Ranking the Scream movies (before Scream 5): Which one is the best?

Before the arrival of Scream 5, we’re ranking all previous Scream movies! Please note there are major spoilers ahead if you have not seen the movies.

What’s your favorite horror movie series? Here at Hidden Remote, the Scream franchise is at the top of our list. The original movie saw massive success when it premiered in theaters on December 1996 and spawned three sequels and even an MTV sequel series. The Scream movies revitalized the horror genre by poking fun at it while also creating a compelling narrative in its own right.

In the original film, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is a high-schooler living in the town of Woodsboro, California, and struggling with grief a year after the murder of her mother. When a masked killer deemed Ghostface begins a murder spree on Woodsboro, Sidney quickly becomes the main target. As she tries to stay alive, she must confront her mother’s past and be wary of who to trust.

While the series serves up a healthy dose of scares, there are plenty of comedic moments to be found throughout the films as Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson poke fun at horror movie tropes.

Let’s take a look at each installment in the Scream franchise from the worst to the best. SPOILER ALERT! Spoilers ahead if you are not caught up on the Scream movies.

Ranking the Scream movies before Scream 5

4. Scream 2 (1997)

Scream 2 is not a bad film by any means, but it doesn’t offer any surprises, at least none that shock audiences. The body count is bigger, and the deaths are gorier, but I’ve got a problem with a horror whodunit when I can suss out the killers from a mile away.

As a result, the killer reveals are nowhere near as revealing as the original movie, and so we’re left with only a gorefest. Still, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette give solid performances and set themselves up as an exciting core group for the rest of the series.

3. Scream 3 (2000)

The biggest problem I had with Scream 3? The film’s supporting characters, besides Sarah Darling and Jennifer Jolie, are lackluster. As a result, I couldn’t get invested enough to care about their deaths, which made the murder spree come off as yet another gorefest.

2. Scream 4 (2011)

Scream 4, like all movie remakes, introduces us to a new generation of characters; however, Scream 4 doesn’t forget who’s the protagonist of the series. There’s a good balance between the stories of the old generation versus the new generation, so it never feels like the new characters are taking attention away from the characters that we’ve known and loved for three movies.

What’s more? These newer characters are probably the most compelling group of characters since the original Scream film. They are a dynamic group that works well together much like the original cast, which makes it all the more shocking when Jill and Charlie are revealed to be the killers.

1. Scream (1996)

Of course, you can’t beat the original. The opening scene that sees Drew Barrymore as the first on-screen victim of the Ghostface killer left jaws dropping in the theater in 1996 and does so today. From there, we’re introduced to our final girl Sidney Prescott and her group of friends.

Aside from serving up the scares, the movie is hilarious thanks to Jamie Kennedy and a young and bumbling Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and it’s a pleasure to see Courtney Cox depart from her Friends persona for a character that’s a bit more antagonistic.

The cast is great, the movie is full of lines that I’ll be repeating in casual conversation for weeks, and is a must-see for any true horror fan. It truly is the whole package.

Do you agree with our ranking? What are you favorite Scream moments? Will Scream 5 rank high or low on this list? Don’t miss the movie in theaters on Jan. 14, 2022.