Ranking All 25 Of The Phone Calls From The "Scream" Franchise From "Boring" To "I Couldn't Sleep After"

    Okay, but Sarah Michelle Gellar really had one of the best Scream call scenes.

    25. Steven Stone's call from Scream 3

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    This call lands at the bottom of the list because it BARELY meets the criteria. Scream 3 is a fun ride, but is definitely the weakest of the bunch and one of the reasons for that is the clunky and unrealistic storyline of the killer being able to mimic people's voices. It's been 23 years since the movie, and we are just now getting to that kind of technology with AI. So Ghostface mimicking Dewey's voice for the whole call except for one word sends Mr. Patrick Warburton to the bottom of the list, and to be fair, he kind of deserved it for the unnecessary comment he made about Dewey's dead sister.

    24. Sidney's sixth call from Scream 3

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    Another Scream 3 call bites the dust. This is definitely Sidney's least exciting call and her least exciting call from the third entry. It's all very expositional as Ghostface just barks orders at her until she hangs up. The only bonus points I could give it is Sidney yelling, "It's your turn to scream, asshole!" at the killer later in the scene.

    23. Sidney's ninth call from Scream (2022)

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    At this point it had been 10 years since we last saw Sidney Prescott get a phone call from Ghostface, and this is all we got? Granted it was great to hear the infamous "Hello, Sidney," but that's about it for the excitement in this call. A large part of why this is one the least thrilling of Sidney's many phone calls is because she's over it and doesn't have time to listen to a script she's heard for 25 years. But for this to have possibly been Sidney's last phone call ever, the writers should've upped the ante, and not made us wait for the final 20 minutes of the movie to finally see Sid get a phone call.

    22. Sidney's second call from Scream (1996)

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    This isn't a boring call by any means, but it's ranked pretty low for how short it is. It provides insight to Sid's past with Cotton Weary and leads the audience to think Billy is in the clear, but that's about it. The best part comes after the call when Dewey runs out into the hall, in his underwear, confused and gun in hand, to answer the phone in a hilariously "serious" way.

    21. Sidney's third call from Scream 2

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    For this being Sidney's only non-prank call in Scream 2, underwhelming isn't even the beginning of it. It's another short call with not much happening, but boy, do I love seeing Ghostface flail around the sorority.

    20. Sidney's fourth call from Scream 3

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    Once again, the dumb voice changer storyline hinders what could have been a great first call for Sidney in this movie. The suspense when we see the call is actually coming from her home line and not her office line is chilling. But the fact that the killer's voice changer can mimic Sid's mom's voice, a dead woman, is absolutely bonkers.

    19. Sidney's fifth call from Scream 3

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    This is definitely my favorite call Sidney gets in the third movie. Ghostface taunts her in a perfect cat-and-mouse manner. We see Sid and the love she has for Gale and Dewey and the anger she holds for Ghostface, which in turn gives a shining acting moment for Neve Campbell.

    18. Sam's first ever call from Scream (2022)

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    This was a pretty standard Ghostface call, but the only reason its ranks further than the others is because this is new final girl Samantha Carpenter's first ever call in the Scream franchise. We see her agility and willingness to fight for her life in this scene, but she has a much better call later on in the film.

    17. Jill's call from Scream 4

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    This was also a run-of -the-mill Ghostface call, but what is important to note about this call is how it all plays out, so the audience rules out Jill as a suspect. This is also Kirby's first brush with the killer and plants seeds for when she has her shining moments later in the movie. Bonus points for the running the stop sign jump scare that somehow gets me every time.

    16. Sidney's eighth call from Scream 4

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    While this isn't my favorite Sidney call from the fourth movie, it is still a pretty damn good one. Once again, Ghostface tells Sidney to watch the news and once again, she is hurt to see someone close to her has been hurt. My favorite moment in this call is definitely the dialogue as Scream 4 actually had some of the best calls and Ghostface lines in the whole franchise.

    15. Sam's second call from Scream (2022)

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    I think this is one of the few times that someone calls Ghostface instead, albeit indirectly. This whole scene was tense and scary as Ghostface looks as menacing as ever as they watch Tara struggling to crawl away in pain while talking to Sam. The shot of Ghostface turning on the voice changer and some of their lines throughout the call are the cherry on top. Final girl points to Sam for using the call to stall the killer, and sadly, we all know what happens next.

    14. Cotton's call from Scream 3

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    I'm not gonna lie to you, it was pretty hard to not put every Scream 3 call near the bottom, because of that stupid voice changer. But I decided I should let the whole scene be part of its placement for this call as the opening for Scream 3 was pretty good. Seeing Cotton be one of the first victims was shocking, considering how big his role was in the second film. The race to his apartment, the subversion of a man being the primary target of the opening scene, and his ultimate fight and demise saved this call from succumbing to the dumb plot device.

    13. Rebecca's call from Scream 4

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    This call is most certainly placing higher up because of the whole sequence. Being alone in a parking garage at night and having Ghostface call and harass you is 100% terrifying. I really liked Alison Brie in this Gale Weathers Lite role and the whole scene is a franchise best. Also, Ghostface once again strikes one liner gold with that morgue comment.

