Sidney Prescott's hometown of Woodsboro, California is the perfect setting for the Scream franchise. When fans first meet Neve Campbell's beloved character in the original 1996 movie, she is doing her best to live a normal teenage life with her friends and boyfriend while dealing with the murder of her mother Maureen. Sidney seems to enjoy living in her small town as it's a sweet place with a town square, mom and pop shops, a great video store, and a peaceful vibe. Of course, that all goes out the window when Ghostface begins killing people.

While the entire Scream franchise is considered to be fantastic, there are a few movies that don't take place in Woodsboro, and that seems to be a mistake. These films are good, but they just don't have the same charm.

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Many parts of Scream aged well, and fans will never tire of watching the 1996 movie and seeing Sidney work through the terror that is going on with her best friend Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) and Tatum's older brother Dewey (David Arquette) by her side. There are so many special things about Scream and the Woodsboro location is one of them. Small towns in scary stories always give off this vibe that pain and suffering weren't supposed to occur here and it's especially unnerving when murders take place in this type of place.

Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in Scream 2

Scream 2 and Scream 3 are examples of what happens to the Scream franchise when there is a setting other than Sidney's small town. While Scream 2 is a good sequel, with fans praising Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance as sorority girl Cici Cooper in particular, it does take place at college. As Sidney attends Windsor College, she imagines that she can make new friends, enjoy her classes, and maybe even start dating again, while leaving Ghostface behind her. But it just doesn't feel the same as the first movie which has the backdrop of pretty houses, the old-fashioned police station, and the familiar high school that looks like so many from small towns.

The main street in the small town Woodsboro in Scream

While horror follows Sidney as she adjusts to young adulthood and there are two Ghostface killers in this movie, Scream 2 would be a lot more fun and nostalgic if fans could return to Woodsboro and see how Sidney is faring in her hometown. If Sidney was still away at college but she returned home for Christmas or summer break, that would still result in an interesting and meaningful movie, this time with the added bonus of a familiar and popular setting.

Scream 3 is set in Hollywood as another Stab movie is being made, with Emily Mortimer playing Angelica Tyler, who portrays Sidney in Stab 3. Parker Posey is also great as actress Jennifer Jolie who plays Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox). Scream 3 has the worst opening sequence, and it's fair to say that this might be the weakest movie in the entire franchise.

Charlie (Rory Culkin), Olivia (Marielle Jaffe), and Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) in Scream 4

Scream 4 is a good movie with intriguing Ghostfaces and the twist of Sidney's cousin Jill Roberts, played by Emma Roberts, teaming up with Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin) is still exciting. What also makes Scream 4 a solid entry? The fact that it's still set in Woodsboro, this time following another generation of kids who are dealing with the same unbelievable and terrifying situation. But Scream 3 isn't that much fun, at least not when compared to the other films in the franchise, and it's even kind of boring at times, making fans wish that they could watch Sidney come back home to Woodsboro.

While one part of Scream (2022) is pretty bad, the rest of the movie has won a lot of praise from fans and critics, and one reason why the new movie works so well is that it returns to Woodsboro. Sidney, Gale, and Dewey all come back to help Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) and Tara's friends win against Ghostface. It's definitely more fun to see Sidney go home again, and this also adds more depth to the overall story. Sure, the franchise is full of kills and big swings, but it's also about Sidney's grief, emotions, and how she can move on from pain. When Sidney returns to Woodsboro, she's thinking about her past all over again, which is powerful storytelling.

It's rare that a horror movie will be described as adorable since, of course, these stories have a lot of blood, gore, death and dark moments. But there's something charming about the Woodsboro setting in the Scream franchise, as it looks like a sweet and old-fashioned place to live. Hopefully Scream 6 will also be set in Woodsboro and fans will see Sidney returning to her hometown once again.

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