The Scream movies in order, as well as the TV series, draw a linear path that results in a terrifying story told pretty much in order. It's almost easy to forget the impact 1996's Scream had on both the slasher genre and horror in general in the decades since its debut. While the early '90s produced some great horror movies, it was something of a fallow period for the genre, but the success of Scream helped revitalize it. Its savage violence, witty meta-awareness, and likable cast saw it become a sensation, and its success spawned many sequels and similar movies like Urban Legends.

Like any long-running series, some entries in the Scream movie franchise are better than others, but they all got creative with the rules and tropes of the genre and never lost their meta quality. In keeping with the trend of turning hit horror franchises into TV series, Scream received its own show in 2015 and was controversial for its decision to drop the iconic Ghostface mask, in addition to having no direct links to the films. Even after a quarter-century, the Scream movies show no signs of going anywhere and continue to spook audiences with each successive generation of horror fans.

How To Watch The Scream Movies In Order

scream 6 ghostface mask
  • Scream (1996)
  • Scream 2 (1997)
  • Scream 3 (2000)
  • Scream 4 (2011)
  • Scream (2022)
  • Scream VI (2023)

Scream (1996)

Casey screaming into the phone in the opening scene of Scream

Released in the middle of the 1990s, director Wes Craven delivered Scream which finally established the tone of '90s horror. The first of the Scream movies in order follows a teenage girl named Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) who is terrorized by a horror movie-obsessed killer. With a cast of stars and a seasoned director at the helm, Scream simultaneously spoofed the overdone slasher genre with meta-commentary, and delivered a truly spooky experience. Perhaps the scariest of the Scream movies, the 1996 original was just disturbingly possible enough to add another layer to its cinematic terror.

Scream 2 (1997)

Sidney, Randy, and others look at something in the distance in Scream 2.

Wasting no time in capitalizing on the overwhelming success of Scream, Scream 2 was a typical horror sequel in many ways, which had a meta quality all its own. When murders occur at a preview screening of Stab, the movie based on the events of the first Scream film, Sidney is stalked by a copycat killer. Scream 2 cleverly fleshed out the universe of the film and had a lot to say about the glorification of violence. As a first sequel, Scream 2 never overstayed its welcome and didn't have to resort to rehashing scares to be an effective movie.

Scream 3 (2000)

reporters gathered around Sidney, Gale, and Cotton in Scream 3

The Scream movies in order had their peaks and valleys, and Scream 3 was the franchise's first major setback. With the production of Stab 3 underway, another copycat killer comes out of the woodwork to stalk and kill Sidney Prescott, who has gone into hiding. Though the film was a box office smash (via Box Office Mojo), the movie's meta-narrative gave way to many of the tropes that the original film had parodied in the first place. The film was largely left without an identity, and it didn't do enough to justify its own existence. As a result, many consider Scream 3 to be the worst of the franchise.

Scream 4 (2011)

Sidney talking on the phone in Scream 4

After a decade away, the Scream franchise roared back to life with 2011's Scream 4 and was the last to feature the late Craven as director. Years after the events of the first film, Sidney Prescott returns to Woodsboro only to find herself confronted by yet another copycat Ghostface killer. While the original Scream spoofed slashers, and Scream 2 their sequels, Scream 4 took aim at the abundance of remakes in the 2000s with an effective skewering. Adding a mostly new cast of characters, Scream 4 surprised by delivering a compelling mystery horror story that also poked fun at the new generation of social media-obsessed teens.

Scream (2022)

Neve Campbell points a gun in Scream 5

Before 2022's Scream, watching the Scream movies in order was easy because of the sequential numbering, but the fifth installment decided to drop the practice. Acting as a reboot of sorts, the Ghostface killer returns to terrorize a new group of teens in Woodsboro, 25 years after the first movie. Though most of the Scream 2022 cast was new, many of the franchise's familiar faces returned for a nice bridging of generations. While Scream 2022 was mostly a by-the-numbers mystery slasher, it was popular enough to revitalize the franchise after another decade-long absence.

Scream VI (2023)

Ghostface attacks in a movie theater in Scream VI

Striking while the iron was still hot, Scream VI returned to the sequential numbering of the franchise's past and finally did something clever with the decades-old series. After surviving the Ghostface attacks in Woodsboro, a group of teens move to New York City but soon find themselves Ghostface's victims once again. Scale is important with slasher films, but the choice to expand Scream VI's location to encompass the Big Apple was a brilliant choice. The anonymity of the big city was in stark contrast to the small-town terror of previous films, and despite Neve Campbell not starring in Scream 6, it showed the franchise still had legs.

How To Watch The Scream TV Show In Order

The new mask for Scream The Series on MTV
  • Scream - Season 1 (2015)
  • Scream - Season 2 (2016)
  • Scream: Resurrection (2019)

Just like how watching the Scream movies in order was somewhat confusing, the Scream TV also didn't follow conventional numbering throughout. Scream the TV series is separate from the movies and follows an entirely different set of teens who are stalked by a mysterious masked killer. The show gained the ire of long-time fans because it eschewed the classic Ghostface mask in favor of a new haunting visage, and it had little to do with the established franchise. Nevertheless, it managed to tell a compelling ongoing slasher narrative and stood on its own merits even if it lacked the meta quality of its namesake.

The third season, Scream: Resurrection, was a total reboot of the TV series that wisely brought back the original Scream Ghostface mask and reset the story in a new location with new characters as well. That said, reception to the final season was mixed, and it was delayed due to MTV's move away from scripted programming. The three-year gap between seasons 2 and 3 completely killed the show's momentum, and it wasn't helped by the fact that it eventually aired on VH1, and not its original network. Though the TV show crashed, the Scream movie series is still alive and well on the big screen.