Each of the Scream movies features at least one standout horror sequence, and the scariest of these boasts some of the strongest filmmaking in slasher movie history. The entire Scream franchise walks a tonal тιԍнтrope that many imitators have tried and failed to replicate.

Following a doomed group of self-aware teens hunted by a masked murderer, the series allows its heroes to constantly comment on the peril they face and the various horror movie clichés they encounter along the way. In an ingenious twist, the Scream franchise’s killers are just as obsessed with slasher movies as their victims.

As such, the self-awareness of the stars never feels like it is enough to save them. It is not yet clear whether the upcoming sequel Scream 7 will be able to recapture this magic after numerous high-profile cast exits and a lengthy, troubled production. However, what is clear is that the existing Scream movies balance scares and laughs peerlessly.

Since the series began, the Scream franchise has done an impressive job of crafting genuinely scary, suspenseful sequences in a story populated by characters who are ostensibly too savvy to fall for an average slasher villain’s tricks. This requires the writers and directors to get more creative and ambitious, resulting in some unforgettably creepy death scenes and chases.

6

Anika’s Death — Scream VI

Regardless of which Scream 7 theories turn out to be true, the movie’s ending is unlikely to be as convoluted as the denouement of its predecessor. In many ways, Scream VI’s opening half is more streamlined and sleeker than Scream (2022).

In the absence of Neve Campbell’s series heroine Sidney Prescott, the sequel can straightforwardly focus on Scream’s surviving sisters, Sam and Tara Carpenter. However, the ending fumbles this advantage royally with an overlong climax that boasts too many killers and too much exposition of their motive.

As weak as the ending might be, Scream VI’s apartment attack is legitimately nerve-wracking. By this point in the sequel, the new version of Ghostface has proven itself to be uniquely brazen, even confronting Sam and Tara while wielding a sH๏τgun in a busy bodega.

However, it is the scene where the teens must climb across a ladder to escape from one apartment building to another that is truly chilling. Although the main characters survive the journey, Mindy’s short-lived girlfriend Anika has the misfortune of going last and falls to her grisly death when Ghostface rattles the ladder beneath her.

5

Wes and Judy’s Deaths — Scream (2022)

While Anika’s death is viciously brutal, Scream (2022) features a one-two punch that is even more unsettling. Of all the teens introduced in the movie’s opening half, Dylan Minette’s Wes Hicks seems particularly safe. The son of Scream 4’s likable Deputy Judy Hicks, the character is also named after Wes Craven, the late director of Scream 1-4.

Wes is also played by Dylan Minette, known for his starring roles in Don’t Breathe, Goosebumps, and 13 Reasons Why. As one of the bigger names on the cast list, Wes seemed comparatively safe in Scream’s legacy sequel. However, his drawn-out death instead proved just how merciless the movie would become.

First, Wes is followed through the house by an unseen killer as countless goofy jump scares both function as Scream 2022’s tribute to Wes Craven and simultaneously serve to disarm the viewer’s defenses. Then, the killer calls Judy to gloat about Wes’s impending death, thus tricking her into getting home as fast as possible.

As nasty as Wes’s sudden death is, the revelation that the killer lured Judy home to stab her in broad daylight is genuinely shocking. Marley Shelton’s sweet, awkward Judy was a welcome addition to both Scream 4 and Scream (2022), making this brutal death a harsh reminder of the franchise’s unforgiving side.

4

Rebecca’s Death — Scream 4

As noted above, Scream 4 is arguably the lightest Scream sequel in terms of tone. Scream 3’s comedic elements are often criticized for limiting its impact as a horror, but the tragic backstory of Sidney’s unseen mother is uniquely upsetting given the MeToo movement’s revelations about Hollywood’s history of abuse.

In contrast, Scream 4 is mostly content to have a lot of quippy fun with its teen heroes, and the movie almost seems sad to kill off some of its leads. It is perhaps no surprise that Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby Reed returned in Scream VI, considering how popular the supporting star proved with audiences.

Thus, when Alison Brie’s over-the-top publicist Rebecca was introduced, viewers knew they were in for a great kill. Sidney’s publicist is an outlandishly ghoulish, heartless figure who immediately tries to capitalize on her client’s grief and trauma to sell books, so it is no shock when Sidney fires her and she soon meets a brutal end.

