While every Scream movie is great in its own way, thanks to the strong performances, the motive of each Ghostface killer, and jokes spread throughout each story, the high kill count is also memorable. The slasher franchise might have a sense of humor and smart meta commentary, but no one is safe, from final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) to her friends and family.
Although many characters are killed in every Scream film, the first person to be murdered is the most unforgettable, often because Scream is known for having clever and powerful opening scenes. The first victim is an early sign of trouble and sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
Scream: Steve Orth
While Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is the star of the opening scene of the original Scream movie from 1996, her boyfriend Steve Orth (Kevin Patrick Walls) is the first person to die. When Casey gets one of the most famous horror movie phone calls from Ghostface, she answers questions about the genre, and then she sees her boyfriend taped to a chair outside the kitchen window of her house. This is definitely terrifying and sets the stage for what is going to happen next: Casey will fight for survival but unfortunately be killed as well.
While Steve isn't given a personality and much isn't shared about their relationship, he is still a smart choice for Ghostface's first victim as Casey loves him and knows that she is in danger. Scream has one of the best opening scenes in horror movies and when Casey is murdered when trying to escape her house and hung from a tree, it's hard to deny that all of Woodsboro, California is in trouble.
Scream 2: Phil Stevens
Phil Stevens (Omar Epps) and his girlfriend Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett Smith) go to the movies to see Stab in the opening scene of Scream 2 and Phil dies first. He has one of the most brutal deaths of the entire slasher franchise as Ghostface stabs him in the ear through a bathroom stall. Maureen dies next and is stabbed in front of a full theater who thinks that this is part of the show.
These deaths are sadder and more upsetting to watch than some of the other kills in the Scream franchise, as Phil and Maureen are innocent people who have nothing to do with Ghostface or the plan to get revenge on Sidney. They serve as a reminder of what the killer is capable of.
Scream 3: Christine Hamilton
Cotton Weary's (Liev Schreiber) girlfriend Christine Hamilton (Kelly Rutherford) is the first person to be killed in Scream 3, which has the franchise's worst opening sequence. In what is a dull and uninteresting start to the movie, Christine is walking around the second floor of their house when Ghostface breaks in and murders her by stabbing her in the back with a knife. While this is likely a homage to the famous shower scene in Psycho, it isn't funny or scary.
Before Christine dies, she thinks that Cotton is Ghostface, which does tie all the movies together as Sidney thought that Cotton had killed her mother and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) felt that he was innocent. Since Cotton dies next, it's clear that he didn't commit this crime and suggests that Sidney will have to come out of hiding to face yet another threat.
Scream 4: Trudie/Rachel/Marnie
Scream 4 has an intense and meta opening sequence where it seems that two teenage girls are watching a Stab movie and then it turns out that they are actually inside the movie. Trudie (Shenae Grimes-Beech) is the first to die and then Ghostface stabs her friend Sherrie (Lucy Hale), and they are revealed to be characters in Stab 6. Then Rachel (Anna Paquin) and Chloe (Kristen Bell) turn off Stab 6 and Chloe kills Rachel. In a fun twist, Jenny Randall (Aimee Teegarden) and Marnie Cooper (Britt Robinson) are watching Stab 7 and the characters are both killed by Ghostface.
It could be argued that Scream 4 is the best movie in the franchise and this opening definitely contributes to that. It's fun, creative, and unexpected and it's nice that the franchise does something different from what has come before.
Scream 2022: Vince Schneider
Vince Schneider (Kyle Gallner), Stu Macher's (Matthew Lillard) nephew in Scream (2022), is the first to be killed by Ghostface in this fifth entry, which suggests that this film will be just as creepy as the previous four. Vince leaves a bar and walks toward his car when Ghostface attacks him, and because Vince isn't expecting this at all, it becomes one of the most shocking deaths in Scream (2022).
While it would have been possible to kill one of the main characters first instead, this death scene works better since it leaves the others open as potential suspects, and it's fun to keep watching and figure out who the killer is.