Best Whodunit Teen Horror Films (90's Style)

  
Whodunit Teen Horror Films (90's Style) 

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Twist endings, and everyone's a suspect!

TOO SCARY 2 WATCH now presents a list of Teen Horror films (arranged by year) that we believe may be worth checking out if you're a fan of the 90's style whodunit teen movies that really started with Scream (Wes Craven's "Scream" which hit theaters in 1996, is generally regarded as the mother of all contemporary teen slasher films).  The list will continue to be updated as we continue to find more movies that fit the criteria. 

The Objective here was to create a list of teen movies (all of the ones that I'm aware of) that follow the Scream formula. If you're looking for an extensive list of contemporary teen horror movies (all different types), please be sure to checkout are Best Contemporary Teen Horror Films List. For the sake of clarity, we'll use the term "Neo-Slasher" to describe whodunit teen movies like Scream. See definition below.

Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Faculty, Urban Legend and More!

Neo-Slasher: - Are movies, centered around a group of teens being killed off one by one. These films tend to make everyone a suspect, thus leaving us with the unsettling feeling that any of the characters introduced, (that hasn't already been killed off) may very well be the perpetrator. The killers "true" identity is usually not unveiled until the end of the movie ... and when the killer is finally revealed, there's usually (but not always) a well thought out, long drawn out explanation as to why he or she is doing the killing. Although some of these movies could be considered typical slashers, I've chosen to make a distinction mainly because most teen neo-slashers have a "whodunit" element to them (everyone's a suspect) while the typical slasher tends to be more centered around a completely anonymous murderer or psychopath the audience already knows the identity of.

It can be argued whether some of the movies on the list actually fit the bill ... nevertheless, we've done are best to try and find all of the movies like scream. Please feel free to shoot us an email if you know of any movies fitting the above description that we may have overlooked.

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Disclaimer

Some of the movies on the list, in our opinion, aren't necessarily good movies, but were chosen to be included for a variety of different reasons. . 

Thanks and enjoy!

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1. Scream (1996)

Horror maven Wes Craven -- paying homage to teen horror classics such as Halloween and Prom Night -- turns the genre on its head with this tale of a murderer who terrorizes hapless high schooler Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) by offing everyone she knows. Not your average slasher flick, Scream distinguishes itself with a self-parodying sense of humor. Courteney Cox and David Arquette co-star as a local news reporter and a small-town deputy.

Director: Wes Craven  

R-Rated 

111 mins

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2. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

When some North Carolina teens flatten a stranger with their car, they leave him for dead and try to get on with their lives. He returns to give 'em, uh, the hook (literally) -- the gore is leavened by some much-needed laughs. The well-known cast includes Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe.

Director: Jim Gillespie 

R-Rated

101 mins

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3. Scream 2 (1997)

In the two years that have passed since the fateful events in Woodsboro, newswoman Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) has written a best-seller, which has been turned into a film starring Tori Spelling as Sidney (Neve Campbell). As the movie premiere looms closer, the cycle of mysterious deaths begins again. Dewey Riley (David Arquette) heads straight to Sidney's college in an attempt to protect her from impending doom.

Director: Wes Craven 

R-Rated

122 mins

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4. The Faculty (1998)

Many teens think their teachers hail from another planet -- but what if it's true? Herrington High students notice that faculty members Furlong (Jon Stewart), Miss Burke (Famke Janssen), Principal Drake (Bebe Neuwirth) and aren't quite themselves. The students discover an alien infection but might not be able to stop it in director Robert Rodriguez's sci-fi thriller, a blend of teenage angst, cutting-edge comedy and eye-popping effects.

Director: Robert Rodriguez 

R-Rated

104 mins

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5. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

The fisherman with a hook is back in director Danny Cannon's chilling sequel. Unfinished business with coed Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) brings the murderer to the Bahamas to terrorize her and her friends, Karla (Brandy Norwood), Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer) and Will (Matthew Settle), during a vacation. Can Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.), who survived a bloody attack alongside Julie two summers ago, get to the island in time to save everyone?

Director: Danny Cannon 

R-Rated

100 mins

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6. I've Been Waiting For You (1998)

When a New England high schooler is mysteriously murdered, classmates blame Sarah (Sarah Chalke), the new girl who recently moved into a purportedly haunted house. The students believe she's the reincarnation of a witch who was burned at the stake 300 years ago. But as the body count rises, Sarah must uncover who the real killer is. Playing against type, Soleil Moon Frye co-stars as Kyra, the nasty leader behind the witch hunt against Sarah.

