| Scream Franchise | |
|---|---|
 Posters for all six Scream films and all three seasons of the television series. | |
| Directed by | Wes Craven (1ā4) Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (5ā6) Kevin Williamson (7) |
| Produced by | Cathy Konrad (1ā3) Cary Woods (1) |
| Written by | Kevin Williamson (1ā2, 4) Ehren Kruger (3) |
| Starring | Neve Campbell (1-5, 7) Courteney Cox (1-7) |
| Music by | Marco Beltrami (1ā4) Brian Tyler (5-6) Sven Faulconer (6) |
| Distributed by | Miramax (1-3) The Weinstein Company (4) |
| Release date(s) | Scream (1996): December 20, 1996 Scream 2: December 12, 1997 Scream 3: February 4, 2000 Scream 4: April 15, 2011 Scream (2022): January 14, 2022 Scream VI: March 10, 2023 Scream 7: February 27, 2026 |
| Running time | 565 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Scream (1996): 14 million USD Scream 2: 24 million USD |
| Gross revenue | $912,941,715 |
| Preceded by | ā |
| Followed by | |
The Scream franchise is a series of six cult horror films directed by Wes Craven (1-4) and later Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (5-6), and Kevin Williamson (7). It was originally written and created by Kevin Williamson, and later Ehren Kruger, James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. The main plot involves a psychopathic serial killer wearing a Halloween costume attempting to kill Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and various other characters involved in their lives.
Each film begins with the gory murder of at least two people[1] and takes off from there, leading to the revelation of the killer's identity and the final battle between Sidney and/or other characters and the killer. They revitalized the slasher film genre in the mid-1990s in a similar way to Halloween (1978) in the 1970s by using a standard concept with a tongue-in-cheek approach, that successfully combined straightforward scares with dialogue and black comedy that satirized slasher film conventions. The first film became a major commercial success upon its release, and was one of the highest grossing films of 1996. It was also highly acclaimed by many critics worldwide, who appreciated the film's tongue-in-cheek approach. A television spin-off of the film series was launched by MTV on June 30, 2015. The television series follows an anthology format with different, yet similar, characters and new story-lines which are not connected to the film series.
Plot summary[]
Throughout the films (specifically the first and third film), parts of a back story were revealed, that occurred before the first film. As it turns out, Maureen Roberts (Lynn McRee) went to L.A to become an actress. She starred in three horror films using the name, "Rina Reynolds". At one particular Hollywood party, she was gang raped by movie insiders and became pregnant with Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). After giving birth, Maureen left Hollywood, as well as Roman, and went back home to Woodsboro, California, where she met and married Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht). They then had a daughter named Sidney. Meanwhile, Roman grew up wondering what had happened to his mother.
When Sidney was around 16 years old, Roman found Maureen (Rina) and went to her, hoping to spend some time with her, only to find out Rina Reynolds no longer existed and that she had a new life, with no interest in digging up old secrets (Roman said she told him he was Rina's son and wanted nothing to do with him). This enraged Roman, who followed her incessantly, (sometimes video recording her activities) learning that she wasn't the perfect wife and mother she pretended to be; she was engaged in several affairs with local men, including Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), and, more surprisingly, Hank Loomis (C.W. Morgan), the father of Sidney's boyfriend, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich).
Roman then decided to reveal the affair to Billy, which enrages him and, using his creativity as a director, Roman persuaded him to kill Maureen and frame Cotton. With the help of his best friend, Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Billy does as instructed, and together they murder Maureen. Sidney, having witnessed someone wearing Cotton Weary's jacket, testifies that she saw Weary leave the house and Cotton is subsequently incarcerated. In the first film, Billy and Stu continue their murderous rampage, stalking other people who they feel have wronged them such as Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) who previously dumped Stu for another guy, Steven Orth (Kevin Patrick Walls).
They begin killing Sidney's friends as part of a game whereby their actions mimic the cliche "rules" of horror movies, and although they intend to isolate Sidney and kill her as well, they are discovered by reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) who manages to help Sidney thwart and kill her attackers. In the second film, during the height of fame, (thanks to a book and subsequent movie based on the Woodsboro Murders) Billy's mother (Laurie Metcalf) is the killer, seeking revenge on Sidney and Gale, and she coerces one of Sidney's film student friends, Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant), a contract serial killer, into helping her commit the first copycat spree while at Sidney's college, Windsor College, in Ohio. In the end, they are both killed by Sidney. In the third film, while filming of the latest Stab movie commences in Hollywood, Roman begins slaughtering members of the film crew in order to draw Sidney out of hiding, and seeks retribution for the life that he believes should have been his. During the confrontation, she wounds him in the chest with a pick and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) finishes him off with a gunshot to the head.
Eleven years later, Sidney returns to Woodsboro, now a famous author after writing a book about reinventing herself. However, she is forced to stay there after evidence is found linking her to the murder of two teenage girls, Jenny Randall (Aimee Teegarden) and Marnie Cooper (Britt Robertson). Sidney stays with her aunt, Kate Roberts (Mary McDonnell), and cousin, Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts). Jill's friends are Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), Olivia Morris (Marielle Jaffe), Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin), Robbie Mercer (Erik Knudsen), and has an ex-boyfriend named Trevor Sheldon (Nico Tortorella). Local people, including Jill's friends, begin getting killed off in a way striking similar to the original killing spree. The newest murderer is trying to remake the original spree. It is ultimately revealed to be Jill and Charlie; Jill wanted to become famous as a remake of Sidney, while Charlie wants to become a remake of Sidney's dead friend, Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy). Jill stabs Charlie to death, betraying him, to frame him as one of the killers alongside Trevor. Sidney is knocked out and Jill deliberately injures herself before they are both taken to the hospital. Jill attempts to kill Sidney once and for all, but is electrocuted by a defibrillator. She jumps back up, but Sidney fatally shoots her in the heart. Sidney, Gale and Dewey again remain the survivors.
