All 9 Of The "Scream" Villains, Ranked From Best To Worst

One of the most iconic horror series of all time.

Neve Cambell needs to get credit for being the only scream queen in every installment of her franchise to survive.

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Scream is one of the most iconic horror series of all time, now going on its fifth installment in over 25 years. Scream is by far the best at creating a murder mystery and having audiences try to figure out who the killer or killers are. 

Although none of these films would be the same without their main protagonist, Sidney Prescott, they would also be insufficient without the psychotic murdering serial killers behind the Ghostface mask. That is why today, we will go into who are the best and worst characters that have acted as Ghostface throughout the Scream franchise.

1. Billy Loomis

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Billy is a super-mega-horror fan who has issues that stem from his mother's abandonment, leaving him behind after his father cheated on her with Sidney's mom, Maureen Prescott. We later find out that under the influence of Roman, Billy decides to kill Maureen with Stu's help before turning his attention to killing Sidney and her friends. With Billy's boyish good looks and creepy demeanor, Billy is a master manipulator and the obvious choice for the best Scream villain, hands down. 

Wes Craven (R.I.P.) did a great job of making it so evident that Billy Loomis was the killer that you stop suspecting him entirely. From the moment he climbs in Sidney's window throughout the entirety of the film, you are suspicious that Billy is the killer, but the producers efficiently placed reasons on purpose consistently for you to doubt that it could be him. Even when Billy is arrested, and you say to yourself, "I knew it was him," the killer calls while Billy is in jail, and again you throw out the possibility that he is the killer. This only makes the revelation that Billy has been the killer(s) the whole time more shocking. 

2. Stu Macher

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Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher is terrifying because of how unhinged he is and his dedication to murder without any real reason, similar to the Joker in The Dark Knight. He has no real motive for the killings and chalks his behavior up to "peer pressure" from Billy. But Lilliard's incredible acting range is displayed as Stu Macher's character can turn his murdering personality on and off at will, disguised as silly, carefree, and lovable. Therefore the reveal of Stu being one of the Ghostface killers was indeed shocking.

Not to mention how Matthew Lillard's performance as Stu Macher during the final act of Scream is one of the most iconic in horror movie history. Stu jokes about Sidney's mom not being attractive enough to be so promiscuous because "She's no Sharon Stone" to demoralize further and torment Sidney. This shows how deranged Stu is because he thinks making a joke about Sidney's dead mom being too ugly to be a whore while explaining a murder plot is funny. Then during Stu's phone conversation with Sidney, as he is bleeding out from multiple stab wounds from Billy, he cries because he's scared his parents will be mad at him when they find out what he'd done. 

Showing this fear shows that Stu can be remorseful when he wants, and you almost feel bad for the guy. That is, until he turns his psychotic personality back on and tries to kill Sidney. He even goes as far as telling her, "I've always had a thing for you, Sid," while being on top of her. The thing that makes Stu so scary is that you never know which side of him you're going to get, so the only thing you can expect from him is the unexpected. 

3. Amber Freeman

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Amber is a wolf in sheep's clothing, convincingly pretending that she cares about Tara's well-being and finding the killer throughout the majority of the film. Although the initial texts to Tara from the killer are from Amber's phone, the film tries to trick audiences into eliminating her as a potential suspect by having the killer send a video recording of Amber from outside the window and cloning Amber's phone. Amber maintains her innocence by showing deep concern for Tara's well-being by defending her and even accusing others of being the killer.

Amber may have the best kills in the entire franchise, as they were all delightfully violent. Not to mention, she is responsible for killing the iconic fan-favorite "Dwight Dewy Riley" by taking the phrase "spilling ones' guts" a little too seriously and cutting his stomach wide open. Her skills were so good because they were so shocking. It was surprising when she came out of nowhere in the parking lot and stabbed Vince Schneider in the neck, and no one expected that. Or when she shot Liv Mackenzie in the head to reveal to the characters and the audience that she was indeed the killer — no one expected that either. She even almost takes down legendary fan-favorite characters Gale Weathers and Sidney Prescott in a bloody showdown. 

4. Mrs. Loomis

Craven-Maddalena Films

Mrs. Loomis was so scary because she didn't fit the description of your stereotypical serial killer. This allowed her to be a true wolf in sheep's clothing. One of the best villains in the Scream franchise, she probably has the most logical reasoning for wanting revenge and going on a killing spree. Mrs. Loomis's husband had an affair with Maureen Prescott, Sidney's mom, and then she leaves town and abandons Billy. 