Director: Christopher Leitch 

PG-13

90 mins

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7. Urban Legend (1998)

Three students (Rebecca Gayheart, Jared Leto and Joshua Jackson) at an ivy-covered New England college dismiss a series of grisly murders similar to scary campus legends that have haunted students for years, considering them merely coincidental. But their pal Natalie (Alicia Witt), who has witnessed most of the killings, takes it seriously -- especially when she learns she might be next to die. Robert Englund co-stars as a creepy folklore professor.

Director: Jamie Blanks 

R-Rated

100 mins

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8. Granny: She'll Love You to Pieces (1999)

Settling in for an evening of high jinks, a group of college friends (Katie Dugan, Tomi, T.J. Bigbee, John Stoops, Annemieke Van Der Meer, Rebecca O'Marrah, Nathalie Ohnena and David Coleman) gets a rude awakening when an ax-wielding granny (Sava Popovic) crashes the party. With an insatiable appetite for blood and a yen to destroy everything in her path, this murderous old lady is out to teach the youngsters some manners.

Director: Boris Pavlovsky 

Unrated

58 mins

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9. Lovers Lane (1999)

This Valentine's Day, Lover's Lane is haunted by the events that took place there 13 years ago, when a brutal killer took the lives of two young sweethearts. Now, the maniac has escaped from his institution, still sporting his original murder weapon -- the hook he wears replacing his hand -- and begins wreaking terror again until he has the whole town on the run. A frightening thriller with a surprise ending!

Director: Jon Steven Ward 

R-Rated

133 mins

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10. School's Out (1999)

Schrei - denn ich werde dich töten! (original title)

It's the last day of school, and the high school seniors in this horror flick are preparing for a huge on-campus graduation party. Little do they realize, however, that a mad criminal is on the loose. The party begins, and the madman sneaks in -- but it's not long before people realize something's wrong when students start turning up dead. Students now turn the booby traps they had set for teachers on the psycho killer instead.

Director: Robert Sigl 

R-Rated

90 mins

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11. Cherry Falls (2000)

A psychotic serial slasher starts a bloodthirsty murder rampage at Cherry Falls high school that only kills the local high school virgins. This leads to the local teenage population organising a sex party in order to lose their virginity and thus no longer be targets.

Director: Geoffrey Wright

R-Rated

92 mins

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12. Cut (2000)

aka The Curse

The cast and crew of the horror flick Hot Blooded get a shock when a mysterious killer slaughters their director. Now, each time someone tries to complete the film there's another brutal slaying. But a little massacre isn't going to stop the next batch of bright would-be filmmakers: They'll finish the film if it kills them -- and it probably will -- in this gory horror flick starring Molly Ringwald and Kylie Minogue.

Director: Kimble Rendall

R-Rated

82 mins

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13. Flashback (2000)

aka Mörderische Ferien 

Young Jeanette is attacked by a serial killer and manages to survive, but both her parents are killed during the assault. The resulting trauma causes her to spend the next several years in an asylum. Finally released as a young woman, she's ready to start a new life and gets a job as a French tutor for a group of wealthy teenagers. But before long, bodies begin to pile up again ... and it appears the killer may be coming back for Jeanette!

Director: Michael Karen

R-Rated

98 mins

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14. Scream 3 (2000)

The last installment of the tongue-in-cheek (but still scary) horror trilogy finds Sidney Prescott again battling a crazed killer -- only this time it's on the set of Stab, a movie-within-a-movie based on the original Woodsboro murders. Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and the rest of the Scream gang appear, alongside new characters played by Parker Posey, Jenny McCarthy and more.

Director: Wes Craven

R-Rated

117 mins

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15. Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)

Alpine University has a killer film program -- literally. When Amy (Jennifer Morrison) decides to make a movie about urban legends, a faceless killer quickly thins her cast, and the lines between fact and fiction become hopelessly blurred. As Amy rushes to unravel the mystery before the murderer gets to her, she learns about a long-buried family secret that may have something to do with the deaths.

Director: John Ottman

R-Rated 

98 mins

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16. Do You Wanna Know a Secret? (2001)

Joseph Lawrence, Chad Allen and Dorie Barton star in this thriller about six East Coast college students whose spring break vacation in Florida turns deadly. When they go out clubbing one evening, one of them is killed. Soon, three more wind up dead and the remaining pair must discover the identity of the masked murderer before they become the next targets. Thomas Bradford directs this low-budget slasher flick.