Now twenty-six years after the original Woodsboro massacre, Ghostface returns. This time it is to draw Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), the illegitimate daughter of Billy, back to the sleepy town to start a whole new saga. After Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) is attacked in her home, Sam and her boyfriend, Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid), journey to Woodsboro from their lives in Modesto. Upon arrival, Sam is looked down upon due to her leaving the town behind when she was 19 years old. Tara's friends are Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison), Wes Hicks (Dylan Minnette), Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding), Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), and Liv McKenzie (Sonia Ben Ammar). Other Woodsboro residents start to get murdered by Ghostface, and it is revealed that this Ghostface is trying to do a requel of Stab. With the help of Dewey, Sidney and Gale, the Ghostface(s) are revealed to be Richie and Amber, having met on a Stab subreddit. Both wanted to become famous by listening to the fans that wanted a better movie than Stab 8. Amber tries to kill Tara, but she fights back causing Amber to be ambushed by Sidney and Gale, who douses her in hand sanitizer. The hand sanitizer acts as a flammable matter when Gale shoots Amber, causing her to catch fire and die. Richie attempts to kill Sam, but is stabbed to death and shot three times. Amber jumps back up, and Tara deals the final blow to the head. Sidney and Gale remain survivors, but also mourn Dewey. Sam, Tara, Chad and Mindy are taken to the hospital and subsequently leave town.
Six months later, Sam, Tara, Chad and Mindy have relocated to New York City. Though Tara and the twins are living a normal life by attending Blackmore University, Sam is now the target for attacks since someone started online rumors that she had orchestrated the 2022 Woodsboro massacre. Now almost twenty six years since the first copycat murders at Windsor College, during the week near Halloween 2023, after college student, Jason Carvey (Tony Revolori) lures by catfishing and then brutally killing his unsuspecting film studies teacher, Laura Crane (Samara Weaving), it was revealed he and his roommate, Greg Bruckner (Thom Newell), were planning to kill Sam and Tara, he is murdered by another Ghostface. Sam and Tara are rooming with Quinn Bailey (Liana Liberato) and after news of Jason and Greg's killings are out, Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) asks Sam to go to the police station. On the way, Sam and Tara are attacked by Ghostface and when Sam tries to leave the city, she is forced to stay due to being the prime suspect in Jason and Greg's murders. New friends, Anika Kayoko (Devyn Nekoda), Ethan Landry (Jack Champion), and Danny Brackett (Josh Segarra) are among new targets due to being close with Sam, Tara and the twins. After Gale is attacked in her apartment, the teens plan to trap Ghostface in the theatre, but their plan goes awry when Mindy gets stabbed on a subway train. After stabbing Chad near to death, Ghostface is revealed to be Wayne and his kids, Quinn and Ethan; the trio wanted to get revenge on Sam for killing Richie, who was Wayne's son and Ethan and Quinn's older brother. With Tara's help, Sam ultimately shoots Quinn in the head and stabs Wayne to death, while Tara stabs Ethan. Kirby gets knocked out in the chaos, but manages to save Sam and Tara after Ethan pops up and attempts to kill the sisters once and for all, but gets the TV that smashed Stu Macher pushed onto his head. Sam, Tara, Chad and Mindy again remain the survivors.
Films[]
Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette played central roles in the franchise, appearing in five films (and only Cox returned in the sixth). Jamie Kennedy and Liev Schreiber played major supporting characters in the original trilogy. Hayden Panettiere played in the fourth (the last movie directed by Wes Craven) and returned to her role in the sixth film. Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown played new lead characters in the reboot from Radio Silence beginning with the fifth film. Also, Marley Shelton played Judy Hicks in Scream 4 and reprised her role in Scream (2022) and Skeet Ulrich reprised his role as Billy Loomis as a hallucination in Scream (2022) and in Scream VI, 28 years after the original movie. Roger L. Jackson voiced Ghostface in all six movies as well as the third season of the TV series.
Scream (1996)[]
- Main article: Scream
Scream 2 (1997)[]
- Main article: Scream 2
Scream 3 (2000)[]
- Main article: Scream 3
Scream 4 (2011)[]
- Main article: Scream 4
Scream (2022)[]
- Main article: Scream (2022)
Scream VI (2023)[]
- Main article: Scream VI
Scream 7 (2026)[]
- Main article: Scream 7
TV Series[]
Season 1 (2015)[]
- Main article: Season 1
Season 2 (2016)[]
- Main article: Season 2
Season 3 (2019)[]
- Main article: Season 3
External links[]
- Scream (1996) at the Internet Movie Database
- Scream 2 at the Internet Movie Database
- Scream 3 at the Internet Movie Database
- Scream 4 at the Internet Movie Database
- Scream (2022) at the Internet Movie Database
- Scream VI at the Internet Movie Database
- Scream 7 at the Internet Movie Database
| Franchise |
|---|
| Scream franchise |
| Scream | 2 | 3 | 4 | TV Series | Scream (2022) | VI | 7 |