Movies Like Scream

If you loved Scream (1996) for its self-aware take on horror tropes, genuinely scary kills, and the mystery of who's behind the Ghostface mask, these 10 movies deliver a similar experience. We picked each one based on shared tone, themes, and emotional feel — not just surface-level genre tags.

1. 

   1. I Know What You Did Last Summer

   1997 Horror

   I Know What You Did Last Summer follows four friends who cover up a fatal hit-and-run accident and, a year later, are stalked by a hook-wielding killer who knows their secret. Written by Kevin Williamson, who also wrote Scream, it shares that film's teen ensemble, coastal small-town setting, and guessing game over the killer's identity. It is more earnest and less self-aware, playing the slasher formula straight instead of winking at it.

   Where to watch I Know What You Did Last Summer
2. 

   2. The Cabin in the Woods

   2012 Horror

   The Cabin in the Woods sends five college friends to a remote cabin, where events are being manipulated by mysterious technicians in an underground facility. Like Scream, it is a horror film about horror movies, picking apart the clichés and the reasons audiences love them. It is more of a genre mash-up, cramming in monsters from every corner of horror, and its satire is bigger and more absurd than Scream's grounded whodunit.

   Where to watch The Cabin in the Woods
3. 

   3. Happy Death Day

   2017 Horror

   Happy Death Day follows a college student who is murdered by a masked killer on her birthday, then wakes up to relive the same day over and over until she solves her own murder. It pairs a playful, self-aware tone with a mystery, which makes it a natural follow-up to Scream. The time-loop premise makes it more of a comedy, and its kills are milder, but the masked-killer guessing game is very much in the same tradition.

   Where to watch Happy Death Day
4. 

   4. Halloween

   1978 Horror

   Halloween follows Michael Myers, who escapes a psychiatric hospital and returns to his hometown to stalk babysitter Laurie Strode on Halloween night. Scream openly references it, even showing characters watching it, and it set many of the rules Scream's characters recite. John Carpenter's film is slower and quieter, built on suspense and its famous score, and there is no mystery about who the killer is, which makes it a very different kind of scary.

   Where to watch Halloween
5. 

   5. A Nightmare on Elm Street

   1984 Horror

   A Nightmare on Elm Street follows teenagers hunted in their dreams by Freddy Krueger, a disfigured killer whose attacks kill them in real life. It was directed by Wes Craven, who later made Scream, and seeing both shows how he reinvented the teen slasher twice. This one is more surreal and supernatural, with dream sequences that blur reality, while Scream grounds its terror in a human killer and comedy about the genre.

   Where to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street
6. 

   6. Final Destination

   2000 Horror

   Final Destination follows a teenager whose premonition saves a group of classmates from a plane explosion, after which death seems to come back for the survivors one by one. It belongs on a Scream list for its teen cast, its ingenious and memorable death scenes, and its playful sense of dread. There is no masked killer or mystery to solve, though; the villain is an invisible force, so the fun is guessing how, not who.

   Where to watch Final Destination
7. 

   7. Urban Legend

   1998 Horror

   Urban Legend follows college students targeted by a killer who stages murders modeled on famous urban legends. It arrived in the wake of Scream and follows its template closely: a campus setting, a hooded killer, and a whodunit with a list of suspects. It is less sharp and less funny than Scream, but for viewers who want more late-90s slasher mystery with a gimmick, it hits the spot.

   Where to watch Urban Legend
8. 

   8. Tucker and Dale vs Evil

   2010 Comedy

   Tucker and Dale vs Evil follows two good-natured hillbillies on vacation at their run-down cabin who are mistaken for murderers by a group of college students, with disastrous results. It flips the horror conventions that Scream's characters love to discuss, making it a perfect pick for fans of the meta side of the film. It is an outright comedy with gory slapstick and almost no scares, so expect laughs more than tension.

   Where to watch Tucker and Dale vs Evil
9. 

   9. You're Next

   2011 Horror

   You're Next follows a family gathering at a remote vacation home that is attacked by masked killers, until one guest turns out to be remarkably good at fighting back. Like Scream, it mixes masked-intruder terror with dark humor and twists about who is involved. Adam Wingard's film is more of a home-invasion thriller, rougher and lower-budget, and its heroine is much more in control than Scream's frightened teens.

   Where to watch You're Next
10. 

    10. Ready or Not

    2019 Horror

    Ready or Not follows a new bride whose wealthy in-laws insist on a wedding-night game of hide-and-seek, which turns into a hunt to kill her before dawn. It shares Scream's blend of horror and comedy and its resourceful, furious final girl. The setting is a gothic mansion rather than a high school, and it is a satire of the rich rather than of slasher clichés, but it has the same gleefully bloody sense of fun.

    Where to watch Ready or Not