Spoiler Warning: This article has spoilers from the Scream franchise
Scream was revolutionary in the horror genre and defined an entire generation of horror fans. While the franchise clearly mocks the slasher and horror genres, Wes Craven does so with much respect. As a profound horror director who was behind some of the best and most influential horror gems of all time such as Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes. Wes Craven was the perfect person to give us the hauntingly great meta-slasher film; Scream.
After more than 25 years of haunting the good people of Woodsboro, Ghostface has managed to rack up an impressive kill count with many brutal and iconic kills. While most of the kills are typically done with the iconic knife, the movies still do enough to make each death feel different and unique, whether its is the brutality of the kill, the tension and suspense that is built up, or simply who is about to die. Here are the best kills in the Scream franchise.
7 Maureen Evans - Scream 2 (1997)
There isn't anything more meta than being stabbed by Ghostface at a Stab premiere. The Stab movies are the in world film set around the events of the Scream movies, with the first Stab movie centered around the events of the first Scream movie.
This kill isn't necessarily brutal, but it sure is iconic and an awesome way to kick off the movie. Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett Smith) and boyfriend Phil Evans (Omar Epps) get a little closer to the film than they anticipated. With a screen full of fans wearing Ghostface masks and costumes, anyone could be the real Ghostface. They both meet their demise, with Phil getting killed in the restroom, and Maureen getting stabbed in the stomach by Ghostface, who unbeknownst to Maureen, had been sitting next to her in Phil's clothes with a Ghostface mask on for some time. However, Maureen doesn't die just yet; as she attempts to slowly run away, Ghostface chases her and stabs her in the back. But Maureen doesn't die until she clambers onto the stage in front of the screen, before letting out a painful scream and slowly collapsing to the floor.
6 Amber Freeman - Scream (2022)
If there was a prize for the franchise's most over-the-top death, Amber Freeman would certainly take the cake. This death is the definition of overkill, with Amber being beaten, thrown over tables, and hit with bottles before getting shot and being lit on fire. But of course, in true Scream fashion, the killer (Amber) comes back charging at our survivors before finally meeting her end, getting shot in the head.
Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison) is arguably one of the most unhinged killers in the franchise, rivaling and mimicking that of Stu Macher from Scream. This makes her death all that more satisfying, while Stu Macher was somewhat lovable, due to Matthew Lillard's great performance. Mikey Madison plays Amber to make her purposely hated.
5 Wes Hicks - Scream (2022)
There is no denying that Wes' death is brutal, but it's the tension and suspense that is built up throughout this drawn-out scene that makes his death so good. Playing on the audiences expectations of jump scares and suspense, with many moments that in traditional horror movie fashion would lead to a cheap jump scare. But as the audience are clinging to in their seats in suspense, the film flips expectations on its head and doesn't deliver a cheap jump scare. Wes eventually meets his violent end, as the killer finds their way into the house, and slowly impales Wes in the throat with his knife, giving us a slow and brutal death.
The scene also serves as an homage to the late director Wes Craven, with the character being named after him. But also the memorial, the other characters hold for Wes, says "For Wes" which again is a not-so-subtle reference to the horror legend that kick-started this franchise.
4 Stu Macher - Scream (1996)
The equally lovable and detestable Stu, is the victim of his own game in this death scene, which can also be seen as an homage to a death in one of Craven's other hit horror franchises, The Nightmare on Elm Street. Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) is revealed to be one of the killers, alongside Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), who attempts to get away with all the murders by framing Sidney Prescott's dad, Neil Prescott. However, after stabbing each other multiple times to make themselves look like victims, Sydney manages to get the upper hand and manages to take out both the killers. Stu's death, however, does stand out, with Sydney pushing a heavy '90s television onto his head, not only crushing his skull, but also electrifying and frying him until he finally dies.
3 Dewey Riley - Scream (2022)
This death is easily the most heartbreaking in the whole franchise, as we see our favorite Woodsboro police officer meet his tragic end. Dewey (David Arquette) has defied death in all the movies in the franchise; being shot and stabbed, it is a miracle he is still alive. When Scream was released, we all had an inkling he would eventually get killed, but we certainly weren't ready for him to go just yet. Dewey is easily the most lovable character throughout the franchise, and seeing him get killed, will sure to put a tear in the audience's eyes.
Our favorite ex-sheriff had to be the hero and end the latest murder spree in Woodsboro. He already shot the killer multiple times, but begins to slowly walk back to the killers "dead" body, because Dewey has had enough run-ins with the killers to know that he has to shoot them in the head to make sure they are truly dead. But to Dewey's surprise, the killer springs from the "dead" and stabs Dewey in the stomach and the back, before dragging both blades up his chest and back, in a very violent and brutal end to our hero.
2 Tatum Riley - Scream (1996)
Tatum's death scene is nothing but iconic. Tatum is arguably one of the best characters in the Scream franchise, for being Sidney's sassy and independent friend, defying all genre stereotypes for her character. Dewey's sister does, however, end up breaking one of the cardinal rules of horror movies and goes off by herself during a house party to grab some alcohol. She is then met face-to-face with Ghostface himself, but begins to taunt the killer, thinking it is Randy trying to prank her. She soon she realizes she is in fact trapped with the killer. This scene stands out in many ways, as Tatum puts up a real fight against Ghostface, as she throws bottles at them and trips them up, whereas most characters would try to run away.
Similarly, this scene delivers an iconic and brutal kill, as Tatum decides to escape through the cat flap in the garage door, which doesn't quite go according to plan, as Tatum ends up getting stuck in the cat flap. This then leads to Ghostface pressing the button that opens the garage door, resulting in Tatum being lifted with it, leading to her death by getting her head crushed by the mechanisms.
1 Casey Becker - Scream (1996)
The best kill of the franchise, just so happens to be the very first death of the franchise. This kill showed us what we can expect from these movies, delivering some great meta commentary on horror movies and also displaying a brutal and heartbreaking death.
Casey Becker is played to perfection by Drew Barrymore, making us instantly fall in love with her character, which adds an underlying amount of tension to the scene and makes her death much more heartbreaking. Match that with the fact that when Casey was killed, her parents were only paces away. This is all before Ghostface displays her bloody and gutted corpse, hanging from a tree for her parents to discover.
With its deadly trivial horror movie quiz,, gripping cat-and-mouse chase through the house, and devastating climax, this scene quickly became iconic and set the tone for the rest of the movie, and eventually the franchise.