Scream VI – Review
126 Minutes, Rated R
Written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below, read Ryan’s review HERE, then listen to them discuss the film in more detail, along with some bonus discussion of The Mandalorian Season 3, and the weird positions both Marvel and DC find themselves cinematically right now.**
Synopsis:
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.
When the first Scream film came out a hundred years ago (in 1996), the team of Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven did their level best to not just create another slasher film, but to (here come the words some people hate) deconstruct what it is about horror movies that we love, but also to have fun with the genre and present it to us in new and inventive ways.
Sure, it hasn’t always worked, but the idea of Scream is so good that it’s largely considered the “smart” horror franchise, as opposed to simply being concerned about the gallons of blood or overall body count (both of which it has in ample supply).
In 2022, we got a true reboot of the franchise with Scream, giving us a logical (for the universe) extension and expansion of the lore in a way that honored the original, instead of simply grabbing the identifiable name and plugging in generic characters and deaths.
So Scream VI, the continuation of the franchise, caught a not insignificant bit of flack from the fanbase because Neve Campbell would not be returning as perpetual-heroine Sidney Prescott due to, as it always seems to come down to, salary issues.
Neve has said she felt “undervalued.”
I said 8 months ago that Paramount should have simply loosened the purse-strings and given her whatever she asked for because, well, duh.
Some would argue that there is no Scream franchise without Sidney Prescott, though the success of the 2022 film, which featured far less of her than one might think, still effectively centered the film on her background, despite making the chief targets of the new Ghostface sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega).
So, how does Scream VI handle the absence of Sidney Prescott and relocating to from Woodsboro, California, to New York City?
And can I tell you without spoiling anything?
Let’s try:
After the traditional killing of a famous face in the opener, the film seems to depart from the formula by unmasking Ghostface, only to turn that idea on its head, firmly establishing the continuation of the “is he-isn’t he?” method of suspect generation.
As Ghostface sightings start piling up as the Core Four from Woodsboro (Sam, Tara, Mindy, and Chad) try to figure out who they can and cannot trust in the not Sequel, not REQUEL, but FRANCHISE (as Mindy so helpfully explains), where all the rules are out the window, and anyone and everyone is both a target and a suspect, and legacy characters are no longer protected.
Self-referential as always, Scream VI does manage to find yet another way to expand the family in order to keep the story going.
Red herring follows red herring as suspects are considered, discarded, reconsidered, killed…
You get the idea.
In fact, I had kind of an epiphany during the film; unlike your typical slashers, the Scream franchise is actually more of a whodunnit in the tradition of Agatha Christie or even Rian Johnson’s Benoit Blanc films, just with far more blood.
The idea that nothing is what it seems, and no one is who they present themselves as is a hallmark of that genre, and it is one which Scream continues to exploit while coating it in gallons of blood.
Of course, a horror film (which this still is) wouldn’t be a horror film if people didn’t’ make bad decisions, such as not continuing to pummel the killer with the blunt object in your hands once they go down to make sure they’re actually dead.
Nah, we’ll hit them once and run away.
Brilliant. NOT.
Fans of the franchise will enjoy this one for its multitudinous callbacks to earlier films, while enjoying some truly excellent bits of thrill, such as the prolonged subway ride, in which the tension is ratcheted up to 11 and really gets under your skin.
Check it out if you’re a fan of the genre.
Oh, and Sidney? Explained away in one line of dialogue.
Rude.
Scream VI hits theaters on March 10 and stars Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Courtney Cox, Jasmine Savoy-Brown, Mason Gooding, Hayden Panettiere, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra, Jack Champion, Liana LIberato, and Samara Weaving.
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