All 6 Scream movies, ranked from worst to best

1. Scream

The original Scream revived the slasher genre when it premiered in 1996, and for that reason (and many others) it’s the best in the series. At the time of its release, meta-horror movies weren’t mainstream. Audiences were instantly pulled in by the satirical elements which poked fun at classic slashers like Halloween (1978). But of course, Scream isn’t exactly a comedy. Craven and Williamson crafted a story that’s both witty and frightening. The movie does not shy away from violence or gore and it continues to subvert expectations until the very end.

There are so many iconic scenes in Scream, I don’t even know where to start. So let’s just begin with the opening, which is probably the most memorable of any in the series. We get to know high schooler named Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore, who’s home alone when she gets a prank phone call from someone with an ominous voice. Though the call starts off innocently enough, she soon realizes this person is dangerous and will hurt her and her loved ones if she doesn’t escape. She has an extremely brutal death scene that leaves a lasting impact on viewers.

Horror movies have evolved a lot since the ’90s, but at the time Scream came out, it was not often that audiences said goodbye to who they thought was the main character in the opening scene. The original Scream introduces what some might call the “sacrificial lamb” trope, killing off a character very early on to establish that no one is safe. Every Scream movie to follow features an opening reminiscent of the Casey Becker scene, whether that’s a prank phone call or a ruthless murder. (Or both).

After that, we meet a high school-age Sidney Prescott, whose mother was tragically murdered about a year prior. While trying to work through her trauma, she has to deal with her boyfriend Billy Loomis, who seems to have good enough intentions but pressures her for sex and doesn’t understand why she’s still mourning. After the first murders of the movie are committed, Sidney is targeted by Ghostface and it’s not until the very end that she discovers who the murderer is…well, murderers.

As it turns out, there are two people who have been dressing up like Ghostface: Billy and their friend from school, Stu Macher. Using a voice changer for all of the phone calls, the two have been after Sidney after murdering her mother for sleeping with Billy’s father; that affair led to his parents’ split. Just like the famous opening scene, the big Ghostface reveal in the original Scream started the trend that the rest of the movies would all follow. But none have been as great as the first one.

Billy and Stu’s reveal has, hands down, the best dialogue in the entire series, featuring some of the most memorable quotes in horror movie history, like Stu’s “Movies don’t create psychos, movies make psychos more creative!” Ulrich and Lillard have the most incredible, deranged chemistry that no other Scream movie has ever matched.

We also get to know Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley, two characters who go on to become fan favorites. There’s so much that the original Scream gets right and little to nothing it gets wrong, making it still the best movie in the franchise to this day.

Grade: A+

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