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Ranking The “Scream” Movies
No. 6Scream 3 (2000) Horror movie franchises tend to jump the shark at some point. Scream 3 (2000) pokes fun at this nature…but also falls into the same trap itself. […]
No. 6
Scream 3 (2000)
Horror movie franchises tend to jump the shark at some point. Scream 3 (2000) pokes fun at this nature…but also falls into the same trap itself. The setting for Scream 3 is right up my alley. It is set on the set of a horror movie. It is on the set of Stab 3, and we are literally revisiting old Scream scenes and settings. We are back in Sydney’s old bedroom. We see the garage from the original and the kill spot Ghost Face admires.
Scream 3 is about the wrap-around. It is about bringing things full circle. Randy (Jamie Kennedy) comes back with a death tape and reminds Dewey, Sidney, Gale and company that trilogies are rare in the horror world, but they always bring it back to the origin and put a new hue on the stories origins. Spoilers a bit here for a movie that is 23 years old, Maureen Prescott is back as a pivotal anchoring point. This rendition of Ghostface reminds Sydney about her roots and is making these killings personal. He is following a similar script we could expect, but the checkpoints are like a classic arcade game.
My issue with Scream 3 is that the editing and flow of the movie is rough. The moments of Ghostface surviving and arriving in a new place are almost supernatural. In the original Scream you have the duel killers which fills this bit if suspension of disbelief. Scream 2 has its moments that are insane, but the characters in the story make you buy into it. In Scream 3, the new characters are not magnetic and we also lose a lot of time with Sydney the character. We spend so much time with Gale, and through the first three movies she is my least favorite character. All of this made Scream 3 a slightly disappointing but still enjoyable romp. It is one of those movies where halfway through my expectations dropped, allowing me to enjoy the film’s conclusion for what it is.
No. 5
Scream 2 (1997)
In terms of a sequel Scream 2 (1997) is not bad at all. Coming out one year after the original, one has to think that Wes Craven had some ideas in his head about how to pike fun at the horror follow-up tropes. The subtle notes are there, but the momentum of the story and plot do not match Scream. The original is clean with nothing left on the cutting room floor, but Scream 2 seems about 10-15 minutes too long. Everything involving the college fraternity and sorority scenes can be trimmed.
The biggest take away from Scream 2 is that there are a FUCK TON of people in this movie. The core returning cast of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette are joined by Jada Pinkett Smith, Omar Epps, Heather Graham, Lieve Schrieber (for real this time), Timothy Olyphant, Sara Michelle Gellar, Jerry O’Connell, and Luke WIlson. Just a whos who of the late 1990s.
Can’t leave Scream 2 without talking about how much I HATED the movie theater in the beginning. That Stab premiere would have be running to the rafters. That is my idea of a premiere at all. I would rather it be filled with quiet murmurs and I would so much prefer they have those comedy sleeves to keep all phones locked up.
It was a very strange thing to be going through my movie list and realizing that I had never seen Scream 2 or Scream 3 (2000) before going through this franchise for this post. I had seen Scream a bunch, but then hopped up to Scream 4 (2011) and Scream (2022). I was unfair to skip it because Scream 2 still manages to be entertaining despite a drop off in quality.
No. 4
Scream (2022)
I wish I liked it more on the rewatch. This first Scream movie since the passing of Wes Craven is a worthy follow-up to Craven’s work, and is even better than some his won sequels. The thing about this Scream is that it missteps at its most crucial point. The ending. Something about the characters of Amber Freeman and Richie Kirsch didn’t click. Is it just me? Am I the only one? It is even a good setup that is well disguised in the movie. To have it take place at Stu Macher’s old house is smart. To have it take place AFTER the party when the trope is that the finale takes place during a party is also smart.
Credit where credit is due. Scream absolutely nailed it with introducing a new younger cast here to stay. It was a great blend. It wasn’t over nostalgic, but it played the necessary hits. We had the necessary reunions and redemptions arcs. Sidney is not shoved down our throats, and the connections to the past that many sequels are based off of (as the Scream movies point out) are unique in the sense that it isn’t about Sidney or her family. This story is about the bad guys and their desire for a story.
