Ranking The Scream Franchise!

Having just recently watched Scream VI (2023), it got me thinking about the series again. I love the original three movies and number four quickly joined them (I think it's the most underrated of all the movies), but with these two new ones, I'm not as impressed with them. Don't get me wrong they have their moments, they just feel off to me. Maybe as I rank them it'll be more clear as to why that is. But for now let's get into the ranking!

 

Be warned, there will be spoilers from here on out!

6. Scream (2022)

For me this is worst one of the entire franchise thus far.

 I didn't like most of, if not all, of the new characters in this entry. Hardly any of them felt like actual characters to me. Pretty much all of them spoke in nothing but movie-meta dialogue. And it got real annoying, real quick. It felt like it couldn't trust it's audience anymore to pick up on the, more than well, established rules; and when every character chimes in on them it just becomes static at that point. And I know the other movies had the characters have movie-meta dialogue, but here it felt overblown and tedious.

The only character I liked was Dewey. And they killed him! Look, I'm all for killing off characters in a story. It's a great way to get some extra emotional pay offs and can be used to motivate the audience to rally behind the remaining characters to survive and get justice for the one who has fallen. But not only was there no real weight (besides shock value) behind his death (The audience probably grieved more at his passing than any of the characters in the movie!), but they handled his character poorly. I think David Arquette did well with how the character was written. I'm all for trying to explore different aspects of a character, I just wasn't sold that this was the correct way to go.

But, I think for me, my main issue has to deal with the killers and their motivation--mostly their motivation. Richie and Amber were just bland retreads of Billy and Stu. But their motive is the most eye-roll inducing one of the whole franchise; and considering most of the films it's just about some sort of revenge, that's saying a lot. Listen, you can have a social commentary in a slasher movie, I think it can be fine. Scream 4 had one, so it's nothing new to the series. However, I think the whole "toxic fandom" angle is weak, and already feels dated. Not everyone spends all their time online or in subreddits, so their motive feels like it only speaks too a certain demographic as opposed to more universal ideas.  And it brings in the question: "what exactly is a 'toxic fan'?". Is it just someone who doesn't like where their favorite franchise is heading? Or is it just for the ones that say vile things from behind the safety of their keyboards? But what about the people who just like to troll others? How do you separate unhappy fans with genuine criticisms from the ones that are being truly nasty, from the ones that just want to watch the world burn? Because I've seen people argue with fans that might have genuine concerns or criticisms; calling them toxic for their opinions.

Don't even get me started on Force ghost Billy Loomis.

I  just re-watched the movie for a second time as of writing this portion of my ranking. And while I still stand by my comments above, I will say that I wasn't bored while watching it. So it's got that going for it. And Ghostface will never not be a fun slasher villain.

 

5. Scream VI (2023)

Where to start with this? I guess I'll start with the positives and go from there.

Ghostface is at his most brutal here and I'm all for it. Other films in the series toyed with it a little, but here he definitely felt more menacing. That scene in the convenience store was great as well as the subway scene(though I wish it hadn't been spoiled in the trailers)! Roger Jackson delivered, what I think, is his best performance as The Voice to date. I like the New York setting for the most part. And I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the returning characters. It was nice that they weren't all speaking as much movie-meta dialogue and that they felt a little closer to real characters. And I'm definitely intrigued to see where they go with Sam in the next one as they keep giving her a little more of an edge as a final girl with her more violent tendencies. And the cold opening was really fun. Seeing all the nods to the previous films in the shrine room was a blast. As well as seeing two Ghostfaces on screen at the same time was fun. And who doesn't like seeing Kirby again?

However, the rest of the movie is a bit of a mess. 

Let's get this out of the way; I know it's a movie and characters can survive a lot if the writers want them to, but I think this movie takes it to a new level! Pretty much all the characters get torn up in one fashion or another and NONE of the main characters die; I'm looking at you Gale and Chad. And it goes against this being a more brutal Ghostface. Not to mention it was okay to kill Dewey in the last one to raise the stakes, but the other legacy character in this movie is allowed to live. It makes his death feel even more cheap here. 

 But the story is just a rehash. If Scream (2022) was retreading certain plot points from the first Scream, then this movie is just taking certain things from Scream 2. Mainly with the plot line with having a family member seeking revenge for the death of another that was the previous Ghostface. Scream 2 it was Billy's mother; here all they did was ramp it up to Richie's dad, brother and sister. And the finale of both films take place in some sort of theater. On one hand, it's fine if that's part of the commentary they are trying to make on the state of current horror films. But on the other, it's very tired to see as a fan of the series. It starts to make you question whether, or not, the writers can deliver a truly fresh take on the material.

