In 2023, we saw once again Ghostface return to terrorize modern audiences with the release of the sixth installment of the Scream franchise. Part of the franchise's new era and wave, the film was able to bring audiences back to theaters and proved maybe it's time to look ahead. Without featuring the main star Sidney Prescott in the cast, the film managed to engage new horror fans by following up on the dynamics of a new cast ensemble that's seemingly able to hold the franchise on their shoulders. The formula is still valid, and even though rules are constantly being broken (the opening scenes in the last two films have been... controversial), there's a reason why we keep on coming: pure nostalgia for what Wes Craven did in 1996 to pave the new way for modern horror.

Since its original release in 1996, the franchise has spawned sequel after sequel. The franchise was thought to be finished after the fourth installment, especially after the unfortunate death of Craven, but the collective known as Radio Silence took the helm and delivered a fresh take on the Ghostface adventures with two more recent films. Horror fans got what they deserved. Over the last three decades, the Scream films have developed a reputation for hinging on the twist reveal of the killers, always surprising both the characters and the audience, so let's take a look at which of those killers have been the best.

Updated on September 27th, 2023, by Federico Furzan: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.

Spoiler alert: The entire Scream franchise

12 Ethan Landry

Scream VI (2023)

scream VI ethan
Paramount Pictures

Unfortunately, not much is known about Scream VI's Ethan (Jack Champion), the part of the trio that turns out to be the killers in the latest film. For most of the film, Ethan is seen as the suspicious new member of the gang, but not much else.

He lingers in the back and constantly wears a dumbfounded expression. When he reveals himself to be part of Richie's family, and thus seeks revenge for his death, it doesn't take too long for audience favorite Kirby to smash a TV on his head. Kirby actually uses the same TV set that killed Stu in the first film.

11 Charlie Walker

Scream 4 (2011)

Charlie walker scream 4
Dimension Films

Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) is one of the weaker Ghostface killers in Scream 4, as his motives are mostly tied to being obsessively in love with Jill Roberts (the other killer in the film). His personality is a bit in the incel realm, "killing" Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) because she "never noticed him" until the end of the film.

He was also interested in remaking the Stab films by using real footage of the victim's deaths. After Charlie reveals himself as a killer, he and Jill try to recreate Billy and Stu's idea by hurting each other to pose as victims after killing Sidney. Unfortunately for him, he dies when Jill purposely stabs him in the chest, rather than the side.

10 Wayne Bailey

Scream VI (2023)

scream VI wayne
Paramount Pictures

We can all agree the killers in Scream VI are among the weakest of the franchise, right? Their motivation just doesn't hold up. Either they're Richie's family, or they're just cultists following up on the activities carried out by Richie and Amber. But even though there are three of them, the third act of the film is more about Sam and Tara's big and violent rebellion against trauma.

Wayne (Dermot Mulroney) is a father, and he's pissed. And you can tell by his strong pursuit of revenge that he's willing to go all the way with his acts. But when compared to other Ghostfaces, he doesn't live up to the name and gets stabbed to death in a not-so-climactic kill.

9 Roman Bridger

Scream 3 (2000)

scream 3 villain
Dimension Films

Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) is one of the most interesting inclusions on the list. Both Scream and Scream 2 featured two killers, so the audience (and Sidney) was shocked to learn that Roman acted as the lone Ghostface killer in Scream 3. When he reveals himself, Sidney finds out that Roman is her half-brother, born from her mother with one of her acting career directors. When he searched her out, she acted like she didn't know him, being that she had started a new family.

Roman also reveals that he was the mastermind behind training Billy Loomis and Stu Macher to become murderers in the first Scream film, setting up his mother's death. Roman's kill count is high, but understandably, being that he acted alone. Roman dies when Sidney stabs him a few times, and Dewey finishes him off with a headshot.

8 Richie Kirsch

Scream (2022)

richie scream 2022
Paramount Pictures

Richie (Jack Quaid) is an interesting character in what turned out to be a great return to the franchise. In Scream (2022), he plays the boyfriend who seemingly knows nothing about horror movies and has to Netflix-train to save himself. Surely, the franchise wasn't going to use the same "the boyfriend of the protagonist turns out to be the killer," right?

Well, the writers of the franchise's new era nailed it and made Richie the violent killer who antagonized Sam after playing her sweet love. Richie is one of the dumbest Ghostfaces in the franchise because he looks clumsy, and let's face it, it's hard to see Jack Quaid being a bad guy with the handsome smile he's capable of weaponizing.

Related: Can The Original Scream Ever Be Topped?

7 Quinn Bailey

Scream VI (2023)

Quinn scream vi
Paramount Pictures

What's good about Quinn (Liana Liberato) in Scream VI is that the directors actually show us her death, making her an impossible pick for our continuous "who's the killer" guessing game. But as it turns out, she's Wayne's daughter, and being that he's a detective, they can cheat the regular forensic process.

