Okay, so Scream VI is right around the corner, so I figure now is the best time to give my as-of-now ranking on all the Scream films as I'm sure it'll change come March 10.
Okay, let's get it...
1. Scream
Years ago this would've been a no-brainer, putting the original first. But nowadays it seems to be sliding down a lot of fans' rankings. Weird. But it's still numero uno in my book. It literally changed the horror landscape of the '90s and it's still felt to this day.
2. Scream 2
"Stab 2?! Who would wanna do that? Sequels suck!" Oh, hush, Randy. Scream 2 is the ultimate slasher sequel. It takes everything we loved about the original and amps it up and changes things just enough to not be a carbon copy of its predecessor. This movie created a whole new sub-sub-genre in the slasher sub-genre: the meta movie-within-a-movie premise. And again, that made lasting waves throughout the late '90s and into the 2000s. It's a template that the Scream universe continues to pull from to this day.
3. Scream 4
A year ago I would have put Scream (2022) in this spot. I don't know what the hell happened, but Scream 4 is climbing in the ranks and dare I say, gets better with each viewing. It's a whole vibe. A safe bonus chapter to the original trilogy. And it's fun!
4. Scream (2022)
Okay, so the requel may have dropped one spot in my personal ranking, but that really is in no way a reflection of the movie itself (it has more to do with me liking Scream 4 more and more). This entry was clearly a labor of love and it shows throughout the entire runtime. It's a definite breath of fresh air in a franchise that set stagnant for over 10 years between theatrical entries.
5. Scream 3
Once upon a time, in February 2000, a [much] younger Nick would've put Scream 3 in the top spot of his ranking. To be honest, I loved it. It was amazing. It was everything I wanted...and then I grew up. I'm okay with the toned-down violence. I'm okay with the hokey Scooby-Doo-esque unfolding. I'm okay with dipping back into the meta-movie pool. I'm kind of okay with the futuristic voice changer (although I still don't love it). But what I don't love, and never will...is the brother-sister twist. Stop. Just stop. In hindsight, it just plays out like a major cop-out for a series that continually raised the bar. "But, but, it's like Star Wars! And Halloween!" Yeah, and it doesn't work for those either, in my opinion. Hell, even Halloween finally retconned that storyline.
I just feel cheated. If they were so dead-set on a brother-sister angle then they could've had Detective Kincaid revealed to be Sidney's brother...and have Roman just be a psychotic director who knows his movie will bomb and is taking extreme measures to make the movie relevant and sell tickets.
Okay, I've rambled about Scream 3 for far too long now.
I'll update this after March 10.
What's your personal ranking, pre-Scream VI?