Finally, besides all that, this is probably the sloppiest movie in the franchise in terms of writing. There are two to three scenes that are strictly for the audience that make no sense if you re-watch. Who is the scene for when Ghostface is standing over Quinn--who's taking to her dad--and Danny is the only to see it? Two of the three killers are in the same room, with one on the phone with the last, for no reason. None of the other characters are here, so why the big charade? It's simply for the first time viewing and nothing more. Or how about Gale being an investigative journalist, who wrote a book about the previous events within a year of it happening, and doesn't know what Richie's family look like. At least in Scream 2 there's a throw away line to sort of explain why Gale didn't recognize Nancy Loomis. But in Scream VI there's nothing.

All in all, just as with the last one, I wasn't bored watching this movie. I felt like I was reasonably entertained. And at the end of the day, while I'm still not the biggest fan of these newer films, I'm entertained enough that I am curious to see what's in store for the next installment.

 

4. Scream 3 (2000)

I'm sure some of you are losing your mind that I put this one higher than the last two. And while I'm very aware of the many faults this movie has, it has a certain cheesy, Scooby-Doo charm to it that I still enjoy. Except for that Jay and Silent Bob scene. Nothing against the characters, but they did not need to be in this movie.

The killer being Sydney's long-lost half-brother is both a fun idea and kinda goofy at the same time. On on hand it helps deepen the lore a little bit without being too absurd. But, then again, we're just expected to believe that this one person is solely responsible for all of the events up to this point; it's sort of an odd choice. Though, I like that he's the only solo Ghostface at this time.

I will say I'm not a fan of the new voice changer. That idea truly does take a lot of willingness from the audience to go along with it. One paper, it's a neat idea but in practice it falls kinda flat. Roger Jackson's work is always good, but the voice changer having the ability to mimic other voices is silly and a wasted potential. It's only used a handful of times and every time you know that it's the killer talking. Imagine how tense the scenes would be if you really didn't know!

And while this movie doesn't have the strongest characters out of the whole franchise--in fact most of them are just either poorly written or borderline parodies--it does alright by the core three for the most part. Sydney gets her happy ending, and Dewey and Gale try again to make things work. Honestly if you only watched the first three movies, you'd get a reasonably satisfying ending to their story. And I think that's why it ranks higher for me than the other two.

 

3. Scream 4 (2011)

To this day I still think this is the most underrated of the series! Though I'd like to think many more people have the same mindset.

I think one of the biggest problems this film has is that it feels a little too similar to the first one. Though, that "been there, done that" feel does feel like it's on purpose since it was commenting on the state of horror remakes at the time. But beyond that, I do think this one was a little ahead of its time when it released. Not only do you have a character live streaming many moments in his life trying to get those ever important clicks and views, but I think the killer's motive was a little ahead of the times as well. Fame through being a victim is something that is nothing new but with the rise of online social media, influencers, and that constant need for attention, I think this motive is way more interesting than what Scream 5 was trying to do. And has a broader appeal.

But beyond that I think the characters are decent enough here. They're mostly likeable, with Kirby obviously being the standout favorite. But the returning core three are always the best parts of these movies (outside of Ghostface of course), and something that I wanted to mention somewhere on this list. To me, they are what helps further separate these movies from other in the genre. Because it was never a solo survivor story, it was about a trio of survivors and I really enjoyed that aspect of the series. 

And Ghostface making a return to form and being brutal in his methods was good to see again after having his claws trimmed for the past two movies.

2. Scream 2 (1997)

I debated on either this one or Scream 4 in this spot, but ultimately decided Scream 2 should take it. While it's got some problems, I still think it's a solid follow-up to the first film. And I think a lot boils down to how they handle Sydney in this one. She grew in this film, not unlike Ellen Ripley from Alien to Aliens or Sarah Connor from The Terminator to T2. Maybe not in a battle-hardened sense but she's more savvy to what's going on and is more willing to confront her fears. Which carries over to the rest of the sequels. And the cold opening is good; showing Ghostface claiming a victim surrounded by a ton of potential witnesses. My main gripe with the movie is that it doesn't ramp up the carnage candy, like Randy says is supposed to happen. It feels a little tame; Scream 3 would suffer even more from this as well. And at times the "teen" drama takes a little too much center stage.

I do wonder what this film would've been like if the script hadn't leaked.

1. Scream (1996)

Was there any doubt that this would take the top spot? 

What is there to say about this that hasn't already been said? Well known that it helped revive the slasher genre; and it still holds up well today--minus some of the technology. And that cold opening has gone down as one of the best shocks in, not only in this series, but in the broader slasher genre as a whole. 

And really, there's not much more to say. You all know what a classic horror movie this is!

But that's my ranking of the Scream franchise! What do you think? Do you agree with it or no? How would you rank the series? Let me know in the comments! I hope everyone has a great day!