Quinn shows up in the third act to complete the trio of killers in a franchise first. This one's Liberato's merit, as she uses her quaint and innocent giggle to seem more perverse than usual. Unfortunately, she gets killed off quickly in the conclusion, and we don't see much of her motivations besides the stated by her father.

6 Jill Roberts

Scream 4 (2011)

Emma Roberts Scream 4
Dimension Films

Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) was the younger cousin of Sidney Prescott. In Scream 4, Jill is seemingly the intended victim of Ghostface due to her close relationship with Sidney, and the fact that she still lives in Woodsboro, California. When Jill reveals herself to Sidney as one of the killers, her motive is the weakest of the franchise, regardless of one of the highest kill counts.

Jill is jealous of all the attention that Sidney received during her time in Woodsboro, taking away from her own. After stabbing Sidney and believing her to be dead, Jill embarks on an incredibly silly scene of beating herself up to make it look like she was a victim. Once she finds that Sidney is still alive, Jill attacks her in the hospital, only to meet her end from a defibrillator to the head, in one of the franchise's funniest kills.

5 Amber Freeman

Scream (2022)

scream 2022 amber
Paramount Pictures

Amber's position in the ranking has only one reason: Mikey Madison. The actress's portrayal of a psychotic killer is absurdly loud, frenetic, and anything but funny. She makes the film land when she states her reasons for being a killer: pure fascination with the Stab franchise.

Scream (2022) was a solid return to Woodsboro, and most of all had to do with a generational tone that Amber displayed well, both when she was Sam's friend and when she was the iteration of Ghostface that absurdly garnered strength to murder innocent victims.

4 Mickey Altieri

Scream 2 (1997)

Mickey in Scream 2
Dimension Films

Mickey Altieri's (Timothy Olyphant) motives were close to the weakest of the franchise. In Scream 2, Mickey was a random serial killer that Mrs. Loomis met online and convinced to help her copycat the Woodsboro murders at Windsor College.

Mrs. Loomis paid Mickey's tuition and helped him get accepted in turn for him befriending Sidney and even dating her college roommate. His ultimate goal was to get the recognition and fame that came with being a notable serial killer. Mickey meets his demise when Sidney and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) put sixteen bullets into him.

3 Stu Macher

Scream (1996)

Billy and Stu in the original Scream 1996
Dimension Films

Stu (Matthew Lillard) is one of the most likable characters to reveal himself as a killer, as well as the most chaotic. In Scream, Stu has no motive for his kills, as he chalks them all up to the "peer pressure" from Billy Loomis.

Unlike a lot of the other killers, Stu's reveal was one of the most shocking as he can turn his kill-mode personality on and off, posing as a fun-loving, silly, and personable person, and even protector to those he's close to. Stu dies (or does he?) when weakened from several stabs from Billy, in an attempt to cover up their crimes, followed by Sidney dropping a television on his head. Lillard's is one of the most iconic performances of the franchise.

Related: Scream: 10 Characters Who Could be the Next Ghostface

2 Mrs. Loomis

Scream 2 (1997)

Laurie Metcalf as Nancy Loomis in Scream 2
Dimension Films

Mrs. Loomis (Laurie Metacalf) belongs near the top for having the best motive and strategy: Pure revenge. Sidney killed her only son in the ending events of the first Scream film. Her son had inherited her psychopathic behavior as she was just as quick to murder people as he was.

By the events of Scream 2, her husband had slept with Sidney's mother, resulting in divorce, and her son had been killed. After feeling she had nothing to live for, Mrs. Loomis found Mickey Altieri in a chat room and partnered up with him to infiltrate Sidney's life. She even attempts to manipulate accused killer Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) to kill Sidney after Mickey dies. She fails when Cotton supports Sidney, and after a scuffle, Sidney puts a bullet in her head.

1 Billy Loomis

Scream (1996)

Scream (1996) billy
Dimension Films

"You're telling me that's not a killer?" said Randy as he suspected right away that Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) was the original Ghostface killer in Scream. Not only does Billy have the most iconic and scariest lines—"Movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative!"—of the entire franchise, but he's also the most ferocious of the killers. Billy's motives came from pure anger with the result of his father cheating on his mother with Sidney's mother, causing his parents' marriage to fall apart, and his mother to abandon Billy. We later find out in Scream 3 that Roman had been orchestrating the entire thing, using Billy as his pawn.

Billy is a master manipulator as well, pressuring Stu to do whatever he wants, and tricking Sidney into sleeping with him just minutes before revealing himself as the killer. Billy plans to frame Sidney's father as the killer and leave himself and Stu for dead, but his plan goes awry when Gale and Sidney team up to confuse the two killers, and Sidney eventually puts a bullet in his skull, right after Randy predicts the killer's final scare.