Every ‘Scream’ Movie, Ranked

As inevitable as death and taxes is another Scream movie installment — but we’re not complaining.

This weekend, Scream 7 graces theaters everywhere, and with it comes the exciting return of one of Scream‘s original actors, Neve Campbell, who returns to the franchise after skipping Scream VI.

We couldn’t be more excited to herald the next chapter in the beloved horror series.

To celebrate, Watch With Us has put together our own definitive ranking of all the Scream movies ahead of the seventh installment.

Read on to see if you agree with us.

6. Scream (2022)

Twenty-five years after the first murders in Woodsboro, CA, a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and starts hacking up teenagers. But the group bears a link to the original killings, and if they’re going to survive, they’re going to have to dredge up long-hidden secrets from Woodsboro’s unsavory past. The film features core actors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Skeet Ulrich, in addition to newcomers Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid and Mikey Madison.

At the end of the day, every Scream movie is entertaining. But Scream 2022 is at the bottom because it is really annoying and not very interesting — which is pretty bad. It’s the worst in the bunch, because it’s attempt at satirizing “elevated horror” falls completely flat, the direction is uninspired (the first Scream movie to made since Wes Craven‘s death), the characters are grating to watch (especially Barrera’s wooden lead character), there are no creative kills and the de-aged visions of ghostly Billy Loomis are cringe-inducing.

5. Scream VI (2023)

The four survivors of the previous Ghostface murders, Tara (Ortega) and Sam Carpenter, and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding), hope for a fresh start in New York City. However, Sam finds herself the target of an online hate campaign, who are convinced that she is the true Ghostface killer. When fellow college student Jason (Tony Revolori) is found stabbed to death, Sam’s ID and a Ghostface mask are found at the scene. With Ghostface now loose in the Big Apple and leaving a trail of old masks in his wake, Sam and her friends must follow the rules of franchise films to stop him.

After the disappointing Scream 2022, Scream VI gets a much-needed shot of adrenaline by sending Ghostface to tear up the streets of New York City while also upping the violence. The series still doesn’t hit even the low highs of the original trilogy’s worst installment, Scream 3, but it’s a marked improvement. Despite an underwhelming ending and no Campbell, it’s got a solid plot, some great kills and genuinely funny lines. Plus, it’s always fun to hang out with our friends Gale (Cox) and Dewey (Arquette).

4. Scream 3 (2000)

After the murder of Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), Gale Weathers travels to Hollywood to solve the mystery, where the third Stab movie is being made and Dewey Reilly is serving as a technical advisor to the production. But when Ghostface starts picking off the Stab actors, Sidney Prescott (Campbell) is lured out of her self-imposed isolation to help Gale and Dewey unlock the mystery of who has taken on the Ghostface persona this time.

Scream 3 isn’t great, and it misses the mark on a lot of things that Scream 2 and Scream 4 manage to get right. It feels more slapdash in plot, it drags in pacing and the lack of teenage characters feels antithetical to the point of the Scream movies. But there is nevertheless a fascinating meta-textual commentary about the horrors of casting-couch Hollywood pre-MeToo (in a movie executive-produced by none other than Harvey Weinstein). Plus, you get fun cast additions like Parker Posey and Patrick Dempsey.

3. Scream 4 (2011)

The last Scream directed by Craven before he died in 2015, Scream 4 follows Sidney as she continues to recover from the trauma she experienced at the hands of Ghostface many years prior, having since written a self-help book. But shortly after she arrives in Woodsboro to promote her book, she discovers that two teens have been killed by that same mask-wearing killer. When evidence is found in her car, Sidney is suddenly the prime suspect. She reconnects with friends Gale and Dewey to clear her name and protect her teenage cousin, Jill (Emma Roberts).

Many dismissed Scream 4 upon release, but it has risen in estimation over the years and has received critical reappraisal as one of the best films in the franchise — in particular for its prescient examination of the harmful effects of social media use. It’s got some shockingly brutal kill sequences and efficient meta-commentary thanks to original screenwriter Kevin Williamson, who returns after departing Scream 3. Scream 4 is bloody, funny and a terrific slasher film.

2. Scream 2 (1997)

Following the brutal events in Woodsboro, Ghostface has become a star with the upcoming Stab movie, while Sidney and fellow survivor Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) are now college students trying to move past it all. But when two horror fans are killed at a preview of Stab, it turns out the Ghostface nightmare isn’t over. A copycat killer is on a rampage, and Sidney, Randy, Gale and Dewey have to figure out who’s behind this new killing spree before they all wind up victims of sequel cliches.

Scream 2 works as well as it does in part because of its meta-commentary on sequel movies and remakes, and on the exploitation of trauma for entertainment. It’s also really funny to watch attractive actors like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Timothy Olyphant be positioned as geeky film dorks. But it has a lot more going for it as well: a fantastic opening sequence to rival that of the first film, some extremely clever set pieces, a general atmosphere of demented glee and Craven’s signature command of tension. Scream 2 is a solid satire and a solid horror movie, which is why it’s so high on this list.

1. Scream (1996)

Of course, there is no contest — the best Scream movie is, and always will be, Scream. The movie that started it all, with Craven and Williamson reinventing the slasher film while making fun of it at the same time. Scream kicks off with the murder of high school student Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore), and suddenly, the town of Woodsboro, California, is on high alert. At the same time, teenager Sidney Prescott dreads the impending anniversary of her mother’s murder. But when more people in Sidney’s orbit get attacked, she believes her mother’s killer may be coming to finish what he started.

Scream single-handedly helped to revitalize the then-dwindling horror genre by deconstructing the genre itself, but it has remained a cultural juggernaut even thirty years on. It’s a blend of self-parody and meta-commentary mixed with genuinely thrilling horror set pieces, nail-biting tension may have been lampooned and mimicked by other films since, but nothing holds a candle to the real thing. When the movie shocked the world by killing off Barrymore in the first few minutes, everyone knew that something had shifted.