All 6 ‘Scream’ Movies Ranked, from the 1996 Original to ‘Scream VI’

When Wes Craven finished “Scream 3” in 2000, the legendary horror director and his star-studded cast swore they had completed their trilogy. But just like a slasher victim who claims he’ll “be right back,” they all spoke too soon. 11 years later, Craven would reunite with Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox for “Scream 4”: an entirely self-aware sendup of the genre’s past decade of evolution and their own hilariously misguided comments. That dramatic irony set the stage for Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin to take over the franchise in 2022 with debatable bang in the form of “Scream,” a love-it-or-hate-it “re-quel” that riffed on the trend of horror franchises that try to reboot themselves while bringing back beloved leads as supporting characters. The wait for the next “Scream” movie wasn’t nearly as long, as Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin delivered the Manhattan-set “Scream VI” just a year later.

The slightly-less-meta nature of “Scream VI” made it clear that this franchise doesn’t need to tie itself to film industry trends to thrive — and its early critical and commercial success suggest that there’s no reason to think it’ll end soon. The latest film’s producers recently told IndieWire that they hope the series will continue forever, so horror fans should strap in for another 26 years of Ghostface stabbings!

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If you’re even moderately curious about the “Scream” franchise, this is the perfect time to dive in. While new viewers should watch the films in chronological order to keep up with the endlessly self-referential jokes, it’s always fun to debate the merits of the seemingly endless sequels. Keep reading for our rankings of the six “Scream” movies that have been released so far.

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