17 Awesome 90s Teen Movies To Fill You With Nostalgia

The 1990s was an incredible era for many reasons. You had the rise and fall of grunge, Britney Spears and NYSNC taking over the charts, baggy pants, and chokers were all the rage in the fashion world, and Friends became the biggest sitcom in the world. It was also the time of the teen movie, with 90s teen movies laying the groundwork for the genre and turning unknown actors and actresses into massive stars.

The biggest and best teen movies were often part coming-of-age stories and part comedies, focusing on the lives of the younger generation as they battled through high school and faced the prospect of becoming an adult in an ever-changing world. What makes these movies so great, besides the 90s fashion, is how relatable many of them are to teens these days. Everyone has dealt with a bully or found themselves struggling with girls. These movies show all that while also crossing into other genres, like horror, to deliver engrossing movies that are still loved today. 

Whether you’re a fan of gross-out comedies like American Pie or teen horror like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream, we are sure you’ll find one of your 90s favorites on this list. 

17 Awesome 90s Teen Movies To Fill You With Nostalgia

1. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

A modern take on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You is about as close to a romantic teen comedy as you can get. While the main story revolves around Joseph Gordon-Levitt trying to woo Larisa Oleynik, it’s the love story that unfolds between the temperamental Julia Stiles and bad boy Heath Ledger that really takes center stage. The two just sizzle on screen and have more chemistry than a high school science lab. 

An unexpected hit that was widely praised, 10 Things I Hate About You is one of the better Shakespeare adaptations that thrust its young cast into the spotlight. It also gave us this scene, which is just heartbreaking. 

Watch on Disney+

2. Empire Records (1995)

Set almost entirely in a record store, Empire Records follows the lives of the employees who work there over the course of one day as they try and stop the store from being sold. This is the ideal movie for Generation X, as the cast (Renee Zellweger, Liv Tyler, Rory Cochrane, Ethan Embry, and more ) rebel against the big corporation trying to take over the store while rocking out to some of the best songs of the 90s. They also deal with everyday teenage problems, like trying to fit in and communicating with the opposite sex. 

The soundtrack includes hit tunes from The Cranberries, The Cruel Sea, Evan Dando, and Gin Blossoms, while the film itself also features 35 more songs not found on the soundtrack. Although it bombed and was savaged by critics, Empire Records became a cult classic and is a great time capsule of the 90s music scene. 

Watch on Plex

3. American Pie (1999)

While some of the jokes wouldn’t fly today, American Pie is still a riotous comedy about four boys who make a pact to lose their virginity on prom night. Stuffed with sex jokes, from semen-flavored beer to warm apple pie, this flick restarted the teen sex comedy movie craze and got the word “MILF” into the dictionary.

Three sequels and five spin-offs followed but nothing beats the original. A classic 90s teen movie. 

Watch on Apple TV

4. Cruel Intentions (1999)

Although it didn’t make a huge splash at the box office, Cruel Intentions was a hit on VHS in the early 00s. Rising stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe are rich high schoolers (and step-siblings) who use newcomer Reese Witherspoon as a pawn in a demented series of games.

Based on the 1988 classic Dangerous Liaisons, this 90s set reboot deals with lust, power, and mind games and helped turn its three leads into bankable movie stars. It will make you happy you never attended an elite private school, but if you did, we hope it was nothing like this. 

Watch on Prime

5. Clueless (1995)

Alicia Silverstone broke out as Hollywood rich kid Cher Horowitz in the comedy classic Clueless. Self-absorbed and obsessed with fashion, Horowitz is the most popular chick in school who befriends the new girl and makes it her mission to turn her into a success. She also has to deal with failing her driver’s test, boy problems, and the big questions about who she really is and what she wants from life. 

It might sound deep but Clueless keeps things light and will fill your need for nostalgia with the character’s outfits and the way they speak. Along with Silverstone, the cast includes a slew of up-and-comers, including Stacey Dash, Paul Rudd, Britney Murphy, and Donald Faison. 

Watch on Pluto TV

6. The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Not all 90s teen movies are fun and light. The Virgin Suicides is a depressing drama about the five adolescent sisters who are kept locked away from the real world by their strict religious parents. Told from the point of view of the local neighborhood boys who are fascinated by the girls, The Virgin Suicides is a thought-provoking drama dealing with death, religion, mental illness, and suicide. 

Sofia Coppola’s debut feature announced her as one to watch and sticks fairly close to the source material found in American author Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel of the same name. Kirstin Dunst and Josh Hartnett are memorizing while the score by French duo Air makes for one of the great movie soundtracks. 

Watch on Pluto TV

7. Encino Man (1992)

With the Brenaissance in full swing, do yourself a favor and give Encino Man a watch. Pauly Shore and Sean Astin discover Brendan Fraser’s caveman trapped in ice. Thawing him out, they take him to school with them in hopes he will help them become part of the cool kids. 

It’s a ridiculous fish-out-of-water story that was meant to be a vehicle for Shore but ended up demonstrating why Fraser was soon to become the next big thing. 

Watch on Philo

8. House Party (1990)

Forget the recent remake and go back in time and enjoy this hilarious 90s comedy. It stars hip-hop duo Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin as two high schoolers who throw the be-all and end-all of house parties and the chaos that ensues throughout the evening. 

This is as 90s as it gets, from the fashion (the high-top fades are incredible) to the music to the overall vibe of the movie. It helped cement Kid and Play as 90s stars while also introducing a stack of talent that would go on to do great things, including Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, and John Witherspoon. 

