The Scream series has always been a trailblazer in the world of horror and meta commentary despite being a relatively late-arrival to the genre. And when it comes to sequels, specifically horror/slasher sequels, no other franchise can touch Scream's unique approach.
Let's start with 1997's Scream 2. It's stated early on in the film that "sequels suck," and this due mostly to the way most horror sequels were handled. Most horror sequels, from most franchises, didn't really care about furthering a story or continuing a story. Rather, said villain gets slapped into a new movie with a new cast and a new story. Team Scream wasn't having any of that. Scream 2 puts its survivors from the 1996 film in a new setting and plot that is the direct result of the events of the previous movie. Scream 2 picks up exactly where it needs to and does exactly what it has to.
Now here's where the franchise gets interesting: 2000's Scream 3. And this is very much part of the Wes Craven-Kevin Williamson synchronization and something Craven was already familiar with. Instead of sequelizing Scream 2, Scream 3 almost plays like a direct sequel to the original Scream. Craven had already experienced this with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. And this could very well be a product of following the rules of trilogy filmmaking; the third movie always goes back to the beginning. The events of Scream 2, though not retconned, do not directly affect the plot of Scream 3 (except maybe Sidney living in isolation). Okay, this works, and we accept it.
The trilogy was complete. Until 2011. Scream 4 comes and goes. Some love it, some hate it. That's okay. Because Scream 4 pulled a page from the Scream 3 playbook by once again sequelizing the original movie. It's the "anniversary entry" that didn't need to rely on the events of the second or third movie to continue the story of Scream; again, playing out like another direct 1996 sequel. Playing off the remake fad of the mid-2000s, this gives Scream 4 the perfect excuse to once again sequelize 1996. Scream 4 also manages to protect the value of the original trilogy by not undoing any of it. Instead, Scream 4 is a safe entry that works as a bonus chapter to the trilogy (even though it was to be the start of a second trilogy that never saw fruition).
Another decade would pass. And in 2022, we got the franchise's meta requel entry. What's a requel, you ask? A requel is typically an entry in a franchise that ignores all sequels and basically works as a new part two. But this is Scream. Every entry is canon. It all matters. But yet again, by focusing on the requel trend, Scream (2022) is able to sequelize the events of the 1996 original and keep the rest of the series safely intact.
It's really quite incredible. Almost every sequel works as a direct sequel to the original, yet they all are part of the overall franchise arc. In fact, it wasn't until 2023's Scream VI that the franchise took a step it hasn't taken since 1997. Scream VI was the first sequel since Scream 2 to sequelize the previous entry; Scream VI is very much a direct sequel to Scream (2022).
Scream was able to pull this off successfully by not retconning anything. And even though several of the sequels make mention of and acknowledge other entries, each sequel still works and plays out like an alternate part two.
This is one of the toughest series to rank as a fan because none of the entries are in competition with one another, they all exist on their own plane, and they all do something or say something different. Scream is unique. Scream doesn't follow the rules, we've known this since 1996. Scream makes its own rules.
The sequels of the Scream series are able to maintain their high appeal because no sequel has tarnished another entry. It's high time this is acknowledged and applauded. This is a horror franchise that doesn't have a bad entry!
Now the question becomes...what will 2026's Scream 7 do? A sequel to Scream VI? Or another "anniversary movie" that exists solely because the original exists?
Sound off and let us know what route you think Scream 7 will take!
