While many horror franchises are dead in the water by the sixth film in the series, the Scream movies are still kicking and highly profitable. Scream (2022) brought forth more than $80 million at the box office, and the newest release, Scream VI, garnered nice opening weekend numbers.
Like the fifth movie, Scream VI is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the duo who gained attention in the horror community after their solid work on V/H/S, Southbound, and 2019’s Ready or Not. Scream’s (2022) writing team of James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick also returned for the sixth installment.
Also returning to the franchise are Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Courtney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, and of course, Roger Jackson as the iconic voice of Ghostface. Newcomers to the series include Dermot Mulroney (Umma), Jack Champion (Avatar: The Way of Water), Josh Segarra (Arrow), Liana Liberato (Haunt), Tony Revolori (Spider-Man: Homecoming), and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Mayhem).
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In Scream VI, the survivors of the last showdown with Ghostface move from Woodsboro, California, to New York City in hopes of leaving their pasts behind them. Unfortunately for them, a new series of murders starts to take place in the Big Apple, and a trail of breadcrumbs is left, bringing up ghosts from the past murders, and leading to another attack on Sam (Barrera) and Tara (Ortega).
Starting with the most obvious difference with Scream VI; the change in scenery. Moving away from Woodsboro was a risk, especially since the last time the franchise had done it (Scream 3), it didn’t work out too well with audiences. However, after Scream (2022) was a “requel” of sorts, it felt like the right move to take the series out of California.
The change in setting was a welcomed one. Where many of the Scream movies rely on the isolation of small-town life, Scream VI used the overwhelming and suffocating feel of New York City to add a layer of fear to the film. Be it in the busy streets, the partying college campuses, or the stuffed subway trains, the ability to keep track of the killer was simply impossible, especially during the Halloween season.
There’s just a different level of intimidation that comes from fighting for your life in the closed-quarters of tiny NYC apartments and the back alleys of downtown. The killer no longer must wait until you’re alone and secluded; they can kill you in a crowd, and never be seen again. The new scenery was simply a refreshing and smart change to the franchise.
Like most Scream movies, the acting was a mixed bag. The strongest performances came from Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding. All three were a lot of fun, and their characters were even more developed from the previous film. Melissa Barrera is fine in the lead role, but for a series of movies that is seemingly trying to “restart” for a new generation, the Sam character just doesn’t grasp the final girl role that horror audiences connect to in their favorite slasher franchises.
If we’re going to have a new generation of Scream movies, we need to have a character that’s on the level of Sidney Prescott, and Sam Carpenter just isn’t there yet. A major reason for this is her character’s backstory, and being the daughter of Billy Loomis, one of the first Ghostface murderers. The backstory alone wouldn’t be an issue, but her strange, ghostly visions of her father (who looks 25 years older than when he died) come off as strange and silly. I had hoped they would nix this for the sixth film, and while the scenes with “ghost Billy” aren’t as egregious as they were in the fifth film, they bring the odd showcasing of mental illness back for the new movie.
Speaking of Sidney Prescott, it’s no secret that Neve Campbell turned down the decision to reprise her role as Sidney due to a financial disagreement with the studio. To temper expectations, this was not a ploy, nor misdirection. Neve Campbell is not in the movie, though they do mention Sidney and handle her absence decently.
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Aside from the new setting, the two biggest strengths for Scream VI were the overall story and the sheer brutality of the kills. Scream VI was by far the most gory, action-packed, and graphic of the franchise, with plenty of skin-crawling, bone-slicing, mutilating moments. Some moments were so brutal, it seemed a little silly that certain characters made it out alive. But then again, Dewey survived four movies of being sliced and diced.
The story followed more of a detective-style whodunnit, with the breadcrumb tie-ins to previous movies being a neat touch. I do wish this part of the movie was fleshed out better (no pun intended), but we’re dealing with a full-on slasher film here, not a detective noir movie. There were some extremely intense moments, too, which aside from the Dewey scene in the fifth movie, I hadn’t really felt since the car escape scene in Scream 2.
My biggest issue with Scream VI came from part of the major reveal. While I won’t go into any details or spoilers, there was a certain level of “He didn’t get out of the cockadoodie car”-ness to it, that I didn’t particularly care for. If you need more explanation than that, go watch Misery (1990).
For a horror franchise being this far in, Scream is still able to produce fun, entertaining, and incredibly gory entries. Somewhere along the line, some viewers decided that Scream should be held to a higher standard than Friday the 13th, Halloween, or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Maybe it’s the whodunnit feel of the franchise, or maybe it’s because it has a more realistic tone. Regardless, the Scream franchise is one of the most all-around best-quality horror franchises out there (behind Evil Dead, of course).
In my opinion, Scream VI was better than it’s 2022 predecessor, and breathes some new life into franchise. With the movie already hitting 44 million at the box office, a new record for the series, it’s safe to safe to say Ghostface will probably return in a seventh installment. It’s gonna be a scream, baby!
