut-wrenching Ghostface reveal to date for our pained protagonist. Sure, it may not be quite as scary as some of the other sequels, and Sidney’s role may be a bit too reduced in the first half of the film, but with stellar new supporting characters (like Parker Posey’s plucky Jennifer Jolie), comical commentary on the insincerity of the film industry, and a captivatingly cathartic conclusion, Scream 3 is a thrilling trilogy capper in its own right, and a horror epic that is entirely unworthy of the enmity it’s endured over the years.
5. SCREAM 2
(1997)
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Kevin Williamson
Scream 2 was put into production right after the first film was released, debuting in theaters only one year later, and that rushed development certainly shows in the final product – the script isn’t as satisfyingly sharp, the subversiveness is sometimes a little “on the nose,” and some of the subplots can feel superfluous at times. Nevertheless, Craven’s direction is just as devilishly distinguished here as it was in the original film, and he ups the scale of his signature suspenseful setpieces significantly. Who could forget the opening murder of Jada Pinkett Smith’s Maureen Evans in the movie theater? How about Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Cici being chased around the sorority house? Or what of Gale and Dewey scheming to survive in the sound booth? Even if the story of Scream 2 can’t recapture “lightning in a bottle” brilliance of the first film’s ingeniousness and innovation, the scares here remain as relentlessly intense as ever, all leading to a chaotic climax that both pokes fun at pundits who blame real-life violence on the media and delivers on the brutal bombast we specifically come to see (with a terrific “final girl” team-up for Sidney and Gale).
4. SCREAM 4
(2011)
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Kevin Williamson
Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson quite literally invented the “legacyquel” with 2011’s Scream 4 years before blockbusters like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World popularized the concept, compellingly combining the past with the present in this fervently anticipated fourthquel. After sitting out Scream 3, Williamson proved to be Scream 4’s secret weapon, as his strikingly sturdy script delivered on the promise of updating the Scream series for a new decade (roasting the recent “remake/reboot” trend in the horror genre with some skillful satire) and spotlighted a surplus of rising stars (such as Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Rory Culkin) who all worked well alongside the original cast members instead of attempting to outshine them and/or replace them in any way. Scream 4 is most remembered for its riotous killer reveal, and while it won’t be spoiled here, Williamson must be commended for commenting on the menace of social media and Millennial entitlement far before it was “cool” to do so, and his caustic cultural critiques have sadly seemed to be more correct than he was ever given credit for.
3. SCREAM
(2022)
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Writers: James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick
Full Review: The Sharpest Sequel in the Slasher Series Yet
The latest Scream sequel may be the sharpest yet – and, at the very least, it’s easily the most “meta” movie in the slasher series since the original, making it nearly as conceptually radical as that chiller was upon its release in 1996. At a time when everyone is cashing in on the “meta” craze these days, this crew proves why these films have always been a cut above the rest, commenting on “requels,” elevated horror, and, most ferociously, toxic fandoms, with a blistering bite that too few studio films have these days. When the script finally shows its hand, and the true meaning of the movie is made clear, it results in what may be the most thrilling third act in the franchise in over 25 years, enriched by an especially edgy killer reveal and motivation. And, even on the surface, it’s just one damn satisfying slasher – the new cast kills it (with special shoutouts to Jack Quaid and Jasmin Savoy Brown), the fan faves get their time to shine (David Arquette MVP), and the gory kills are wickedly gnarly. Without a doubt, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett would’ve made Wes Craven proud.
2. SCREAM VI
(2023)
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Writers: James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick
Full Review: Scream VI (2023): Film Review
How many horror franchises can be six films in and churn out a sequel that some could call the best yet (okay, how many horror franchises that aren’t Friday the 13th)? Thanks to Scream VI, you can put the Scream series at the top of that incredibly short list, as this is a sequel that somehow tops the subversive revitalization of the brand that its predecessor provided with sharper setpieces and some of the best – and most compelling – character development the franchise has ever seen. The one thing slightly weighing this “sixthquel” down is that the killers are somewhat predictable – and their motivations somewhat “surface-level” – but when a Scream sequel is giving you the scariest setpieces and chase scenes since Scream 2 (the bodega! the ladder! the subway! the final fight!) and a genuinely tender emotional throughline that makes every death hit that much harder (Long live The Core Four!), it’s hard to complain too much. For my money, this is the best the franchise has been since 1996 – and I hope it’s only up from here.
1. SCREAM
(1996)
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Kevin Williamson
There was honestly no other outcome. Even after all of these years, the original Scream reigns supreme, remaining as enormously entertaining and wondrously witty as it was back in 1996. After the likes of Jason, Freddy, and Michael had worn out their welcome throughout the 80s and into the early 90s, it was up to Scream to singlehandedly revive the slasher genre, and together, A Nightmare on Elm Street director Wes Craven and writer wunderkind Kevin Williamson turned horror on its head. Here, clichés were confronted head on (“Don’t have sex! Don’t drink or do drugs! And don’t you dare say ‘I’ll be back!’”), and the picture’s protagonists were actively aware of the schemes of serial killers in so-called “scary movies,” knowing how to outsmart them at their own game.
This audaciously original approach to genre filmmaking asked audiences to forget the “formula” and reminded them how fun and fresh horror could be when done right. Naturally, a string of subsequent films attempted to follow in Scream’s footsteps and imitate its innovation (Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Final Destination), but none have ever come close to comparing to the clever and chilling story that started it all, and that’s why it earns its spot at the top of this ranking.