Director: Thomas Bradford

R-Rated

94 mins

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17. Final Stab (2001)

On a warpath after being dumped by her boyfriend, Kristin (Erinn Carter) decides she's going to make all her friends and her sister miserable by hosting a dinner party that makes it look as if a killer is picking off the guests one by one. But when the "victims" turn up dead for real, Kristin becomes the main suspect. Is she responsible for their deaths, or is someone else murdering them?

Director: David DeCoteau

Not-Rated

81 mins

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18. The Pool (2001)

aka Swimming Pool / Der Tod feiert mit (original title)

A group of recent high school grads plans to host a blowout bash in a swimming pool at a local mansion before they go their separate ways, but when a mysterious murderer shows up uninvited, the party spirals into a terrifying fight for their lives. As the victims pile up, the rest of the group struggles to find a way off the grounds before they're added to the death count. James McAvoy and Isla Fisher star in this fast-paced horror flick.

Director: Boris von Sychowski

R-Rated

89 mins

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19. Ripper: Letter From Hell (2001)

Disturbed by her horrific past, Molly focuses her energies on researching the minds of serial killers. She joins a study group fixated on solving a local campus murder, but when the students realize the killer's modus operandi mirrors that of London's legendary Jack the Ripper, Molly's friends begin to fall victim around her.

Director: John Eyres

R-Rated

114 mins

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20. Valentine (2001)

When a group of grown school chums begin receiving scary messages from an unknown sender, the women are killed off one by one by a psycho in a Cupid mask. They suspect the murderer is a geek they had rejected in junior high, but can he be stopped? The boy had been savagely beaten by his classmates and later sent to reform school -- and it seems he has come back to exact his revenge just in time for Valentine's Day.

Director: Jaime Blanks

R-Rated

96 mins

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21. Spliced (2002)

aka The Wisher

Freddie Krueger, eat your heart out! Mary (Liane Balaban) is your average teenager who loves horror movies. So when she hears about the newest scary flick, she knows she has to see it. But when Mary catches a glimpse of the movie's villain -- a deformed killer known as "The Wisher" -- she runs from the theater in fright. Unfortunately, The Wisher follows her home and begins invading her dreams … and making her darkest wishes come true!

Director: Gavin Wilding

R-Rated

83 mins

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22. Kucch To Hai (2003)

Professor Bakshi (Rishi Kapoor) catches Tanya (Esha Deol) cheating on an exam. Afraid of failing, Tanya and her friend Karan (Tusshar Kapoor) plot to steal the test from Bakshi's home. But the plan derails when Tanya hits Bakshi with her car and leaves him for dead. Now, someone is stalking Tanya and her friends and killing them one by one. Is it Bakshi -- or someone else with an ax to grind?

Director: Anil V. Kumar

NR

142 mins

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23. Sssshhh... (2003)

After her sister is brutally murdered, bubbly younger sibling Mahek (Tanisha) withdraws from her friends and family into a protective shell. The only boy she's remotely drawn to is a college student who's much like Mahek is now -- shy and introverted. Things seem to be proceeding smoothly between the two, until one day when Mahek is attacked by a man in a joker's mask who seems intent on murdering her.

Director: Pavan Kaul

Not-Rated

163 mins

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24. Adam & Evil (2004)

School's out for summer, and a group of highly photogenic graduates are heading deep into the woods to a secluded campground, where they can get wasted and "do the nasty" far from the watchful gaze of snooping parents. But evil lurks close by … this time with an axe to grind! Why? Four years ago, a few members of the group were involved in a fire that killed an entire family. Now, it's payback time.

Director: Andrew Van Slee

R-Rated

90 mins

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25. The Hollow (2004)

The legend of Sleepy Hollow rises again in this supernatural thriller about spiritual enmity that lasts through generations. After relocating to the quiet hamlet, Ian Cranston (Kevin Zegers) is plagued by strange happenings he can't explain. When he realizes he's a direct descendant of Ichabod Crane, however, he begins to comprehend the enormity of his fate: The Headless Horseman is back for revenge, and he's set his sights on Ian.g

Director: Kyle Newman
R-Rated
94 mins

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26. Cry Wolf (2005)

After a young woman is murdered, a group of teenagers decide to play a little game with their classmates in this chilling tale. They use the Internet to concoct a serial killer called "The Wolf," going so far as to describe the maniac's next victims. But their lies start coming true, the body count rises, and the instigators themselves are preyed upon by a very real killer. Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, Jared Padalecki and Jon Bon Jovi star.

