Though not as well-known as their directorial counterparts, screenwriters have perhaps the most important job in the film industry. Crafting the script itself is obviously a make-or-break process for any given project, and with regard to Kevin Williamson, his scripts consistently epitomized the phrase hit or miss.

He might not be the most recognizable name, but you’ll undoubtedly know the films that were made from the scripts of Kevin Williamson. He has essentially dedicated his professional life to the slasher subgenre of horror films, and he’s also helped popularize them for modern film fans like perhaps nobody else since. Maybe not before, either, despite the popularity of guys like John Carpenter and Wes Craven.

And, speak of the devil, the best way to describe Williamson is by deeming him the Wes Craven of slasher screenwriters, Which is actually a fitting analogy considering the collaborative history of the two. You may have heard of some of their projects: the first two entries of the Scream franchise, for instance. Those are the most famous of his scripts, but there’s plenty more to look back on in Williamson’s career. Both good and bad, old and new, here’s every script written by Kevin Williamson, ranked.

8 Cursed (2005)

Cursed
Miramax Films

This film felt like a facility for Williamson to desperately cling onto the successes of his past. Most of his films are of the horror variety, so it’s obviously not as if Williamson was a one-hit-wonder with regard to the original Scream. But this film in particular paled so much in comparison to his other projects of this genre that it sticks out like a sore, cursed thumb.

And with regard to the film at hand: Cursed (2005) was directed by Wes Craven in the pair’s third collaboration together. But more on that later. This is undoubtedly the worst showing of Williamson’s career, and it’s up there for Craven’s worst, too. That’s saying a lot, especially when considering his other horrible projects like The Hills Have Eyes Part II from 1985. And for that fact alone, this move that probably should never have happened in the first place ultimately comes in last place here at number eight.

7 Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999)

Teaching Mrs. Tingle
Miramax Films

Starring Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, and Jeffrey Tambor, this was actually Kevin Williamson’s directorial debut. And there’s a reason it was his last. With a horrific approval rating of 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, this teen comedy/thriller is just slightly better than the previous entry. And while he might have struck out at the plate with Cursed, this film in particular showcased why Williamson probably should have stuck to his usual slasher script.

It remains an anomaly of his filmography in that regard — genre, that is. Not critical reception. Williamson grew used to critics dogging the final products of his scripts. But at the time of release, there’s no doubt about it: Teaching Mrs. Tingle was the lowest-rated film of his career, bar none. The following entry had previously held that title, but compared to the film at hand, it was on par with The Godfather (1972) in terms of quality.

6 I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Columbia Pictures

With another slasher film in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), it’s clear that Williamson prefers the subgenre that got him to the dance. Of course, this is among his weaker horror films, but it is also among his most popular — in spite of a 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I Know What You Did Last Summer had tremendous box office results, and even spawned a couple sequels in the subsequent years.

It had all the makings of a Scream 2.0. An interesting setup with well-known actors portraying characters caught up in a scene of blood, guts, and conventional genre dialogue that consistently created a sense of security throughout the entire film. The execution just wasn’t there. Nothing came together, whether that was the result of a mediocre script or the paucity of a dynamic villain. On paper, I Know What You Did Last Summer is not a good film, but it’s a fantastic night of fun for those looking for a silly slasher stint.

5 The Faculty (1998)

The Faculty
Miramax Films

With a premise that’s sure to hit home with any science fiction fanatics, The Faculty (1998) is still very much a horror movie, albeit with added extra-terrestrial elements. And director Robert Rodriguez nearly executed the script in great fashion. However, things fell just barely short of being able to classify this among the best of Williamson’s screenplays.

As is usually the case with a given Williamson story, this script follows a group of high school students caught in a bizarre sequence of horror movie spectacles. They’re forced to combat their own teachers who’ve been taken over by the aforementioned extra-terrestrials, and while it can undoubtedly be a bit zany and frankly unbelievable at times, The Faculty is pure fun from start to finish.

Related: The Best Performances in Robert Rodriguez's Movies, Ranked

4 Scream 4 (2011)

Scream 4
Dimension Films

Everyone knows the characters herein: Sidney Prescott (played by Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette). Of course, there’s also the kill-crazed primary antagonist: Ghostface. The villain has been played by numerous actors throughout the years, as different characters from each entry choose to don the cloak and wield the dagger. Each character of course has their own motive, and one of the most enthralling comes with Sidney’s cousin Jill in Scream 4.

In the eyes of some fans and critics, this entry in the famous movie series really saved its characters from vanishing into obscurity. Had it been just slightly worse than it was, the most recent string of Scream films in the 2020s may not have ever been greenlit. And while Scream 5 surpassed the expectations of many viewing audiences, it could very well be a good thing Williamson put a hold on his relationship with Scream. If he hadn’t, the next entry on the list would never have materialized.

3 Sick (2022)

Sick
Miramax Films

His most recent project, Sick (2022) is another slasher film that premiered on September 11, 2022, at the Toronto International Film Festival and was subsequently released on the streaming service Peacock on January 13, 2023. Director John Hyams had dabbled in the horror genre before — just two years prior, in fact, with Alone (2020) — and received great praise from critics for his work therein.

And his work on Sick was equally well-acclaimed. It is worth noting, though, that this is the only film of Williamson's career that he didn't write entirely by himself, as he had help in that department from a screenwriter named Katelyn Crabb. They set the film during the COVID-19 pandemic and chronicled the killings committed by a masked house intruder. It’s an intriguing and familiar premise being set during the pandemic, and its featured thrills made it a solid horror film in its scares alone. Thankfully for slasher fans, Sick is a true return to form for Williamson.

2 Scream 2 (1997)

Scream 2
Dimension Films

Directed by Wes Craven, this was perhaps a more adequate follow-up than anyone would have expected after the original’s success. Until Scream 4 (2011) materialized over a decade later, it seemed Scream 2 (1997) was destined to go down as the final film that held any semblance of quality within the fan-favorite slasher franchise.

Picking up just a couple of months after the original, Sidney is now in college and trying to move on with her life, when suddenly, the Ghostface killings begin anew. What follows is another engaging mystery film that plays out amidst a bloody playground of zany deaths and horror movie tropes that consistently held the product on their proverbial backs. This is the second-best Williamson script, the second-best Scream movie, and both of those facts will likely forever remain the case. However, the number one pick was always set in stone.

Related: Kevin Williamson Shares Which Scream 2 Character He Regrets Killing Off

1 Scream (1996)

Scream
Dimension Films

Again, and obviously, this was directed by Wes Craven. That should be gotten out of the way, considering this is perhaps his most famous project — either this, or A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), which is endlessly referenced in this first entry of Scream. This was a resurgence for Craven’s career since he hadn’t released a film of true quality in over a decade. And he passed the test with flying, blood-soaked colors here with the original Scream (1996).

There isn’t much remaining to assess with regard to Scream or its characters that hasn’t already been touched on ad nauseam by fans and critics alike for the past twenty-five years. It’s the biggest horror movie of the decade, save perhaps for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). But either way: without this film, this list wouldn’t exist. And it’s also likely that the landscape of horror you recognize today wouldn’t bear the same resemblance without Scream.