6. Scream 3 (2000)

Gale Weathers and her crazy bangs

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx24Z9O0MuY

Sideny Prescott (Neve Campbell) can’t seem to catch a break. Scream 3 takes place in Hollywood on the set of the newest Stab movie. This installment was written by Ehren Kruger instead of the previous franchise writer Kevin Williamson who had previous commitments at the time. Ehren Kruger, known for The Ring, is no newbie to the horror writing genre. 

Needless to say this particular movie did not react well to horror fans. The overall tone did not match with the first two movies. It was less tense and filled with what felt like forced comedy. Scream 3 also happens to be the only movie in the franchise with 1 killer revealed at the end instead of 2. When you watch a Scream movie you want to be sucked into the meta horror happening versus Gale Weathers bangs (Courteney Cox's).

5. Scream VI (2023)

Ghostface showing off his knife

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h74AXqw4Opc

Scream 6 caught our attention by revealing a Ghostface killer at the beginning of the movie….. Who very quickly gets stabbed by the real Ghostface killer. Throughout this movie suspicion gets placed on almost everyone and by the end it is revealed that there are in total three killers.

Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) and his children Ethan and Quinn (Jack Champion & Liana Liberato) plotted to get revenge (shocking) on the main protagonist for their son/brother Richie (Jack Quaid) being killed in the last movie. 

The New York scene is a nice change to see, but overall this movie dragged out. You know when a movie franchise feels like it goes on forever? Scream 6 is the starting point to that. This movie felt like it followed the basic plot of revenge and how family members deal with their issues by murdering. That can only be done so many times before it gets boring. By the end of watching you might feel like this was the sequel that never needed to happen.

4. Scream 4 (2011)

Sidney hiding from the killer

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKRtyVLWV-E

Sidney Presscot returns to her old town for a book tour and the legacy characters (again) show up one by one as bodies start dropping. Per usual family members related to Sidney in some way have an issue (this one being how famous Sidney got) and take it out on the town with Ghostface killings.

This Scream was bland to say the least by being one that fans don’t always remember the details of. Granite Scream 4 was competing with movies like Paranormal Activity 3 and The Cabin in the Woods, released the same year. The acting in the movie I personally didn’t mind, but since it took ages to release after the last movie, a lot of people were looking for something more updated or refreshed. 

By the end we see that Sidney get attack and looks dead, only to come back later and kill the killers.This format has been used a bunch up to this point and is a little predictable, but the way the characters struggle and fight with the killers we're done decently and is probably the only thing to take away from Scream 4.

3. Scream 2 (1997)

Stab fans enjoying the Stab movie

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXjofSo5Je0

By now we all should know about the Stab movie franchise within the Scream metaverse. Scream 2 was the movie responsible for introducing the plot of a slasher film within a slasher film. Sindey and Gale are caught in another jam, when some college students get killed at the Stab movie premier (Stab is based off of the first movie's plot and the events in it if that fact was not obvious).

In an attempt to avenge her late son's death we find out that Mrs. Loomis (Laurie Metcalf) hired Mickey (Timothy Olyphant) to help with copycat Ghostface killings. She even went as far as disguising herself as a news reporter on the campus after one of the killings before anyone suspected her. 

Once again everyone can see the meta horror balance of suspense and comedy. The scene ideas were also iconic at the time like the opening where a couple gets stabbed while watching the stab movie! Or when the self-aware aspect is obvious and a movie sequel debate happens between the characters who are attending a film class unaware that they are themselves in a movie sequel.

2. Scream (2022)

Tara running from the killer

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beToTslH17s

Between you and me I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. Aside from some of the cringey acting, the new characters feel believable as the new heroes of this franchise. Scream (2022) opens with a nod to the original Scream by having Tara (Jenna Ortega) answer a phone call in her kitchen to talk about scary movies.The only difference is that she survives.

We later find out that her older sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) might be the daughter of Billy Loomis (The OG Ghostface) One by one the legacy actors pop up in a natural way, such as Gale coming to report the murders, instead of just throwing them into the plot. 

The (not surprising to me) reveal of Richie, Sam's boytoy, being the new Ghostface along with Tara’s BFF Amber (Mikey Madison) took a natural turn as the movie progressed and suspicion started to be placed on everyone and it lead to some pretty thrilling fight scenes between the good and bad guys.

They way both killers died at the end felt like such a nice wrap up of the franchise…… if only they ended it there (See #5)

1. Scream (1996)

Billy And Stu

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3J6ACKQ7K0

What can I say, I like the classics! At the time, this was a unique take on horror movies and what the meta style of writing can do. Scream (almost named Scary Movie) starts the movie off by introducing Casey (Drew Barrymore) at home making some jiffy pop for her horror movie when she gets a creepy phone call from the Ghostface killer.

Eventually Ghostface appears taking part in a very suspenseful and memorable chase scene. Surprisingly the very popular actress (who you assumed would be the main character) gets stabbed, even though she was so close to safety thus starting the Ghostface killings. 

Fun Fact: Drew Barrymore was the one who came up with the idea for her character to die in the beginning of the movie!

Breaking out of horror cliches with some self-aware dialogue, we see a young Sidney Prescot and her friends go through a terrible time with Ghostface trying to kill them every chance he gets. The twist at the end of having 2 killers, Billy Loomis and Stu Macher (Skeet Ulrich & Matthew Lillard) was shocking to see but exciting to see happen.