It all began in the small and quiet town of Woodsboro, California. Maureen Prescott - wife and mother - was found brutally raped and murdered in her home. Cotton Weary, who was one of her several affairs, was convicted for the crime after Maureen's young daughter Sidney Prescott testified against him in the state's case, claiming she had seen him leaving her home on the night of her mother's death. Almost a year later, 17-year-old Casey Becker and her 18-year-old boyfriend Steven Orith were found gruesomely gutted. This immediately caused a media frenzy among the small community since the killer was still on the loose.
Just one day after the mysterious deaths of her classmates, Sidney, who was still struggling over her mother's untimely death, receives an obscene phone call and escapes a viscious attack by the killer, masked in a Halloween costume entitled, Father Death. This incident received great attention by the media - especially Gale Weathers, a cutthroat tabloid-television reporter, who strongly believed that Cotton - who was in prison at the time - was innocent and that Maureen's murder may be related to the recent horrific deaths. The following day, the Woodsboro Police Department issued a city-wide curfew and advised the local high school to suspend all classes.
That night, Sidney attended a party bash with her best friend Tatum Riley, to escape all of her grief. But when everyone mysteriously disappears, Sidney is left helpless in the abandoned farmhouse and led towards a final confrontation with her boyfriend Billy Loomis and his accomplice Stuart Macher - the ones who had killed Maureen and framed Cotton for the crime! Billy reveals to Sidney that Maureen was having an affair with his father Hank, therefore causing his mother to abandon him. As for his sidekick Stuart, his motive was "peer pressure" for he was far too sensitive. Luckily, Gale, who had staked-out in the area, arrived in time to foil their deadly plan of vengeance, and Sidney managed to kill both Billy and Stuart before they could execute it.
In the aftermath, several more people were found dead, bringing to an end the harrowing mystery of the mass killings that has terrified the peaceful community of Woodsboro. Sidney and her captured father Neil Prescott survived the horrific ordeal along with Randy Meeks, a close friend of Sidney's. Deputy Dewey Riley, Tatum's older brother who was supervising the party and keeping an eye on Sidney, was taken to the hospital after he was stabbed in the back by the killer. As for Gale Weathers, she had gotten what she wanted - her "top story".