Scream Movies in Order: Looking for a slasher film franchise along the lines of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Black Christmas, Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Child’s Play, Candyman, and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Then look into one of the best examples of a meta-horror slasher franchise, “Scream,” which follows the exploits of a psychotic killer who addresses each of his victims by name before murdering them while wearing a ghost face mask. If you want to get a feel for the entire Scream series, here’s a complete rundown of each film in chronological order.
The five films in the American meta-slasher franchise Scream follow Sidney Prescott as she fights off killers who all use the mask of Ghostface to stalk and kill. Sidney has a diverse group of friends, romantic partners, and acquaintances who come and go throughout the course of the series, including town police officer Dewey Riley, tabloid reporter Gale Weathers, and film geek Randy Meeks.
The first film’s combination of a classic slasher film with humor, characters aware of horror film cliches, and a clever plot is often cited as the reason it helped revive the horror genre in the late ’90s. It was one of 1996’s top-grossing movies and held the record for highest slasher film gross until Halloween 2018 came along and snatched it away. Several awards have been bestowed upon the film franchise, such as Campbell’s Saturn Award and MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance, and Scream’s Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. Watching all the Scream movies in order of event will give you the fullest possible understanding of the story.
The Best Order to Watch Scream Film Series Movies
1. Scream (1996)
Legendary director Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street ) re-invented and revitalized the slasher-horror genre with this funny, clever and scary first film in the hit franchise. Scream (1996) follows high school student Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and her group of friends in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, who become the targets of a mysterious killer in a Halloween costume known as Ghostface. After a series of mysterious deaths, an offbeat group of scary movie fans become the target of a masked killer. As the body count begins, it’s clear that the rules must be followed, and everyone’s a suspect.
The film combines black comedy and “whodunit” mystery with the violence of the slasher genre to satirize the clichés of said genre popularized in films such as Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and Craven’s own A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Following its critical and commercial success, the film was praised for its innovative take on the horror genre. The film is credited with reviving the horror subgenre in the mid-1990s and spawning numerous imitations.
2. Scream 2 (1997)
Here’s the incredible follow up to the smash hit phenomenon “Scream!” Scream 2 takes place two years after the first film and again follows the character of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) thought she’d finally put the shocking murders that shattered her life behind her…until a copycat killer begins acting out a real life sequel! Now, as history eerily repeats itself, ambitious reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), deputy Dewey (David Arquette) and other Scream survivors find themselves trapped in a terrifyingly clever plot line where no one is safe or beyond suspicion!
Like its predecessor, Scream 2 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of comedy, satire, and “whodunit” mystery while satirizing the cliché of film sequels. The film did well at the box office and was well-received by critics for its commentary on the power of the media and its deconstruction of the horror film sequel.
3. Scream 3 (2000)
The series continued with Scream 3, takes place three years after the previous film and follows Sidney Prescott (Campbell), who lives in safely guarded seclusion, but bodies begin dropping around the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the latest movie based on the gruesome Woodsboro killings. The escalating terror finally brings Sidney out of hiding, drawing her and the other survivors once again into an insidious game of horror movie mayhem that’s a “suspenseful, clever and very entertaining” installment in the wildly popular Scream franchise.
Similar to the previous entries in the series, this film featured characters who understood the rules and structure of the horror film genre, in this case the rules and structure of the concluding film in a trilogy. Commentators noted that Scream 3 had become similar to the horror films it originally parodied in Scream and Scream 2, leading to its critical and commercial failure.
4. Scream 4 (2011)
The original star-studded cast reunites a decade later in this spine-chilling fourth installment of the $300M-grossing Scream franchise. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell of THE CRAFT), now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courtney Cox), who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends (including Hayden Panettiere), and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger. Legendary director Wes Craven “guides us expertly down a series of blind, bloody alleys”. Like its predecessors, Scream 4 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of black comedy and “whodunit” mystery to satirize the clichés of film remakes.
5. Scream: The TV Series (2015-2019)
The Scream, a television series based on the internationally successful horror film series of the same name, is an outlier in the franchise, but if you’re a completist, the events depicted in the show happen after Scream 4 and before Scream 2022. It is a serialized anthology show about a group of teens who are being targeted by a serial killer who always remains incognito.
In the first two seasons, a young woman named Emma Duval is connected to the horrific events that took place in the fictional town of Lakewood. After a brutal murder in the present, the killer’s primary obsession begins to take hold, and Emma is thrust into the center of the danger. Her loved ones are in danger, so she decides to investigate the strange goings-on in Lakewood in order to find the killer.
