The top 15 ‘Scream’ deaths, ranked

Excuse the morbidity of what I’m about to say — and if you hate slasher flicks and/or spoilers, you may want to stop reading now — but I love, love, love the Scream franchise. 

My feelings ring true for all slasher films — even if they’re bad, which a lot of them are — but there’s something extra-wonderful about the Scream films. The cast, the fashion, the music, the unbridled dedication to reviving the genre … it’s the epitome of quintessential ’90s campiness.

All four films thrive by playing tension-heavy guessing games that vary from who will die next to the identity of the serial killer dubbed Ghostface. Yet there are moments of tangible satire, introspection, and pop culture reflectiveness amid the bloody horror. 

Scream creators Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson are often (correctly) credited for spearheading a revolution. They constructed an iconic set of films that continue to impact viewers and directors, ranging from 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer to 2017’s Happy Death Day, another college-based slasher, but with a time loop conundrum. 

The first three Scream films were released between 1996 and 2000 and were marketed as a trilogy, but fans craved a continuation. In April 2011, Scream 4 premiered to mediocre reviews and featured the return of surviving protagonists Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox).

On the eighth anniversary of the franchise’s final film (so far), I looked back at what it does best and how. What’s a slasher movie without some weird innovation? These 15 deaths are ranked by their gruesomeness, sure, but also because they’re ridiculously over the top, a Scream specialty.

15. Tom Prinze (Matt Keeslar), Scream 3

Cause of death: Blown up by a gas leak explosion

The weapon of choice in every Scream film is usually a knife. That’s why Tom’s fiery death stands out. 

Tom, Angelina, Jennifer are hanging out at Jennifer’s house, mourning the canceled production of the film they were supposed to star in, Stab 3. Ex-cop Dewey and journalist Gale are there, too. Ghostface starts sending threatening faxes (what is this, the year 2000??) taunting them about who will die next and hinting that he’s inside the house. Everyone runs outside. But the faxes keep coming, so Tom runs back inside to find out if they reveal the possible victim’s name. Before you know it, boom! The house goes up in flames, as does a naive Tom. 

14. Cotton Weary (Liev Schrieber), Scream 3

Cause of death: Stabbed, stabbed, and stabbed again

Cotton has been around since the first film, but he emerged as a likable character when he saved Sidney and Gale’s lives in Scream 2. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive longer than Scream 3’s opening scene. At least he got his final wish and became a popular TV show host. 

The killer calls him and pretends to be a huge fan before admitting he’s about to kill Cotton’s girlfriend, Christine, which he does. Then he chases Cotton around the house before finally gutting him. The killer even uses a voice modulator to bid Cotton goodbye in his own voice. Dark, yes, but remember — this list rewards innovation. 

13. Olivia Morris (Marielle Jaffe), Scream 4

Cause of death: Stabbed, pushed through window for dramatic effect

The only Scream 4 death on this list, Olivia’s packs quite a punch. It’s the first time Ghostface doesn’t directly contact his victim, instead going through her BFF’s Jill and Kirby.

Jill is on the phone with Olivia, who lives in the opposite house, when the killer calls Kirby and hints that he’s hiding in the closet. After some slow-paced confirmation that he’s not, Kirby realizes Ghostface is hiding in Olivia’s closet. Then they witness their friend being bludgeoned. Ghostface is more show, less tell — so he shoves his victim out the window for her friends to see it happen up close. 

12. Sarah Darling (Jenny McCarthy), Scream 3

Cause of death: Stabbed in a scene straight out of an obvious trope

Sarah’s death is on the list not just because of how it happened, but because of what lead to it. She gets a call from director Roman to come to the studio to run lines. Once there, she realizes Ghostface used a voice modulator to trick her, and now she has to hide in the costume department. Somehow the killer is already there and then she’s stabbed. Okay. 

But this ordeal matters, because it turns out — spoiler alert — Roman is Ghostface in Scream 3, and the answer was right there all along.

11. Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey), Scream 3

Cause of death: Stabbed and fallen through a mirror 

This scene is on the list because of how fun & nonsensical it is. Let me explain. 

Jennifer ends up behind these mirrors and sees Dewey and Gale in the room, even if they don’t see her. She pounds for help while the killer stabs her, but all they see are the mirrors moving. Dewey starts shooting at them one by one; a dead Jennifer falls through. What matter is that Ghostface has vanished with the skills of a magician, despite standing right there in the previous scene. 

A continuity error elevated Jennifer Jolie’s death. She would’ve probably approved if she were alive. 

10. Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), Scream

Cause of death: Stabbed with an umbrella, gunshot to the head

Billy was the main killer in the first movie — he was aided by Stu, but we’re getting there in a minute — so naturally his death had to make an impact in the larger Scream universe. 

First, he faked dying in front of girlfriend Sidney to put aside any suspicion. He returned and revealed his true nature with the now-epic line, “We all go mad sometimes.” Sidney stabs him with an umbrella and it weakens him, he’s then shot by Gale and everyone thinks he’s done for — but surprise, he’s not, so Sidney puts a final bullet through his head. 