Watch on HBOMax

9. Scream (1996)

Scream revived the horror genre in the 90s with its meta-take on slasher movies. Written by first-time screenwriter Kevin Williamson and directed by horror legend Wes Craven, Scream appealed to a new legion of horror fans who wanted something fresh that didn’t involve unkillable monsters or creeps invading their dreams.

Scream features a hot young cast (Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, and Drew Barrymore) who are stalked by a serial killer in the town of Woodsboro, California. While it has your usual jump scares and surprising plot twists, the satirizing of the horror genre and Williamson’s whip-smart script elevate Scream above the usual horror fare. 

Ghostface is also a fantastic movie villain and is evidence that people want more of the masked killer, with a sixth movie on its way. 

Watch on Netflix

10. Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead (1991)

The plot is ridiculous but Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead is a wild ride that will have you choking on your popcorn with laughter. When the mother of five kids decides to take a vacation to Australia with her boyfriend, she leaves a mean old lady in charge. When the babysitter carks it, the kids keep it a secret and make the most of their authority-free summer. 

While critics didn’t like it, this Christina Applegate-led teen comedy resonated with youngsters and became a cult hit on VHS. This movie is a lot of fun and includes a cameo from a then-unknown David Duchovny. 

Watch on HBOMax

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

Capitalizing on the success of Scream, a year later horror movie I Know What You Did Last Summer had teens going to the cinema in droves. Also written by Kevin Williamson, four friends (Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr.) are driving along the coast when they hit and kill a man. Or so they thought.

Dumping the body into the ocean, they soon start receiving anonymous messages with the phrase, “I know what you did last summer.” The five must band together and discover who the killer is as they begin getting picked off one by one. 

Another huge box office smash for screenwriter Williamson (the movie made $125.3 million against a budget of $17 million), the movie’s young cast, great soundtrack, and inventive kills are what make it stand up today. It has a throwback feel to the classic slasher of the 80s while still offering modern audiences something new. 

Watch on Prime

12. The Craft (1996)

Another movie recently remade for some silly reason, the original version, The Craft, still ranks as a 90s teen classic. Four high school outcasts find strength through magic but it all starts to go wrong when they begin using it for nefarious purposes.

A mix of horror and drama, The Craft is an interesting take on the witchcraft genre of movies with a hot cast, engaging storyline, and a hip soundtrack, which seems to be the case for many 90s movies. It also gave Love Spit Love a smash hit with their cover of The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?”

Watch on HBOMax

13. She’s All That (1999)

A modern take on George Cukor’s 1964 film My Fair Lady, She’s All That stars Freddie Prinze Jr. as a popular high schooler who gets dumped by his long-term girlfriend. Believing he can date any girl he wants, he’s challenged by his friend (Paul Walker) to turn Rachael Leigh Cook’s unpopular art student into the prom queen. 

As you would expect from a romantic teen comedy, things don’t exactly pan out like Prinze Jr. expects, especially as he begins to fall for Cook when his plan gets found out. While nothing groundbreaking, She’s All That has everything you want from a 90s teen movie, including a hit theme song (“Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer), standout performances from the leads, and a supporting cast that includes Matthew Lillard, Kevin Pollak, Usher, Clea DuVall, Anna Paquin, and even Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Watch on HBOMax

14. Jawbreaker (1999)

Three popular high school students played by Rebecca Gayheart, Rose McGowan, and Julie Benz accidentally kill their best friend and try to cover up the murder in this black comedy. Often compared to Heathers and Mean Girls – movies about cliques in high school and the effect of how being either popular or uncool have on a person – Jawbreaker deals with issues of beauty, grief, guilt, and self-esteem. 

Watch on Vudu

15. Hackers (1995)

This Angelina Jolie-led teen thriller focuses on a group of teen hackers who get set up by a veteran computer whizz and must fight to prove their innocence. Released when the internet was still in its infancy, Hackers had people instantly plugged in as many learned what the world wide web was all about for the first time. 

Similar to The Net, this computer-based movie was one of the first to introduce viewers to the inner workings of the internet and what a hacker does. A stylized thriller with a cast that includes Jonny Lee Miller, Jesse Bradford, Matthew Lillard, and Lorraine Bracco and a pumping soundtrack, Hackers is quality viewing. 

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16. Can’t Hardly Wait (1998)

No list of 90s teen movies is complete without Can’t Hardly Wait. Set during a graduation party, the movie is best remembered for its cast, featuring a who’s who of young Hollywood stars all on the verge of breaking out. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Clea Duvall, Seth Greem, Jamie Pressly, Seth Green, Jason Segal, Donald Faison, and Mellisa Joan Hart all make their presence felt. 

The story involves multiple characters and their experiences throughout the night as they deal with love, heartbreak, bullying, and sex. There are lots of funny and poignant moments but the fun comes from spotting all the actors who went on to become big stars in the industry.

Watch on HBOMax

17. Varsity Blues (1999)

Here’s one for the sports fans. Varsity Blues catches James Van Der Beek at the height of his fame as a backup quarterback who is promoted to the first team after an injury. It’s the classic story of one young man’s attempt at escaping his hometown set against the backdrop of American football in a Texas town. 

At odds with his tyrannical coach (Jon Voight) and not wanting to end up like his jaded father (Thomas F. Duffy), Van Der Beek attempts to juggle his academic studies with football and find a way out of town. As is the case with 90s teen movies, the cast is fantastic. Varsity Blues also has a little more heart and depth than most teen flicks and makes for a great double bill with Friday Night Lights. 

Watch on Prime