Scream Films Ranked From Worst to Best
- Heather German
- Mar 26, 2022
- 5 min read
This article is coming a few weeks late as I just got through a really rough patch. This is the soonest I was able to get this together and out there, but I’m hoping people will still enjoy it.
On January 14th, 2022, the fifth installment of the popular Scream series, as well as the first in over a decade since 2011’s Scream 4, released. The first in the franchise to not be helmed by the late Wes Craven, Scream2022 (or just Scream as it’s titled) has been met with a surprising level of acclaim. I have a review of that film going up simultaneously, but I also found myself binging all of the previous Scream films in preparation, and wanted to write a companion piece ranking all of them from best to worst. I’m trying to keep this spoiler-lite, but there are some that made their way in there regardless.
Let’s see how the new Scream held up…
5. Scream 3
Release Date: February 4th, 2000
Director: Wes Craven
Scream 3 is, for my money, the only bad Scream film. The mystery is intriguing at first, but quickly gets bogged down by its own complications while simultaneously being plagued by a bloated second half full of unnecessary characters who only exist to be killed off. Even its premise feels as if it’s grasping at straws in order to be relevant, and it fails to provide any sort of real commentary on the state of the horror genre, either from a place of critique or love.
That being said, as far as worst installments in a franchise go, Scream 3 is a significant step up from films in previous retrospectives I’ve covered such as Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers or the A Nightmare On Elm Street remake. There’s at least some semblance of inspiration here, from a few gripping early film moments to a genuine, if half-baked, commentary on the epidemic of sexual misconduct in Hollywood that feels wholly ahead of its time. It’s bad enough to put me off of any series marathons in the future and it does take away from the airtight brilliance of the original film if you put too much stock in the concept of canon, but it’s not really a true disaster either, which really goes to show how consistent this really is compared to its 80’s slasher brethren.
Best Kill: Cotton Weary’s untimely demise is probably the most shocking and interesting kill in this thing, though even that one is a little toothless compared to some of the other films in the franchise.
4. Scream (2022)
Release Date: January 14th, 2022
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Scream (2022) may or may not rise up in these rankings with time, but it’s still fresh and hasn’t quite accumulated the nostalgia that the higher rankings have for me. That being said, this is significantly better than Scream 3, with an excellent cast, a fresh set of rules and tropes to riff on and some gnarly kills and setpieces. Perhaps the best thing about this is how effectively it plays with its legacy characters; unlike other franchises that are having legacy “requels”, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette never really left the series, but their return still feels earned, and they’re played incredibly well.
Pretty much everything else about this one works as well. I’m posting this ranking right after a more in depth review, so you can check that out here.
Best Kill: There are a lot of good ones here, but my favorite would have to be the subtle subversion of the death of Sheriff Judy Hicks’; stabbed in her own front yard in the middle of the day.
3. Scream 2
Release Date: December 12th, 1997
Director: Wes Craven
Scream 2 is a phenomenal sequel that was once upon a time my favorite Scream film. It has fallen in the rankings for a couple of reasons; for one, it’s just not as tight as the original. Its finale is just a bit overwrought and the ultimate reveal less satisfying. Really, the whole plot feels a little flimsy in comparison to the top two entries on this list. The killers themselves are also some of the most underwhelming, with one being a very blatant dollar bin version of the original film’s surprise sidekick and the other being a fairly standard villain.
Still, Scream 2 is an excellent thriller that makes up for its loose spots with some excellent and memorable scares. From the opening in the theater of the original Stab film to the final showdown in the auditorium, Scream 2 is a wild ride from start to finish that picks up the threads the original left off and continues to develop them. It may not be as smooth around the edges, but it’s possibly the most fun of all the Scream films.
Best Kill: Randy’s death in the middle of the day was shocking and devastating in equal measure, and really works to raise the stakes.
2. Scream 4
Release Date: April 15th, 2011
Director: Wes Craven
Scream 4 is a deceptively basic meta-remake that at first feels like an unnecessary and insubstantial sequel parodying remakes, but over time it slowly peels back the curtain to reveal a lean, mean commentary on the state of celebrity culture that only grows more relevant in the influencer culture of today’s internet. It all builds up to what is perhaps the make it or break it part of most Scream films; a stunning reveal of my personal favorite killer in the entire franchise.
It’s the gripping third act that really sells Scream 4, but it couldn’t have worked nearly as well without a first and second act that strips the franchise of the grandiose, overly-complicated feel and increased comedic approach that Scream 3 brought and created a dark, tense atmosphere the franchise hadn’t had since its original, populating it with some of the best characters of the series to date. It’s an absolute pleasure watching this unfold, and it’s easily the most underrated film in the series.
Best Kill: Officer Perkins is stabbed in the head in a particularly gruesome kill.
1. Scream (1996)
Release Date: December 20th, 1996
Director: Wes Craven
While many of the Scream hold up surprisingly well in their own right, none of them have ever topped the original film. It just feels so fresh even after all of the many knock-offs it inspired, with a genuinely refreshing approach to horror that may have been divisive but was nonetheless unique and interesting. With one of the best final girls in slasher history in Sidney Prescott, genuinely innovative scares, inventive kills, and a pitch-perfect cast, Scream has all the hallmarks of a bonafide slasher classic.
Even beyond that, though, this is an absolutely incredible whodunnit that plays its cards perfectly before the final shocking reveal. Like all great twists, the true identity of the killer is quite obvious in hindsight, with all evidence ultimately leading to them, but Scream plays its misdirections and red herrings expertly, directing your attention both towards and away from the truth in equal measure to keep you on your toes and guessing. Everybody is a suspect until the killer is revealed, and then we get one of the most tense and explosive finales in slasher history.
Best Kill: The killing of Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker in the beginning is one of the all time greatest slasher movie kills.
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