Local Atlanta football star Deion Elliot, who is haunted by his tragic past, is the focus of the third season. Deion risks losing not only his future, but also the lives of his friends and family members as Ghostface continues his killing spree, using his darkest secrets against him.
6. Scream (2022)
Similarly to the original film from 25 years ago, this one also begins with a cute teenage girl at home alone and answering an unexpected phone call. Someone male is interested in playing a game with her. Tara is coerced into playing along with the plan to kill her best friend. She is stabbed by a ghost-faced intruder, and she only narrowly escapes with her life. Tara’s high school friends and boyfriend pay a visit to the hospital where she is staying with their older sister Sam(antha), who left home at 18 due to mental health issues.
A short time later, a man provokes the friends in a bar, leading to an attack from Ghostface in the parking lot. He calls Sam while she’s in the hospital, and then he tries to physically assault her, but fails. She tells her sister everything that’s been kept hidden from the family for so long. In an effort to get some answers, Sam reaches out to one of the original victims, Dewey. He alerts Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers, two of the original victims, that Ghostface has returned. Who is this mysterious Ghostface, anyway? Just how many more people will die?
Like its predecessors, Scream (2022) is a satire on the current trend of reboots and legacy sequels that combines the gore and violence of the slasher genre with black comedy and a “whodunit” mystery. The film also serves as commentary on the subculture of horror fans, specifically the chasm that has opened up between “elevated horror” and the slasher films of yesteryear.
7. Scream VI (2023)
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. A direct sequel to Scream (2022), Scream VI is an upcoming sixth installment in the Scream film series, continues with the survivors of the latest Ghostface killings, sisters Samantha and Tara Carpenter and twins Chad and Mindy Meeks, leaving Woodsboro behind and starting a new chapter of their lives in New York City only to again be plagued by a streak of murders by a new Ghostface killer. Scream VI is set to be released in the United States on March 10, 2023, by Paramount Pictures.
How many Scream movies are there?
An American meta-horror slasher media franchise that includes SIX (6) films, begins with Scream (1996) and will concludes with Scream 6 (2023). Also a television series, that follows a group of teenagers being stalked and targeted by a masked serial killer. So enjoy this Clever, quick, and bloody funny Scream in Order.
All Scream Movies in Order of Release Date
Here is the list of Scream Films in order, they were released.
Films:
1. Scream — December 20, 1996
2. Scream 2 — December 12, 1997
3. Scream 3 — February 4, 2000
4. Scream 4 — April 15, 2011
5. Scream 5 — January 14, 2022
6. Scream 6 — March 10, 2023
Television:
1. Scream (TV series) — 2015 — 2019
FAQs:
1. Are the Scream movies all connected?
A. The 25-year arc of the Scream films, including the upcoming one in 2022, all contribute to a single narrative. So we can say that all the Scream movies are connected to each other.
2. What order should you watch Scream?
If you want to get a feel for the entire Scream series, then watch All Scream movies in chronological order of event, that will give you the fullest possible understanding of the story.
3. Do you need to watch Scream movies before Scream 5?
A reboot abandons continuity and reimagines characters, storylines, and plot in order to mimic an existing franchise, while a sequel faithfully follows in the footsteps of its predecessors. This means 2022’s Scream is definitely a sequel, because Scream stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox all play their original roles of Sidney Prescott, Dewey Riley, and Gale Weathers, respectively in their return to Woodsboro. The hype surrounding the movie had already built up this knowledge among fans for quite some time. There is even a cameo appearance by Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), one of the original Ghostface killers from the original 1996 Scream. So you should most certainly watch all previous of Scream film series.
4. Does Scream and Halloween take place in the same universe?
A. Contradictorily, the worlds of Scream 3 and Halloween H20 are the same. Most meta-narratives only work in one direction, like how the Scream films use the fictional Stab films to comment on the Scream films.
5. Is Scream a successful franchise?
A. Scream is an American horror slasher franchise that includes five films, a television series, merchandise, and games. The film series has grossed over $740 million in worldwide box-office receipts.
6. Are any of the Scream movies connected?
A. To emulate a franchise, a reboot discards continuity and re-creates characters, storylines, and plot, whereas a sequel continues the original movies’ storyline and plot. This means that Scream 2022 is unquestionably a sequel will conclude with upcoming 2023’s Scream 6. However, it is more accurate to classify Scream as a legacy sequel.
Conclusion:
Watching Scream movies in chronological order, gives you non-stop high thrilling of a slasher film franchise, “Scream“. Luckily, chronologically and by release date are the same. The order in which you do these things is up to you now. But when we watch it, we prefer to do so in order.
Thanks for Visit!
