Horror was in a bad place in the early 90s. The 80s slasher boom, led by Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise, was over, and the genre struggled through the first half of the decade. It was saved by an icon when Wes Craven, the mastermind behind A Nightmare on Elm Street, released perhaps his greatest movie, 1996’s Scream. I was 16 when it came out and was in awe of what I saw on the screen. Millions of others must have been too, because the success of Scream led to a franchise.
Thirty years later, there have been seven Scream movies in total. Some have been great, a few okay, and one really bad. Craven was there for the first four before he sadly passed away in 2015. The franchise has since been handed off to the likes of Radio Silence and Kevin Williamson. Scream 8 has already been announced, and like with the Halloween franchise, I’ll keep turning up for Ghostface no matter how many sequels they pump out.
7
‘Scream 7’ (2026)
Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox in Scream 7Image via Paramount Pictures
I like every Scream movie except for one. Scream 7 is garbage. I already had issues with it being made after Melissa Barrera was fired. I felt icky watching it but was ready to give it a fair shot despite the controversy. Scream 7 does admittedly have a fun opening scene, with Ghotsface getting in a few scary moments and burning Stu Maher’s house down. Sadly, it’s all speeding downhill after that, even though Neve Campbell is back as Sidney Prescott and Matthew Lillard, my favorite Ghostface, is sort of back as Stu.
Scream 7 is stacked with unforgettable characters. Sidney’s daughter, Tatum (Isabel May), and her friends are nothing more than lazy tropes. The A.I. plot, while intriguing on the surface in today’s society, has nothing to say. In fact, the whole film has nothing to say. All of the other movies spoke to the current state of the horror movie world. Not Scream 7. It’s your basic slasher, which is unfortunate since it was directed by Kevin Williamson, the man who wrote the original film. There are a few cool kills and eerie shots, but Scream 7 is a rushed mess, all leading to the absolute worst Ghostface reveal ever. Who thought this was a good idea?
6
‘Scream 3’ (2000)
Lance Henriksen, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Parker Posey have an argument in the movie Scream 3.Image via Dimension Films
Scream 3 isn’t a bad movie. It’s just off, and a sharp dip in quality after the first two films. I try to forgive it because Wes Craven was in a tough situation. The original idea for the final story in the trilogy, written by Kevin Williamson, was going to go big. The plot was supposed to be about a cult of Ghostfaces made of high schoolers who worshipped at the feet of Stu, who is shown to be still alive and in prison! Imagine that movie. Tragically, the 1999 Columbine school shooting forced a change in plot, which is why Scream 3 doesn’t feel fleshed out.
Written instead by Ehren Kruger, Scream 3 is still a fun watch because everyone we love is there. Craven is directing, Sidney Prescott is front and center, and Courteney Cox‘s Gale Weathers and David Arquette‘s Dewey Riley are by her side. There are plenty of fun chase scenes and the idea of a new Ghostface taking on the predators of Hollywood with a story about how Sidney’s mother was exploited and abused by the industry is intriguing, especially when rewatching it today. The script is clunky though and doesn’t quite get it right. Kudos to Scream 3 for having only one Ghostface this time, but the reveal was a letdown. And Courteney, what’s up with those bangs?!
5
‘Scream 6’ (2023)
Ghostface holding a knife in Scream 6Image Via Paramount Pictures
After how well Scream 5 did, Scream 6 was quickly greenlit and came out the next year. This could have led to another sequel that felt rushed. Instead, for the most part, it’s a pretty good movie, and it did it all without Sidney Precott! When Neve Campbell decided to sit this one out over a pay dispute, writers James Vanderbilt and Gary Busick, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had the ultimate question to answer: how do you move on from your iconic final girl?
Thankfully, the team had done a tremendous job of building up a new cast of characters in Scream 5. Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, and Jasmin Savoy Brown easily carry this on their own. Campbell isn’t even missed. Scream 6 is shot well, with plenty of great kills, and an unforgettable opening scene with Samara Weaving, my favorite since the first film. However, Cox’s inclusion in the movie is pointless, and I was shaking my head at how many stab wounds Chad Meeks-Martin could take and survive. The Ghostface reveal didn’t work for me either. The same old routine of multiple people taking off their masks and giving an explanation is getting old.
4
‘Scream 4’ (2011)
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Kate Roberts (Mary McDonnell) try to stop Ghostface from getting in a door in ‘Scream 4’Image via Dimension Films
Eleven years after Scream 3, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson reunited for Scream 4 in what was supposed to be the first film in a new trilogy. When the fourth film underwhelmed at the box office, those plans were nixed. That’s okay. Scream 4 works on its own and doesn’t feel like the setup for something more. The film is smart in its approach to its characters. Campbell, Cox, and Arquette are all back, but Williamson’s script also develops some new, fascinating characters. Everyone loved Hayden Panettiere‘s Kirby Reed so much that Scream 6 brought her seemingly back from the dead.