Billy’s death established the notion that the killer possesses superhuman strength and won’t be easy to kill. This trend carried on for all films. 

9. Phil Stevens (Omar Epps), Scream 2

Cause of death: Stabbed through a bathroom stall 

Phil is the first Scream 2 death. Ghostface kills him when he’s in the bathroom by hiding in the next stall and luring him into listening through the door as he makes … odd sounds. Gross and sad but also, there’s a lesson in there: Don’t be a creep! 

8. Principal Himbry (Henry Winkler), Scream

Cause of death: Stabbed but in a classic way

There’s nothing wrong with using tropes to full effect. In the first Scream, after a bunch of murders take place, Principal Himbry suspends classes and enforces a curfew. He’s the only one hanging around school besides the janitor, for some reason. 

Fonzie Himbry gets a hunch that someone is following him, but after a few rounds, shrugs at the idea. If only. The killer is hiding behind his door and lunges at Himbry, stabbing him to death. His body is then hung in the football field for all to see. Yikes.

7. Casey “Cici” Cooper (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Scream 2

Cause of death: Thrown off a roof

I’m scared of heights, so Cici’s death is personally hard to watch. Girl is straight up thrown from a roof in dramatic fashion.

The entire dorm is at a party and Cici is designated to be the one who stays indoors in case anyone needs assistance or a ride. It also makes her the perfect bait. The killer calls her with his trademark “What’s your favorite scary movie?” phone call. She’s almost makes it out of the house before Ghostface chases her up to the roof. And then, as shown in the gif above, splat!  

6. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), Scream 2

Cause of death: Stabbed extremely repeatedly, throat slit 

Randy’s demise was unexpectedly sad. One of the leads from the original, he didn’t survive the sequel, which is a twist Randy himself predicted, as we know from the video of his found in Scream 3. I told you, these films get meta. 

Ghostface [in this case, Mrs. Loomis] keeps him occupied by being on the phone. It’s funny because they’re discussing famous murderers when she snatches him into the van in broad daylight in the middle of campus. The goddamn confidence! Randy’s famous last words were, “Manson, Bundy, OJ?”

5. Derek Feldman (Jerry O’Connell), Scream 2

Cause of death: Bound and shot.

Sidney’s boyfriend gets a biblically symbolic death. It’s traumatic, yes, but what’s funny about this scene is it hinges on the killer knowing that when he follows Sidney, she’ll run straight to the theater. We knew Ghostface is weirdly strong, but now, he/she is also omniscient. A deadly combo, especially for Derek. 

To torture Sidney, who falsely believed her boyfriend might be the killer, one of the actual killers brings out a captured Derek and delivers the final blow to the heart. 

4. Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett Smith), Scream 2

Cause of death: Stabbed, dies in front of an entire movie theater full of morons

Oh, Maureen, we lost you too soon. After pointing out that slasher movie heroines sometimes act silly, she is stabbed by Ghostface right in her movie seat. 

It’s a fairly simple kill, but, along with Pinkett Smith’s guttural scream, the reason it’s so high on the list is for the killer’s boldness. Ghostface is sure that even if Maureen calls for help, it’ll be useless. Everyone around her is loudly enjoying the movie-within-the-movie Stab, based on the events of Scream 1. 

3. Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Scream

Cause of death: Television dumped on the head.

In the final fight between Billy and Stu, the two serial killers of this film, Sidney overpowers the latter after he’s already been slashed. She then electrocutes him by ditching a TV, a.k.a. one hell of a makeshift weapon, on him. She made do with what she had, and it really made Stu’s death stand out. 

2. Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), Scream

Cause of death: Neck broken/electrocution by garage door

Listen, Ghostface *tried* to kill Tatum by stabbing her, but she was a fighter. A damn good one. She even got to throw beer bottles at him. But then she thought it’d be wise to escape through a minuscule cat flap. 

The killer doesn’t have to do much besides letting the garage door and the lighting above do the job for him. It’s definitely an appalling, unexpectedly madcap method of killing someone, which is why it’s the runner-up of this list. 

1. Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore), Scream

Cause of death: Stabbed through the heart

Barrymore’s finest performance (sorry, Santa Clarita Diet!) cemented Scream with an opening scene for the books. 

Ghostface’s first on-screen kill, Casey is tormented with the “What’s your favorite scary movie?” phone call, followed by a game to save her boyfriend’s life. She has to watch him die before getting killed herself, left hanging with her organs inside out. 

The first film made a statement by killing off its biggest star within the first 10 minutes. It’s been a twisted journey ever since. 

With revivals, sequels, and reboots the latest Hollywood trend, maybe there’s hope we’ll get a Scream 5. In the meantime, we’ll just be here rewatching our (I’m assuming it’s collective because who can’t not enjoy Scream?) favorite scary movie.