The entertainment team at Esquire (mostly!) agrees on many things—like the best
Marvel and A24 movies—however, Scream is one cinematic universe we very much don’t agree on. Actually, it’s just that I respectfully disagree with my co-worker, Sirena. We’re both avid fans of the series who love discussing anything and everything Ghostface, so when Scream VI was announced, we took the opportunity to chat about our favorite moments in the franchise.
The original opening scene with Drew Barrymore? Iconic. The backstory on Sidney’s mother? A sad but necessary reveal. The brutal slaying of our favorite legacy character in Scream 5? Tragic and totally uncalled for! That we can agree on. But when it came to ranking the films from best to worst, we were stumped. Maybe it’s because the Scream franchise is so impeccable, that even its worse entries are still leagues better than most slasher flicks.
Either way, our impasse was a sign that our discussion was far more important than office chatter. If Sirena and I were struggling to rank each film, we knew others out there were probably stuck, too. So, in an act of journalistic bravery, we both devoured the series (once again!) and decided to find an answer once and for all. After rewatching the films, we finally managed to come to an agreement. What you’ll see below comes from hours worth of research and debate. A list so thoughtfully compiled, we hope Wes Craven himself would be proud.
Without further ado, here is our ranking of every Scream movie, from best to worst.