10 Best Movies Like Scream 6

Scream 6 continues the stories of Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), which have a similar vibe to other movies from the horror genre. After the success of 2022’s Scream, which revived the saga 11 years after the release of Scream 4, the reboot trilogy was granted a second movie. Simply titled Scream 6 and directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, it reunites viewers with Sam, Tara, Chad (Mason Gooding), and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) now in New York City, as Tara and her friends attend Blackmore University.

However, a new city far from Woodsboro isn’t enough to stop those going after Sam and Tara, and a new wave of Ghostface murders is unleashed – luckily, they count on the help of legacy characters Gale (Courteney Cox) and Kirby (Hayden Panettiere). Scream 6 was a critical and commercial success, leading to a sequel being greenlit. While Scream 7 is in development, with franchise creator Kevin Williamson as director and Neve Campbell returning as Sidney Prescott, there are other movies from the horror genre, though with different approaches to it, that are great companions to Scream 6.

10

Cry Wolf

Cry Wolf Was Released In 2005

Cry Wolf 2005 Owen looking off camera

Cry Wolf is a slasher movie directed by Jeff Wadlow. Cry Wolf takes the audience to a prestigious boarding school, where Owen (Julian Morris), Dodger (Lindy Booth), Mercedes (Sandra McCoy), Tom (Jared Padalecki), Lewis (Paul James), Randall (Jesse Janzen), and Regina (Kristy Wu) play a game called “cry wolf.” The game consists of one member of the group being marked as a “wolf”, and so the rest have to figure out who it is. When the body of a student is found, the group takes “cry wolf” to another level and spread the rumor of a serial killer, but it soon becomes too real.

Jeff Wadlow also directed Kick-Ass 2, Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island, and Imaginary.

Despite not being the critics’ favorite, Cry Wolf performed very well at the box office and successfully carried on with the popularity of slashers in the 2000s. Cry Wolf has all the elements of a good slasher mixed with those of any teen movie, and just like Scream 6, it has a plot twist that changes the entire movie. While specific elements in Cry Wolf haven’t aged well, it’s still a slasher movie worth checking out.

9

Urban Legend

Urban Legend Was Released In 1998

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Urban Legend is also a slasher movie, directed by Jamie Blanks. Urban Legend also takes place at a private school, but this group is followed by a different type of serial killer with a very specific inspiration. It all begins with the murder of a student, whose killer was hiding in the backseat of her car, pretty much like in a well-known urban legend. The killer then targets Paul (Jared Leto), Natalie (Alicia Witt), Brenda (Rebecca Gayheart), Damon (Joshua Jackson), Sasha (Tara Reid), and Parker (Michael Rosenbaum), and all the attacks are inspired by urban legends.

Urban Legend also counts on the talents of horror legends Robert Englund and Brad Dourif.

Scream 6, Cry Wolf, and Urban Legend are all set in schools, though to different extents, of course. They all have a serial killer haunting a group of college students, and they all have specific costumes – what’s different, of course, are the motivations. The particularity of Urban Legend is the killer’s style, taking note of different and very well-known urban legends to exact their revenge, which makes them original among contemporary slashers, even if the story fell short for some.

8

Totally Killer

Totally Killer Was Released In 2023

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Totally Killer is a slasher comedy directed by Nahnatchka Khan. Totally Killer follows Jamie (Kiernan Shipka), whose mother, Pam, is killed on Halloween night by the Sweet 16 Killer, who killed her three best friends back in 1987 on the nights of their 16th birthdays. After being chased by the killer, Jamie ends up traveling back in time in her best friend’s time machine (which is a school project) to 1987, and sets out to stop the murders so she can save her mother in the present day.

Totally Killer mixes slasher, sci-fi, and comedy in an engaging story with enough sense of humor to keep the audience’s attention without breaking the tension brought by the horror elements. There’s also an emotional side to Totally Killer, as Jamie’s journey is a very personal one, but in line with the previous examples, Totally Killer also has a good dose of plot twists, along with a masked killer with a very specific look.

7

Happy Death Day

Happy Death Day Was Released In 2017

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Happy Death Day is a black comedy slasher directed by Christopher Landon. Happy Death Day introduces the audience to Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) who is murdered by a masked killer on the night of her birthday – but to her surprise, she wakes up to relive the day, over and over again. Tree realizes that the only way to stop the loop and her many deaths is to find who her killer is, and her mission uncovers different secrets around her.

Christopher Landon was originally going to direct Scream 7.

Happy Death Day got mixed reactions from critics but was a box office hit, granting it a sequel released two years later. Happy Death Day has been praised for its dark sense of humor and originality with its sci-fi elements, with Rothe’s performance getting the most praise. Of course, Happy Death Day has its plot twist, though a somewhat predictable one, but the movie’s strength is its tone and Rothe’s performance, which perfectly balances comedy, suspense, and emotional depth as Tree also deals with trauma.

6

The Blackening

The Blackening Was Released In 2023

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The Blackening is a black comedy slasher movie directed by Tim Story and based on the 2018 short film of the same name by the comedy troupe 3Peat. Set on Juneteenth, The Blackening follows a group of black friends – Lisa (Antoinette Robertson), Allison (Grave Byers), Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins), King (Melvin Gregg), Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls), Shanika (X Mayo), and Clifton (Jermaine Fowler) – who plan on celebrating the day at a cabin in the woods. There they find a mysterious board game called “The Blackening”, which tests their “blackness” and punishes them, but there’s someone else wanting to hurt them.

