The meta horror franchise is responsible for some of the best movie openings of all time, and without them, the Scream franchise wouldn't be as successful and as beloved as they are today. Equally, poking fun at the slasher genre while also playing to what the movies are mimicking, the openings are a great way to set the tone for the rest of the movie. It has to be said that the Scream franchise has perfected the art of the cold open, with their tense cat-and-mouse chases, iconic phone calls, and the creepy voice of Ghostface, alongside a great genre defying horror movie quiz. But it has to be said that some of the movie openings are a lot better and way more iconic than others. So with that, here are how we rank all the opening deaths in the Scream franchise.
5 Scream 3 (2000)
The opening of Scream 3 has faced much criticism for not being as memorable or as meta as the other entries in the franchise. While this may be true, there are plenty of moments that still make this opening great. First off, there is an incredible amount of tension built up throughout the scene, with Cotton racing home to save his girlfriend, as we watch him fear for her life. Similarly, the scene is responsible for killing off a major character in the franchise, which helps the tension of the scene and also helps it standout from the rest.
The main attribute to the killer of Scream 3 and the film as a whole is the voice mimicking device, and this scene is a great introduction to this device. As we see the killer mimic Cotton's voice to his girlfriend, taunting her and giving her a false sense of security before brutally killing her and Cotton. The opening scene does so many things right, but it still lacks what makes the other openings so good. With the lack of meta commentary, no cat-and-mouse chase, and lack of lovable characters, this makes this opening feel forgettable, and fails to be as iconic.
4 Scream 4 (2011)
Scream 4 delivers an intro with layers upon layers of meta commentary. Delivering two star-studded fake intros that include Lucy Hale, Anna Paquin, and Kristen Bell, which finally leads into the real opening, where we still question if the final one is real or fake. This scene similarly works as an homage to the opening of Scream 2, focusing on the movies of Stab (poorly made horror movies focusing on the events of the Scream movies) that serve as even more great meta commentary of the horror genre, and the Scream franchise as a whole.
As Wes Craven's final movie, the opening of Scream 4 serves as a fresh, unique, and interesting way to kick-start the arguably underrated fourth installment into the franchise. However, with the first two fake outs, being a part of the poorly made and poorly-acted Stab movies, the tension and suspense is taken away from the final, real deaths of the movie.
3 Scream (2022)
The opening to the latest installment in the franchise, defies plenty of expectations set by the Scream franchise. In every opening before it, we always see the character targeted by Ghostface die; however, in a shocking turn of events, Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) doesn't actually die. While she does gather a lot of brutal and gruesome injuries, like taking a knife through her hand and Ghostface stomping on her leg, immediately breaking it. Tara not only survives the attack, but is a major part of the story and film's ending.
The meta commentary and horror trivia in this scene feels unique and up to date, with Ghostface asking the age-old question, "What's your favorite scary movie?", hoping that Tara will say the Stab movies or a classic slasher. But instead, her favorite film is The Babadook, as she is a fan of "elevated" horror. But Ghostface replies with, "Isn't that a little fancy pants?" before giving Tara a deadly game of Stab movie trivia. This adds to the commentary of the scene, as Ghostface asks questions relating to the first Scream movie, which serves as a little fun trivia for the audience, as we try and guess the answers along with Tara.
2 Scream 2 (1997)
It is easy to get confused with the hilarious and equally iconic kills from the spoof comedy Scary Movie that follows the exact same scene, almost mirroring it, but we can assure you we are not talking about that. Instead, this scene has Jada Pinkett Smith and Omar Epps star as the first two victims of Scream 2, which instantly became one of the most iconic scenes in the whole franchise.
This opening scene takes the idea of genre meta-ness to a whole new level, with the main two victims attending a screening of Stab in a theater full of fans wearing Ghostface masks and robes, as well as chasing each other through the theater. This leads to both the victims getting stabbed during the film, with Omar Epps' character Phil Stevens, getting killed in the restrooms, as Ghostface wears his clothes, and returns to Phil's seat next to his girlfriend, Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett Smith). It isn't long before Ghostface drives a knife in Maureen's stomach before leaving her to die on the stage.
Adding another layer of meta-ness to this scene is that the scene playing on screen is of Ghostface's first victim, Casey Becker (played in Stab by Heather Graham) as she was being pursued by Ghostface, while Maureen shouts at the screen telling her what to do. But Maureen doesn't listen to her own advice, resulting in her eventual demise.
1 Scream (1996)
Scream's opening defines the whole franchise. When we think of the horror franchise, this is the scene that first comes to mind. Introducing us to the iconic phone call and creepy voice, who has an incredibly short temper along with a genre-defying horror trivia quiz. This scene delivers everything that made us fall in love with the franchise, genius genre-defying tropes, an intense cat-and-mouse chase, a lovable character, and a brutal death.
This scene was incredibly unexpected, as the main character of the scene, Casey Becker, is on the poster with the main cast. Similarly, Drew Barrymore, who plays Casey, was making a huge comeback, and with the conventions of the time, we assumed she would be the final girl of the franchise. So with that in mind, this death is shocking and unexpected,and yet again, the movie defies all genre conventions and has Casey be Ghostface's second kill behind her boyfriend Steve, who was gutted only moments before.
This 11-minute long opening was crafted to perfection, and set the tone for the rest of the movie. This is the scene that every sequel and slasher movie since has attempted to emulate. But with the scene's incredible tension, iconicity, and a memorable kill, Scream is responsible for one of the best openings in movie history.