What is surprising is just how brutal that end is. Followed through a multi-story hospital car park alone at night, Rebecca is subjected to one of the franchise’s most intense chase sequences as Ghostface traps her in her car. Brie’s character is unexpectedly resilient, escaping and almost arriving at the safety of an emergency exit before the vicious, inevitable final blow.

3

Cotton Weary’s Death — Scream 3

While Rebecca’s amoral approach to the entertainment industry makes her a blatant villain, the reintroduction of Liev Schrieber’s Cotton Weary in Scream 3’s opening scene is more complicated. The man was falsely imprisoned for the death of Sidney’s mother for years and almost ended up unfairly implicated in the mᴀssacre from Scream 2’s ending, so he deserves his newfound fame.

That said, the moment that Craven’s more broadly comedic sequel introduces an obnoxiously rich version of the character, who has cashed in on his infamy by hosting a radio talk show, it is obvious that Cotton Weary won’t survive Scream 3’s opening scene. As such, it is impressive to see just how much tension Craven still extracts from his ordeal.

While Scream 3’s ending might be an overwritten mess, Cotton’s death invovles some legitimately superb filmmaking. The tension starts while Cotton is still trapped in traffic, realizing the killer is in his house and targeting his girlfriend while armed with a voice changer that can imitate Cotton’s voice.

By the time Cotton arrives, viewers are split between worrying about him and his girlfriend, and the ensuing chase through his lavish Hollywood Hills mansion is an endurance test for the audience’s nerves. Finally, when the killer demands to know Sidney’s hiding place, Cotton’s final act of defiance proves he is an unexpectedly brave, heroic character, making his death all the more tragic.

2

The Car Crash — Scream 2

Speaking of endurance tests, Scream 2 is the scariest movie in the franchise in terms of all-time great suspense set-pieces. While there are plenty of issues with its heavily rewritten ending, the level of horror filmmaking that Craven is operating on in this sequel is beyond reproach.

Cece’s sorority house chase, Randy’s death, and the soundproof studio sequence all deserve a place in this rundown, and this is without even mentioning the infamous opening sequence and Scream 2’s film-within-a-film Stab 2. However, Scary Movie’s absurd parody made the movie theater killings and the sorority house change easier to laugh off on a re-watch.

As such, those two can be taken out of the running. Randy’s death, while unexpected, is so sudden that it isn’t as tense as it might have been, and its horror is undercut by a goofy gag about a pᴀssing beatbox muffling the noise of his screams. In contrast, the soundproof studio chase where Dewey and Gale are pursued by Ghostface is terrifying.

However, Dewey does survive this encounter, making the car crash the movie’s true standout horror sequence. When the killer attacks the two cops transporting Sidney to safety at a red light, they end up causing a brutal car crash that skewers the skull of the surviving cop and leaves the killer lying unconscious across the front seat.

To escape, Sidney must climb over the still-masked killer, resisting the urge to discover their idenтιтy lest they awake and attack again. The resulting scene is a uniquely terrifying nerve-shredder that still hasn’t been equaled, despite how many movies borrowed from Scream 2’s car crash sequence.

1

The Opening Sequence — Scream

Despite how strong the scares are throughout Scream 2, the best sequence in the entire franchise is still its killer opening salvo. The death of Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker in Scream’s opening scene launched the entire franchise, not to mention spawning countless imitations and reviving the entire slasher horror subgenre.

What makes Scream’s opening scene so terrifying is its brutal simplicity. The unseen killer’s psychological torture of Barrymore’s heroine is legitimately harrowing, and all the dark humor and self-aware meta-jokes do nothing to disarm the star’s heartbreaking performance. Scream’s opening scene is as tragic as it is violent, something later sequels largely abandoned in favor of less excruciating thrills.

While the opening scene is perfectly paced, it is Craven’s decision to draw out Casey’s struggle that makes this sequence resonate the most. The Scream franchise never topped this vicious, visceral death, but the movies never needed to return to a place as dark as the original movie’s opening scene once the first movie established its ruthless edge.