Later on, her son experienced so many psychological issues from his childhood that he loses his mind over the years, kills a lot of people, and gets himself killed by the daughter of the woman her husband was having an affair with. No wonder she hated Sidney so much. Her fury shows in the final scene as she reveals why she wants to kill Sidney, and you could tell she was heated because the look on her face could put a hole in the concrete. 

5. Roman Briger

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Roman Briger being the one behind the mask is arguably one of the best reveals in the franchise. For one, you didn't expect him to be the killer because he seemed so insecure and weak, quite frankly. Therefore seeing his insanity show when he explains his reasons for killing Sidney's friends and loved ones was a shocking enjoyable twist. 

No one saw it coming when Roman shared he is Sidney's half-brother, who their birth mother left behind and denied his existence to his face. Or that as a result of her denying his existence, Roman is the one that educated Billy Loomis on how to be a serial killer influencing him and Stu to kill Maureen Prescott. This manipulation only further displays how dangerous Roman is. With the most significant kill count in the series, it's kind of impressive that in every other film in the franchise, there are two killers. Therefore, Roman successfully doing as much damage as he did all by himself speaks highly of his intelligence and hunger for blood. 

6. Richie Kirsch

Spyglass Media Group

Kirsch does a perfect job of playing Sam's innocent, supportive, kindhearted boyfriend. He efficiently deflects and shuts down the possibility that he could be the killer at every turn with humor or logic, which works every time. The only way you could have suspected he was the killer is because he's a little TOO perfect. Richie is very good at hiding his true intentions and coming off as someone who genuinely has his girlfriend Sam Carpenter's best interest in mind, which of course, wasn't true. Richie's motive is to repair the Stab franchise and put films back in the hands of the fans. 

The horrific opening scene shows a POV angle of the other killer, Amber, in the window, making it clear that Richie is the one who is psychologically toying with Tara on the phone before brutally attacking her and almost killing her. He even goes so low as to try to manipulate Sam into believing that her sister Tara is the killer to kill her, which is ridiculously maniacal. Throughout the film, Richie kills only two people, giving him one of the lowest kill counts of the series, but his murder of Judy Hicks might be the most violent Ghostface kill in the franchise. 

7. Jill Roberts

Outterbanks Entertainment

Jill deserves credit for being the closest Ghostface to almost successfully pull off her plan. She almost gets away with it until she slips up and speaks on something only the killer would know. Although she may not be the most vicious of the Ghostface killers, Jill has one of the highest kill counts in the franchise, with seven total, making her more than a worthy adversary. 

The thing about Jill is that she doesn't like Sidney because of her fame and the pressure she feels being related to her. This doesn't seem like good enough reasoning to kill Sidney and everyone she cares about. Jill's rationality shows how mentally ill she is, and quite frankly, it looks like her murder spree is a bit of an overreaction to a lack of attention. 

8. Mickey Altieri

Craven-Maddalena Films

All the killers behind the Ghostface mask are psychopaths, but few have it under control as much as Mickey does. What makes Mickey terrifying is that he doesn't want to get away with it; he wants to get caught and be famous for being a serial killer planning to get away with it by blaming cinema violence for his insanity. 

He is so dangerous because unlike most killers in the franchise, he has no connection to Sidney and genuinely just enjoyed killing. To him, doing the killing for Mrs. Loomis was actually fun and therapeutic, similar to characters like HBO's Dexter. Tallying up seven kills in Scream 2 alone, he is one of the most brutal killers in the series and tied for second for the most kills. 

9. Charlie Walker

Outterbanks Entertainment

Poor Charlie. Blindly in love with Jill, he had no idea that he was just a puppet in her master plan to be the sole surviving hero. Simply just following orders because of his love for her, he did what Jill told him to do and killed who she told him to kill. His motive for the killings was simply to please Jill. That is, of course, until he no longer served a purpose for her and she disposed of him so that he would be blamed for the killings, making her the hero. Very similar to Billy and Stu in the original Scream.

The Scream franchise is a breath of fresh air for those who want to take a break from CGI and want a classic taste of a good old-fashioned murder mystery with all the bloody violence great horror movies have to offer.

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As successful as supernatural films have been recently, it's nice to see the knife-wielding serial killer Ghostface return in the top-notch form to the big screen. Due to the positive reactions from fans and the success of Scream 5, we can probably expect another installment soon; at least, we hope so!