(Credit-Photo provided by: EPK.TV)
Over the last 25 years, the “Scream” films have become icons of the slasher genre, a horror subgenre. “Scream” is self-aware, almost a “love letter” to horror. Normally horror sequels, or in this case, horror remake sequels, are terrible. However, the newest in the “Scream” franchise does not follow that trope.
“Scream VI” premiered on March 10th, 2023, and its opening weekend made 44.5 million dollars. The film’s directors, Tyler Gillet and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who directed “Scream” (2022), took over 11 years after “Scream 4.” The last “Scream” film the original director, Wes Craven, directed before his death in 2015.
Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera return as Tara and Sam Carpenter. Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown return as twins Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin, a legacy character, Randy Meeks’s niece and nephew. Those characters round out the “core four” of the film.
Courtney Cox reprises her role as iconic journalist Gale Weathers. Hayden Panettiere makes a surprise return as Kirby Reed, who was presumed dead in “Scream 4.” New characters are introduced as well. Jack Champion plays Ethan Landry, and Liana Liberato plays Quinn Bailey.
However, there was a huge name missing from this film. Neve Campbell, who played the final girl, Sidney Prescott, in the first 5 films, didn’t return for the 6th because of a payment dispute. Fortunately, the film didn’t suffer in her absence. This film served as a final girl trade-off from Sydney Prescott to Sam Carpenter.
The film runs 2 hours and 2 minutes, and it’s a good time throughout the film. It follows the typical “Scream” formula. There’s a cold open kill scene, the meaty middle part, and the killer’s reveal at the end. It stays self-aware and introduces new rules for the remake sequel or “requel.” It has the typical scene of one character, in this case, Mindy, who follows in her uncle’s footsteps as the comic relief character, breaking down the rules of the film.
This film takes place one year after the Woodsboro killings that introduce the audience to Tara and Sam Carpenter in “Scream” (2022). Sam and Tara now live in New York City with fellow survivors Chad, Mindy and Quinn, along with Mindy’s girlfriend Anika and Chad’s roommate Ethan. All of them attend Blackmore University.
There’s an online theory that Sam helped with the Woodsboro killings and framed her ex-boyfriend for it. Quinn’s father, Detective Wayne Bailey, calls Sam in for questioning because her ID was found at the scene of a murder in the film’s cold opening. On the way to the station, Ghostface calls Sam from the phone number of her dead ex-boyfriend. Sam and Tara are attacked and chased into a bodega, where many people are killed before the cops arrive.
The night after the bodega incident, there’s a break-in at their home. Many of the characters get hurt. The morning after, Gale takes the group to an abandoned movie theatre she found while investigating. The movie theatre has been set up as a shrine to the past Ghostface killers, including weapons and outfits from each set of attacks. The group agrees to trap Ghostface at the theatre after this.
(SPOILER ALERT: SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH TO AVOID SPOILERS) At the theatre, two Ghostfaces appear and attack the group. In typical “Scream” fashion, there’s a monologue, and they reveal themselves. In this film, there are three killers, but I will keep their identities a surprise. The killers reveal their plan to kill Sam and frame her as Ghostface, making her the final piece of the shrine. Sam and Tara defeat the Ghostface killers with the help of Kirby.
This is the goriest of the 6 films, and overall, it’s my favorite sequel. It’s the only film in the franchise to actually occur during Halloween. This time frame gave the directors the opportunity to hide many small easter eggs from film history.
For example, there’s a scene on a train where we get glimpses of people in costumes. Horror legends Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and even the family from ‘Us’ make appearances. This scene also has an insane amount of suspense, using harsh cuts and the flickering of lights to add to the feeling.
My heart was pounding the entire movie. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days, leading me to see it twice in theatres. During my second watch, it got even better because I could focus on more minor details.
Right from the beginning, the tone is set. You can tell that it’s going to be the most intense film in the franchise. The kills in the film are insane, and each one is memorable. Though it was intense, the film still sticks to its roots of having comedic elements.
My favorite part of the film takes place in Tara and Sam’s apartment. The group knows new killers are after them, but in this scene, there’s almost a moment of peace. The “core four” are relaxing and laughing in this scene; however, mere moments later, the killer gets in. This is about the movie’s midpoint, where everything gets crazier and higher in energy.
There are very few things that I dislike about this movie. One is the cameo made by Skeet Ulrich, who portrays “Billy Loomis.” Billy was one of the killers in the first film, and he is tied to this one because before he died in “Scream” (1996), he had a daughter who happened to be Sam. One of the main themes in the film is Sam trying to separate herself from what her father did.
Sam can see Billy when she looks into reflections, and it happens in both “Scream” (2022) and “Scream VI.” I don’t like this part because you can tell Skeet is 50. This is a problem because the character he’s portraying in these films is 18 because he died at that age. This means, at least in my head, that he should still be 18 and appear 18 to Sam, as she has never even met him and only has seen pictures of him. I believe they could’ve used CGI to de-age him.
(SPOILER ALERT: SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH TO AVOID SPOILERS) One other thing that I didn’t like about this film is that none of the main characters died. The first time I watched this movie, I was very happy about this. Then I watched the film again and realized how much I didn’t like this aspect, as morbid as it sounds.
(SPOILER ALERT: SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH TO AVOID SPOILERS) I’m really attached to this new group of characters, but these films normally kill off one beloved character, and this one doesn’t. I believe one of them should have died because if they continue making films in this franchise, the film will get crowded with the number of characters.
Overall I did like this movie very much. I would see it a third time if one of my friends wanted to go. Out of 5 stars, I give it a 4. This was the first “Scream” movie I got to see in theatres, so I hold a special place for it in my heart. You should see the other ones in the franchise first. If you have already seen those, I recommend this film to you.