Scream 4 returned to the smart and chaotic fun missing from a lot of Scream 3, and I was actually surprised by who one of the Ghostface killers was and bought their motivation. The only issues I really have are all of the annoying fake-outs in the opening scene and the weird, foggy look to everything. Still, this is a great if unnecessary sequel. It was Wes Craven’s last film, a fitting end for such a monumental horror legacy.
3
‘Scream 5’ (2022)
Neve Campbell, Melissa Barrera, and Courteney Cox bloodied, bruised, and looking at a person offscreen in Scream 5Image via Paramount
Scream 4 came out at the wrong time. Fans have moved on from slashers. 2022, already having seen the successful return of Michael Myers in a new Halloween trilogy, was the perfect moment to bring Ghostface back. I, like many others, felt uncomfortable with the idea of a Scream 5 at first. How can you make a sequel without Wes Craven? What won me over was how Radio Silence and company approached it. Scream 5 is a bridge from the past to the future. This time, Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter, are the leads. This is their movie, and that’s not a disappointment.
Scream 5 was brutal. The kills are more vicious and gory, and although it was heartbreaking to see Dewey die, it had to happen. This was Scream 5‘s way of saying that we were entering a new era where anything was possible. Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox are there, too, in roles that make sense and don’t feel forced. They need to be here to fight for Dewey’s memory. The only thing holding Scream 5 back is ghost Billy (Skeet Ulrich). I roll my eyes every time. How convenient that Sam is his secret daughter. And now she’s seeing a badly de-aged version of her dad, still wearing the same white T-shirt? What?
2
‘Scream 2’ (1997)
Ghostface attacks Cici (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in ‘Scream 2’Image via Miramax
Scream 2 came out only one year after the first. Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson had to figure out how you top one of the greatest horror movies ever made. You can’t, and they didn’t try to. Scream 2 is a thrilling sequel which raises the stakes and ups the kills like all sequels do, but without attempting too much. It wisely moved the plot away from Woodsboro, California and put Sidney in an Ohio college, where she meets a whole host of new characters and potential killers.
Scream 2 had a fun opening scene with a Ghostface that dared attack a victim in front of an entire movie theater of people. The death of Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) came out of nowhere, and although I wish he had lived, the decision shook everything up and showed that this killer would still be as much of a threat as the last. Scream 2 has plenty of great chase scenes, especially the one involving the death of Cici (Sarah Michelle Gellar). It’s a scary movie, and it doesn’t forget its meta roots either, with the hilarious debut of the Stab franchise. The Ghostface reveals aren’t my favorite, but I was genuinely surprised by one of them. When slashers are so often predictable, that was refreshing.
1
‘Scream’ (1996)
Casey (Drew Barrymore) is terrified while on the phone in the opening of Scream (1996).Image via Dimension Films
There could only be one answer for the top of this list. Scream is one of my all-time favorite movies. Slashers were dead and buried until that first movie came out in 1996. Kevin Williamson’s meta script took the familiar and made it feel new all over again by taking a loving jab at tropes of the subgenre without jumping into full Scary Movie parody territory. There are laughs, for sure, but Scream‘s uniquely designed Ghostface killer is genuinely creepy because, in a world of hulking, silent madmen, this guy uses the phone, not only taunting his victims but forcing them to answer horror movie trivia questions with their life on the line.
Roger L. Jackson’s voice is like a character unto himself. No wonder he’s still playing the part thirty years later. He owns that first scene, the best opening in movie history, in my humble opinion, thank you. Those first 15 minutes are perfection. And it was all a setup for more perfection with amazing characters and a thrilling whodunit. The final half of the movie, all set at Stu’s house, is non-stop mayhem, leading to a Ghostface reveal and ending which does everything right. You hit me with the phone, dick!
Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz Which Oscar Best Picture Is Your Perfect Movie? Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country
Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.
🪜Parasite
🌀Everything Everywhere
☢️Oppenheimer
🐦Birdman
🪙No Country for Old Men
01
What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don’t just entertain — they leave something behind.
02
Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What’s yours?
03
How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.
04
What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?
05
What do you want from a film’s ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?
06
Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what’s even possible.
07
What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.
08
What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.
09
How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.
10
What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?
The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is…
Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.
Parasite
You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it’s ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn’t want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it’s about.
Oppenheimer
You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.
Birdman
You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it’s about. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor’s ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn’t be possible. Michael Keaton’s performance and Emmanuel Lubezki’s restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.
No Country for Old Men
You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.