Scream, being more modern, does poke fun at elevated horror. There are mentions of Hereditary, The Babadook and others. It pins the idea of those “thoughtful” horror movies with the purely entertainment spectacles. It is a fair argument to make because they are positives attributes on both sides. We have to remember that it is okay to like both!
Looking back at my old review, I was so confused about the half sister thing with Tara and Sam Carpenter that I mixed up who Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera were playing. See, we get better at things. It is a tad bit confusing with Sam Carpenter’s real father being Billy Loomis. I think there are homages here. Loomis is the doctor from Halloween (1978), and Carpenters…well John Carpenter made Halloween. Also there is a character named Wes in the movie.
Scream is good, but it is not great. Maybe it is me having seen this more recently than the original Scream or Scream 4 (2011), but I was able to knit pick a little bit more on some of the smaller aspects. Regardless, still good.
No. 3
Scream 4 (2011)
Was incredibly happy and shocked to see that Scream 4 (2011) still holds up as well as it does.
I remember the first time I saw this movie. I was a freshman in college and I was somehow in town. I remember I went to go see this movie in theaters, and I remember it was the first time (and probably the only time) that I snuck my sister into a rated R movie. I remembered more about that process of getting her the ticket and into the proper screening room than the movie itself, but that made this re-watch all the more enjoyable.
Scream 4 dives deep into the meta incredibly early. It is a movie, within a movie, within a movie. It is attractive women getting killed in multiple stories all in the same way. Right off the bat, Scream 4 attacks the formula that the first used so well it its comedic and satirical advantage. Scream 4 also does a great job poking fun at the horror movie franchises that have gone on far too long; yea I am looking at you Halloween, Hellraiser and Friday The 13th. Dare I say, while Freddy Krueger gets much less scary as he goes on, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) manages to put dutiful bow on the franchise that slipped for a spell.
The Scream franchse? This fourth installment is when it picks up steam. It is a massive step forward from Scream 3 in terms of craft. The movie is acted and framed with more care. This is the last Scream movie that Wes Craven had a part. He passed away four years after it came out, and this as a swan song to one of best franchises is respectful. It is like the decade off allowed him to refocus on what to poke fun at.
The highlights of the movie? I have a new movie crush Hayden Panettiere as Kirby. Besides the fact that the is beautiful, she has horror movie knowledge. I know she doesn’t exist, but when she rattles off all the classic remakes of horror movies while on the phone with Ghostface, I fucking lose it. I fell in love there. The cinema club duo of Robbie and Charlie are the best movie rule givers since Randy in the 1996 original. Scream 4 also amped up the gore, and snuck in different homages to different franchises as well. The kill across the street reminded me of Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) when Glen was murdered horrifically for show.
The tough parts of Scream 4? The whole middle portion where Gale Weathers is the central focus at the Stab movie party in the barn. I am really terrible sorry, but Gale simply doesn’t doesn’t do it for me. Her struggling to write fiction and being married to Dewey just didn’t seem to fit right. Nor her feud with Deputy Judy Hicks and her romantic interest with Dewey.
Luckily the last act of the movie saves it from its second. Scream 4 is the Oreo formula if you like the crunchy bits more. In the end, Jill Roberts, played by Emma Roberts, is a great final villain. The ending duplicates 1996, and Jill is a wonderful two decade older version of Billy. She is fucking nuts. Her self mutilation and final speech is quite top notch.
And you want to know what I just realized, I haven’t mentioned Sidney Prescott at all. And Neve Campbell is in this movie. But it is just the perfect amount. We frankly got the perfect amount of Dewey and Sidney. A whole hearted recommendation for Scream 4.
No. 2
Scream VI (2023)
Scream VI sorted out the biggest issue with 2022’s Scream. I didn’t love Melissa Barrera’s character of Sam Carpenter in her first introduction, but holy shit did detour in the best way possible. Barrera shines in this movie allowing the haunting of her past to foreshadow the darkness inside of her. The twist at the end is pretty damn solid, but the best part of it is that the bad guys are right. Sam is fucked up in the head, and she does have a little bit of that Billy Loomis in her.
