Handlung

In the small town of Woodsboro, California, high school student Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) receives a flirtatious phone call from an unknown person, asking her, "What's your favorite scary movie?". They discuss horror films until the caller turns sadistic. Casey is alarmed when the caller claims to be looking at her. Casey is alone at home in a secluded house. The caller knows that even if Casey calls the police, they will never get there in time.

The caller threatens her life and revealing that her boyfriend, Steve (Kevin Patrick Walls), is tied up on her patio, which Casey can see when she turns on the patio lights. The caller demands she answer questions about horror films to save his life, but Casey gives an incorrect answer about Friday the 13th, resulting in Steve's death.

When Casey refuses to cooperate with the caller, she is attacked and stabbed to death by someone wearing a "Ghostface" costume. Before dying, Casey was able to remove the Ghostface mask to uncover the identity of the killer. Her parents come home to find her body hanging from a tree with all her intestines hanging out.

The following day, the news media descend on the town and a police investigation begins. Meanwhile, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) struggles with the impending one-year anniversary of her mother's murder by Cotton Weary. The trauma has made her unable to consummate her relationship with her boyfriend, Billy Loomis whom she has been seeing for 2 years. Her father Neil is traveling for work and will be back on the coming Sunday.

While waiting at home for her friend, Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), Sidney receives a threatening phone call. After she hangs up, she is attacked by Ghostface, who disappears just before her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) climbs through her window. After Billy drops his cell phone, Sidney suspects him of making the call and flees. Billy is arrested and Tatum takes Sidney to her house. Billy is arrested by Deputy Sheriff Dewey Riley, Tatum's brother.

Reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) is covering the story & Sidney hits her when she comes to her for questioning. Gale is writing a book about Sidney's mother's convicted killer Cotton Weary. Gale had written a book claiming that Maureen had multiple extramarital affairs, including one with Cotton, whom Gale believes was falsely accused of Maureen's homicide. Gale believes that Cotton was wrongly convicted of murder due to Sidney's testimony. She believes that Sidney saw someone leaving the house with Cotton's blood-soaked jacket, which was later planted in Cotton's car, implicating him. Cotton admits to having sex with Sidney's mother on the night of her murder. Sidney sticks to her story.

Billy is released the next day, when the previous night Sidney receives another threatening phone call, while Billy was in the locker. Suspicion has shifted to Sidney's father, Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht), as the calls have been traced to his phone, but the police are unable to locate him.

Following his release, Billy encounters Sidney at school and further upsets her by comparing his absent mother to Maureen's death.

School is suspended in the wake of the murders. After the students have left the school, Principal Himbry (Henry Winkler) is stabbed to death in his office. Billy's friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) throws a party to celebrate the school's closure. The party is attended by Sidney, Tatum, their friend Randy Meeks, and several other students.

Gale attends uninvited to cover the situation, as she expects the killer to strike. Deputy sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) also looks out for the murderer at the party. Tatum is killed during the party after having her head crushed by the garage door. As fellow high school student Randy Meeks details the rules of surviving a horror film, news arrives of Himbry's murder. Most party-goers leave to see his body, nearly running over Dewey and Gale while inadvertently leading them to a hidden car, which they investigate.

Billy arrives to speak to Sidney privately, and the two ultimately consummate their relationship. Only Sidney, Billy, Randy, Stu, and Gale's cameraman Kenny (W. Earl Brown) remain at the secluded house.

After having sex, Sidney and Billy are attacked by the killer, who seemingly murders Billy. Sidney escapes the killer and seeks help from Kenny, but he gets his throat slit by the killer. Sidney again flees. Gale and Dewey, having discovered that the car belongs to Neil Prescott, return to the house. They believe Neil is the killer and has come to the party to continue his spree. Gale attempts to leave the scene in her van but drives off the road and crashes to avoid hitting Sidney.

Meanwhile, Dewey is stabbed in the back while investigating in the house, and Sidney takes Dewey's gun. Stu and Randy appear and accuse each other of being the killer. Sidney retreats into the house, where she finds Billy wounded but still alive. She gives Billy the gun. Billy lets Randy into the house and shoots him. Billy reveals he has feigned his injuries and is actually the killer, with Stu being his accomplice.

Billy and Stu discuss their plan to kill Sidney and frame her father, whom they have taken hostage, for their murder spree. The pair also admits to killing her mother, Maureen (Lynn McRee). Billy says he was motivated to seek revenge on Maureen because she was having an affair with Billy's father, Hank, which drove his mother away. They proceed to stab each other to depict themselves as the last survivors.

Gale, thought dead by the killers, intervenes, and Sidney takes advantage of this to turn the tables on her attackers, killing Stu by dropping a television set on his head. Randy is revealed to be wounded but alive. Billy nearly stabs Sidney but is shot by Gale. After Randy remarks that horror film killers revive for a final scare, Billy lunges for them, but Sidney shoots him in the head, killing him. As dawn breaks, Neil is rescued, Dewey is taken away by ambulance, and Gale provides an impromptu news report about the night's events.