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Ranking Scream Films

Scream is such a fun horror comedy franchise that is famous for being meta and basically inventing meta storytelling, especially in the horror context. The original was released back in 1996 and from then onward we got four more sequels of varying quality. For horror standards, this series is above most others as none of the entries are bad and a couple are actually very good. So, here is my ranking of all five Scream movies.

6. Scream 3

Obviously the worst Scream movie is the third one. This isn’t a bad movie, not by a long shot. Its side depiction of sexual harassment in Hollywood was revolutionary for the time. The cast was also game with everybody delivering strong work. It’s also a fun movie as usual. My main issue with it is the tone, which is way too comedic, resulting in an overly silly, far from scary movie that also did not feature a particularly memorable villain.

5. Scream 5

The fifth entry is a bit overrated in my opinion. That is why it goes below the fourth one for me. Yes, the comedic elements worked, especially the immense self-parodying. I also respected the modernization of the series through the use of technology and the commentary on fandoms. However, the new cast of characters was mostly forgettable, the villains were bland and the movie is never as exciting as its predecessor was.

4. Scream VI

The sixth Scream movie was definitely an improvement upon its much inferior predecessor. The commentary on franchises was wonderfully self-parodic. The action set pieces were the biggest so far while its cast of characters was surprisingly solid. The villains were strong too. Minus points go to overwhelming gore and the fact that it has very little humor in it. But it was overall a solid sequel, which is why it lands firmly in the middle of this list for me.

3. Scream 4

The most underrated entry in the franchise is Scream 4 for sure. It is the most meta movie for better and for worse. It can become too silly in certain scenes. However, the movie within a movie within a movie opening was a lot of fun while that final third was just ridiculously entertaining in its many twists and turns. Emma Roberts was absolutely terrific as the main villain.

2. Scream 2

Scream 2 targeted horror sequels in many amusing ways while hilariously still being one itself. The movie is inferior in the horror department as it’s much more focused on the comedic angle, but it’s highly entertaining throughout its admittedly long runtime. It also benefits from some terrific set pieces and excellent character work for everybody involved. Overall, it was a surprisingly strong first sequel that rivaled the original quite frequently.

1. Scream

The first Scream movie is the one that started it all. The Ghostface mask, the meta elements, the brutal stabbings and the twist ending – all of these elements were introduced here and they were repeated so many times in the sequels, further proving just how iconic the original really was. Sidney Prescott played by Neve Campbell is an iconic horror protagonist while the parodying of slasher horror staples was phenomenally done here. It’s obviously the best entry in the franchise that proved to be surprisingly strong overall.