Is this a bit of recency bias? I do not think so. I waited a week after watching Scream VI to revisit my rankings, and going through it I still have it as my second favorite of the bunch. There is not as much comedy shot into Scream VI, and the little bits of levities are mainly brought to life by Mindy Meeks-Martin as Jasmin Savoy-Brown. She is upset she guesses wrong on the killer again, and therefore she is the audience because we all guess who we think the killer is going to be.
Jenna Ortega is still great in the horror movie genre, and the reintroduction of Kirby Reed, played by Hayden Pannettiere, fits in more seamlessly that I would have guessed. And guess what, I don’t miss Sidney Prescott. Sure, would have been great to have Neve Campbell, but she is explained away in the movie and after that moment you do not need her. That again is a massive testament to Carpenter and Ortega.
Also the set pieces of the kills are great. The subway kill scene is fucking fantastic. The drama of it pulls at you. At the time you think it unlocks a key answer like in a game of Clue, but the screenplay will remind you that you are an idiot. Ghost Face wielding a shotgun is a lot of fun, and screw anyone who absolutely hates it.
Oh, and to have Samara Weaving be killed first (sorry for spoiler but every Scream movie begins the same) is basically a stamp of approval to her career. One could think negatively that she doesn’t get to last long, but she is in the same breathe as Drew Barrymore, Lucy Hale, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, and Jada Pinkett-Smith. Can we include Jenna Ortega, even though she survives?
Scream VI is proof that Ghostface may be the most bankable horror franchise at the moment. From start to finish, they are all watchable, if not very good.
No. 1
Scream (1996)
Scream (1996) is incredible. Wes Craven’s comedy horror masterpiece starts out fast and doesn’t let up for its entirety. Scream is the first of the franchise, and it stands as the best. Their is a gulf in quality, and nothing sits on the same tier as the original Ghost Face.
There are just so many good one-liners in Scream.
Ghost Face: “Do you like scary movies?”
Casey: “What do you want?”
Ghost Face: “To see what your insides look like.”
Sidney: “Why can’t I be a Meg Ryan movie?”
Billy : Now Sid, don’t you blame the movies. Movies don’t create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!
And then there is the whole rules speech as well. Classic. Incredible. Outstanding.
Part of the reason I love Scream is because it uses Halloween (1978) as its classic example. It uses it as its blueprint for the rules. The start of the movie has Casey playing with a kitchen knife while saying Halloween is one of her favorite movies. Then during the finale of the movie, it’s Halloween that is playing in the background. Scream bookends itself with Michael Myers killing innocents. And it makes sense too when Billy notes to Sid how bad guys without a motive are always scarier. There was never a reason Michael Myers killed, he was just the boogeyman.
Watching Scream knowing the ending makes it a whole different viewing experience. You notice the little things like Billy and Stuart wearing the same boots the first time we meet the group of friends together. The subtle glares. The disappearing characters. When you first watch Scream you get so swept up into it so much that you never notice the subtleties. The rewatch is just as rewarding.
On the physical level, Scream is just terrifying. The kills are gruesome. From Casey being hung from a tree, to Tatum being crushed in a garage door. The terror that Wes Craven shows is part of his expert craftsmanship. There are the little bits of visual storytelling; I fucking love that in the first moments of the movie we see Sid’s dad not be able to get into her bedroom because of her closet door. Later in the movie Sid uses that same door to keep Ghost Face out. No one can say “That’s convenient” because Craven answered that.
Oh, yea I totally forgot that Cotton Weary was played by Liv Schreiber. We see him for just a moment, but he is there. And Wes Craven makes an appearance as Fred, the janitor.
One last thing. The music in Scream is out of this world. There is a remixed slowed down version of Don’t Fear The Reaper, School’s Out rocks out, and even Red Right Hand pops up! The fucking theme song from Peaky Blinders!
When someone asks “What’s your favorite scary movie?”, the answer of Scream would be a perfectly acceptable and correct answer. The movie stands the test of time and remains one of the best of the genre.
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