    12. Sarah's call from Scream 3

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    Even though a large chunk of the call is Ghostface mimicking Roman's voice, I think this is the best call from the third film. Jenny McCarthy actually does a good job at portraying how beautifully meta this scene is. She's indeed the second kill (well, third, if you wanna be technical with it, but she was the second attack). The meta commentary and the wink and nudge to the audience about the constant script rewrites that were done during Scream 2, because the script leaked online tie this call and sequence with a nice bloody bow.

    11. Sidney's seventh call from Scream 4

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    This is definitely Sidney's best call from Scream 4. The back and forth between her and Ghostface is perfect and some of the best since the first film. Ghostface's dialogue in particular is almost poetic in a macabre way and is further proof that Scream 4 had some of the best calls in the whole franchise!

    10. Jenny's call from Scream 4

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    We start our top 10 with a bang. Or a body through a window, your pick. Jenny and Ghostface's banter is great, especially for the opening sequence. I'm a sucker for Ghostface talking about movies while he taunts his victims. Plus Roger L. Jackson's performance is just great as evidenced by his lines in this phone call and the phone calls in the fictional Stab 6, also shown in the opening sequence. The way he delivers the line, "And you better start running!" just sends chills down my spine!

    9. Billy and Stu's call from Scream (1996)

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    This is the only instance in which the killers get a phone call, but not from an accomplice. The way Sidney flipped the script on them is genius and is further proof that Sidney Prescott is the most badass final girl ever (with all respect to Laurie Strode). Plus, I really have to commend Matthew Lillard, because this is one of the best performances in horror movie history. I quote, "My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me," almost every day.

    8. Judy's call from Scream (2022)

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    This whole sequence is one of the best in the fifth film, and it is just brutal and full of suspense — I was truly on the edge of my seat the whole time. The way Roger L. Jackson delivered the "Sheriff Ju-dee" line is hilarious and the way Marley Shelton delivered, "I prefer animated films and musicals," was perfect and provided somewhat funny moments in a rather bleak and heartbreaking scene.

    7. Kirby's first call from Scream 4

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    This is just one of the many amazing moments Hayden Panettiere has in this movie. Kirby shows herself as a worthy opponent against Ghostface as their back and forth is impeccable. The twist of Ghostface being in Olivia's closet rather than Jill's was a stroke of genius that also led to one of the most brutal kills in the whole franchise. While this is one of Kirby's bright moments, the best is yet to come.

    6. Randy's call from Scream 2

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    Jamie Kennedy was just a gem as Randy Meeks. Even though he technically took what would have been Gale's only call in the whole franchise (before Scream VI), boy, did he prove himself worthy of a call. The scene is a tense cat-and-mouse moment as Randy, Gale, and Dewey look for the killer amongst a busy field. The dialogue between the two during the call is a mixture of funny, clever, and scary, as it all leads to one of the most shocking deaths in the whole franchise.

    5. Tara's call from Scream (2022)

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    Jenna Ortega is just a phenomenal actor. This was truly the best opening scene since the original. What I love about this call is the fact that Ghostface actually asks Tara questions about scary movies, instead of just taunting her. The twist of Tara actually surviving the opening scene was also a welcome addition to the franchise, especially as her attack was so gruesome and gory. What a way to breathe life into the franchise and our top 5.

    4. Cici's call from Scream 2

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    We gotta give it up for resident final girl, vampire slayer, and mystery solver, Sarah Michelle Gellar. She's the star of not only one of the best scenes in Scream 2, but the whole franchise. The back and forth between Cici and Ghostface during all the phone calls is excellent and provided the tensest atmosphere since Casey Becker's call in the first film. The scariest bits are seeing the killer sneak in, while on the phone with Cici and the line, "Do you wanna die tonight, Cici?" as the great score by Marco Beltrami crescendos. Sadly, there was no wooden stake or frightened Great Dane to help Cici stay alive, but she did indeed put up a fight and delivered an iconic scene while doing so.

    3. Sidney's first ever call from Scream (1996)

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    This was quite the introduction to final girl Sidney Prescott. It showed us that she is smart, brave, agile, and more than willing to fight for her life. The cat-and-mouse conversation that ultimately leads to Sid's realization that the caller is the real killer is as suspenseful as ever. Extra meta points to Sidney saying that she doesn't watch scary movies because the girl always runs upstairs when she should be running out the door, only for her to run upstairs two minutes later is just *chef's kiss.*

    2. Kirby's second call from Scream 4

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    I mean God, what's not to love about this call? First, Hayden Panettiere's performance is just incredible — the homage to the opening scene from the first film — the fact that Ghostface asks Kirby questions, Roger L. Jackson's amazing delivery, the moment Kirby names all those horror movies and the lead up to revealing one of the killers. Everything was just done so masterfully; this is a horror fan's wet dream.

    1. Casey Becker's call from Scream (1996)

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    I mean did you think any other call would top the list? She's an icon. She's a legend. And she IS the moment. Now, come on now. What can be said that isn't said about the opening scene of Scream? It changed the history of horror and slasher movies, it subverted tropes, it began tropes, it has inspired countless movies and talentm and is an iconic moment in cinema history.