Director: Jeff Wadlow
R-Rated
91 mins

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27. Cursed (2005)

In Los Angeles, an estranged brother and sister (Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg) must deal with the recent loss of their parents. But heaping more misery into their lives is a life-altering attack, one dark night, by a vicious werewolf. Directors (and horror maestros) Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson incorporate their hip, edgy style and put their unique signature on this classic tale of lupines running amok. A real howl!

Director: Wes Craven

R-Rated

99 mins

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28. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

Sixteen-year-old Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) is perfect -- beautiful, virginal and aloof -- and the boys want her badly. Not surprisingly, when she accepts an invitation to a weekend party at a secluded ranch, the race is on to be the first to bed her. But hedonism soon turns to horror as bodies begins to stack up, and Mandy finds herself embroiled in a fight for her life against one of her would-be suitors in this film co-starring Anson Mount.

Director: Jonathan Levine

R-Rated

90 mins

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29. The Murder Game (2006)

When a group of teens sneaks into a storage facility and launches into a murderous role-playing game, with a designated "killer" taking out "victims" one by one, they think it's all fun and games. Unfortunately for them, someone's playing for real. Director Robert Harari's low-budget throwback to 1980s horror flicks stars Christina Marchand, Steve Polites, Ariana Almajan, Samuel Klein, Katie Sirk and Max Hambleton.

Director: Robert Harari

Not-Rated

87 mins

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30. Dead Tone (2007)

7eventy 5ive (original title)

A seemingly innocuous pastime involving fun-loving collegians and prank phone calls turns into a lethal cat-and-mouse game in this blood-drenched fright fest starring Rutger Hauer and Brian Hooks. While vacationing at a secluded mansion after finals, a group of university students dials random telephone numbers and tries to unnerve the person on the other end. But their fun is short-circuited when one of them unwittingly connects with a slasher.

Directors: Brian Hooks, Deon Taylor

R-Rated

98 mins

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31. Sorority Row (2009)

When a prank results in the accidental death of a Theta Pi sister, the  sorority's members keep the crime under wraps. But as graduation rolls around, a masked killer begins stalking and slaying the girls responsible for the death. Someone is out for revenge, but who could know about their dirty little secret? Jamie Chung, Rumer Willis and Audrina Patridge ("The Hills") co-star in this not-so-sisterly slasher flick.

Director: Stewart Hendler

R-Rated

101 mins

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32. My Soul to Take (2010)

Some 15 years after the presumed death of a vicious serial killer, children whose birthdays match his supposed "deathday" start to disappear. But whether the killer -- or his tortured soul -- is responsible remains to be seen. One boy (Max Thieriot) knows for sure, but his own connection to the horrific crimes is far too terrible to imagine. Denzel Whitaker (The Great Debaters) co-stars in this horror tale from writer-director Wes Craven.

Director: Wes Craven

R-Rated

108 mins

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33. Scream 4 (2011)

Perennial survivor Sidney Prescott, now a successful self-help author, returns to her home town of Woodsboro in the fourth act of director Wes Craven's Scream franchise. Sidney's homecoming, however, coincides with a slew of unsettling new murders.

Director: Wes Craven

R-Rated

103 mins

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34. The Ward (2011)

Master of horror John Carpenter returns to form -- and to the director's chair -- for this chilling thriller in which a young woman, Kristen (Amber Heard), is sent to a mental institution with a past as dark and haunted as her own. Terrorized by a ghost, each of the other patients in Kristen's ward begin to disappear, and that's just the beginning of her long nightmare. Jared Harris ("Mad Men") and Danielle Panabaker (Friday the 13th) also star.

Director: John Carpenter

R-Rated 

88 mins

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Our Top Ten Contemporary Whodunit/90's Style Teen Horror Movies (Arranged by Year)

1. Scream (1996)

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2. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

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3. The Faculty (1998)

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4. Urban Legend (1998)

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5. Cherry Falls (2000)

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6. Valentine (2001)

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7. Cry Wolf (2005)

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8. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

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9. Sorority Row (2009)

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10. Scream 4 (2011)

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Proceed to Best Contemporary Teen Horror Films List

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Synopsis' taken from:

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The Mothman