The Blackening Ending Killer Identity Explained

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While Scream 6 (and every other movie in the franchise) fires shots at horror clichés, trends, and more, it does so in a more serious manner, while The Blackening goes full comedy on it.

What makes The Blackening a worthy companion to Scream 6 is not just its slasher elements, but its comedy and satire of horror film tropes and stereotypes. While Scream 6 (and every other movie in the franchise) fires shots at horror clichés, trends, and more, it does so in a more serious manner, while The Blackening goes full comedy on it. The Blackening doesn’t have shocking murder scenes like Scream 6, but the mystery of who’s behind the game and the murders makes up for them.

5

Freaky

Freaky Was Released In 2020

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Freaky is a black comedy slasher directed by Christopher Landon – and just like Happy Death Day, it also has sci-fi elements, though to a lesser extent. Freaky follows Millie (Kathryn Newton), a bullied high school student who is attacked by the serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn). However, due to his weapon of choice, they end up switching bodies, so now the Butcher is going on a new murder spree as the innocent-looking Millie, while Millie, looking like the Butcher, tries to figure out how to get her body back.

Freaky has its dose of kills fitting with the slasher genre, but despite its tone and themes, it’s not devoid of emotion.

Freaky’s strength is its blend of comedy and horror as well as the performances of Vaughn and Newton, and unlike Scream 6, there’s no mystery to solve here – however, that doesn’t make it any less entertaining and engaging. Freaky has its dose of kills fitting with the slasher genre, but despite its tone and themes, it’s not devoid of emotion.

4

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Bodies Bodies Bodies Was Released In 2022

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Bodies Bodies Bodies is a horror comedy murder mystery directed by Halina Reijn. Bodies Bodies Bodies introduces the audience to Bee (Maria Bakalova), a working-class woman who goes with her girlfriend, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), to a “hurricane party” at the mansion of the family of Sophie’s best friend, David (Pete Davidson). Also at the party are David’s girlfriend Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), their friend Alice (Rachel Sennott) and her new and much older boyfriend Greg (Lee Pace), and Jordan (Myha’la Herrold).

pete davidson in Bodies Bodies Bodies

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At night, the group decides to play “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, a muder-in-the-dark type of game – however, the night takes a horrible turn when one of them is killed. Bodies Bodies Bodies was a critical and commercial success, and its “whodunit” style mixed with dark humor, along with the cast’s performances, make it stand out from other similar movies. Bodies Bodies Bodies has a claustrophobic feel that amps up the suspense without the need for a masked killer, and, of course, it has a plot twist that calls for an immediate rewatch.

3

Hush

Hush Was Released In 2016

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Hush is a slasher film by Mike Flanagan, but it has one big peculiarity. Hush follows Maddie Young (Kate Siegel), a deaf-mute horror author who moves to a house in the woods as she’s struggling to write her next book. One night, she becomes the target of a masked killer, who, once he notices Maddie is deaf-mute, decides to torture her psychologically before he attacks her physically. What makes Hush especially tense is the sound design, as there are many moments of complete silence so the audience can feel what Maddie is going through.

Hush has a unique approach to the slasher genre thanks to Maddie, and allowing the audience to relate to her through the lack of sound elevates the viewing experience. Hush starts more as a thriller and ends as a full-on slasher, and the claustrophobic feel of it, along with the main chase being only between Maddie and the killer, make it a must-watch for slasher fans, and an excellent, more contained companion to Scream 6.

2

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Was Released In 2024

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a dark fantasy horror comedy directed by Tim Burton and a sequel to his 1988 movie Beetlejuice. It reunites the audience with Lydia (Winona Ryder) and Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), who, after Charles Deetz’s death, return to Winter River along with Lydia’s estranged teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). When Astrid is tricked into entering the Neitherworld, Lydia has no other choice than to summon the chaotic bio-exorcist Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) for help – but as expected, his help comes with a huge price.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a chance for those who only know Ortega’s role in Scream to see a different side to her.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn’t a slasher like most of the movies on this list, but its themes of death, loneliness, family, grief, and trauma are also found in Scream 6… as is Jenna Ortega. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a chance for those who only know Ortega’s role in Scream to see a different side to her – one that is more comedic but also with hints of horror. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a unique look at death and what’s beyond it, making it a much-needed lighter watch after Scream 6.

1

Scream 2

Scream 2 Was Released In 1997

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Of course, an undeniable companion to Scream 6 is within its saga. Directed by Wes Craven, Scream 2 catches up with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) two years after the events of the first movie. Now a student at Windsor College along with her best friend and fellow survivor, Randy (Jamie Kennedy), Sidney’s peace is disturbed by the arrival of a new Ghostface killer, who not only goes after her, but also Randy, Gale, and Dewey (David Arquette). Of course, Scream 2’s Ghostface reveal comes with a big twist.

Scream 6 takes a lot from Scream 2, such as the setting being a new city and a school, the Final Girl having a new love interest, and the past continuing to chase them. As Scream 6 features the “Ghostface Shrine”, watching Scream 2 adds more context to that specific part, and also goes on to show that history repeats itself sometimes, though in more gruesome ways.

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Scream 6

R

Horror

Thriller

ScreenRant logo

7/10

13

8.5/10

Release Date

March 10, 2023

Runtime

122 Minutes

Director

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Writers

James Vanderbilt, Guy Busick

Prequel(s)

Scream, Scream, Scream 3, Scream 2, Scream 4

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Melissa Barrera In The Sony Classic Pictures and The Cinema Society

    Melissa Barrera

  • Headshot Of Courteney Cox In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Warner Bros. Television's 'Shining Vale'

    Courteney Cox

Franchise(s)

Scream

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