Every Scream Movie Ranked From Worst to Best

Like all good slasher killers, the Scream franchise will never die. The series started in 1996 and after its first three movies, Scream appeared to have gone dormant for good, it was revived with 2011’s Scream 4 without much luck but 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI showed there’s still a lot of love for Ghostace and the citizens of Woodsboro. Though the future of the franchise is as big of a question mark as the identity of the killer in any of the Scream movies, it’s unclear if the announced Scream 7 will ever get off the ground, fans of the Scream series will always have six great movies to watch at any given time.

Now six movies in, the Scream series has proven its longevity and consistency, going on 30 years without producing a legitimately bad entry. There’s a reason why fans keep showing up for these films and they continue making good money at the box office. Scream is a great franchise through and through, but how do the individual films stack up against one another?

With Scream VI finally upon us, it felt like the perfect time to answer that question. Every Scream movie is good, yes, but some are better than others. Some have more surprising twists while others are more expertly crafted slashers. It’s a genuinely difficult task to put these movies up against one another, but that’s exactly what this article aims to do.

Below, you’ll find every Scream movie (including Scream VI) ranked, beginning with the third entry in the series…

6. Scream 3 (2000)

I don’t think there is such a thing as a “bad” Scream movie, especially when you stack the series up against other major horror franchises. Scream doesn’t have a Jason Takes Manhattan or Halloween: Resurrection in its ranks. That said, when directly comparing the Scream films side-by-side, Scream 3 doesn’t quite reach the heights of the other films.

Scream 3 is a ton of fun and it gets better with age, but it’s also the least thrilling of the six film series. It’s the only Wes Craven-directed Scream that wasn’t written by Kevin Williamson, and his absence is evident.

Still, the wackiness of Scream 3 is at least enjoyable. The duo of Parker Posey and Courteney Cox trying to out-Gale Weathers each other makes for some of the best comedy in the entire franchise. Scream 3 also gets some bonus points for giving Gale her most deranged haircut.

5. Scream 2 (1997)

I don’t think we appreciate the audacity of Scream 2 quite enough. After delivering one of the most shocking opening sequences of all time in the first film, Craven and Williamson turned around and did it again, this time killing off Jada Pinkett Smith and Omar Epps in the first scene. Not only that, but Scream 2 is where the franchise really goes all-in on the meta narrative, as a movie about the murders of the first film — Stab — is being released just as the characters endure another horrible tragedy.

Scream 2 boasts a roller coaster of an ending, one that’s disappointing at first but ultimately ends up being incredibly satisfying. Going from Timothy Olyphant’s monologue to Gale’s killer fake-out to the reveal of Laurie Metcalf as Billy Loomis’ mother makes for an adventure of a final sequence that somehow gets more enjoyable each time you watch it.

The one real knock against Scream 2 is the death of Randy Meeks, an act that has yet to be rectified within the franchise. Randy deserved better! Justice for Randy!

4. Scream (2022)

Rebooting Scream without Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson felt like a fool’s errand, but the creative team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, James Vanderbilt, and Guy Busick did a phenomenal job avoiding the pitfalls of most other “requel” attempts.

The new Scream is both a continuation of the franchise and a slight reboot of the original film, hence the name. The new generation of characters fit seamlessly in with the legacy heroes that returned to the franchise, and the killer turns from Jack Quaid and Mikey Madison are fantastic. Making the entire thing about the toxicity of fandom was also a real nice touch.

Scream (2022) also marks the end of the story of fan-favorite character Dewey Riley, but David Arquette managed to leave a mark with his swan song. Dewey’s arc is a great one, going from comic relief to beloved franchise hero, capped off by a career-best performance from Arquette.

3. Scream VI (2023)

There isn’t a lot that can be said about the plot, killer, or twists of Scream VI right now, given that the film is just now hitting theaters. That said, the movie is great and lives up to the legacy set by its predecessors.

Scream VI moves the action to New York City and uses this new backdrop to great effect. The set pieces are terrifying, particularly the one in the subway train that has been teased in the trailers. It’s also the most gruesome, gory entry in the franchise to-date.

What really sets Scream VI apart from the entries below it on this list is its opening scene. The movie flips the script on the classic Scream intro sequence to deliver something totally unexpected and wickedly entertaining. 

You can read our full Scream VI review here.

2. Scream 4 (2011)

Scream 4 continues to age like a fine wine, having arrived in theaters lightyears ahead of its time. The film is all about a generation of young people obsessed with Internet fame, seeking out the love and attention of followers online over everything else in their lives. It’s a takedown of influencer culture before influencer culture really took off. 

The reveal of Emma Roberts’ Jill as the mastermind behind the Ghostface attacks is a thing of beauty, and each moment in that finale pulls you a little closer to the edge of your seat. Every shot is where it needs to be, every performance is pitch perfect. Scream 4 is a top tier slasher and it’s time we start treating it as such.

1. Scream (1996)

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” For many of us, the answer to that iconic question is Scream, Wes Craven’s 1996 masterpiece that changed the genre forever. Come on, is anyone surprised to see the original at the top of this list? 

Scream changed horror and reinvented the slasher genre for a new generation. It’s a slasher movie that parodies slasher movies while still being terrifying, giving it an identity and voice all its own.

From Drew Barrymore’s tragic opening scene to the reveal that there were two killers the whole time, Scream makes excellent use of each and every scene, keeping you guessing from beginning to end. Seriously, once the biggest star of the movie — the actress at the center of the marketing — is brutally murdered in the first scene, all bets are off. 

There are a million different things to love about Scream. For me, it always comes back to Matthew Lillard. Presented as the jokester through the entire movie, Lillard’s spiral into a dying psychopath who may or may not be in love with his best friend in the film’s final scenes remains one of the single best performances in horror movie history. A clip of Stu crying “My Mom and Dad are gonna be so mad at me” should play on a loop in the Louvre.