A year after the latest Woodsboro massacre Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) have relocated to New York to escape their trauma, with friends (and fellow survivors and siblings) Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding). With six months of trouble-free life in their new home city, the foursome find themselves pulled into another mystery as bodies pile up and Ghostface rears his (or her) head again.
It was a no brainer that the ‘Scream’ franchise would continue after 2022’s ‘Scream’, the fifth instalment in the series, took more than 0 million at the global box office. The first film in the franchise since 2011’s ‘Scream 4’, and the first to be made following the death of Wes Craven, ‘Scream’ expertly mixed legacy and new characters resurrecting the series in the process. ‘Scream VI’ comes just over a year after that film and at the centre of it are returning survivors Sam, Tara, Mindy, Chad and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), along with ‘Scream 4’ survivor Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere).
Before I get into the meat of this review, I should point out that at the request of Paramount Pictures spoilers are a no-go zone. As a fan of horror, and this franchise, I respect that request and it’s fair to say the less you know about ‘Scream VI’ going into it, the better. After a surprising opening, that continues to buck the trend of what the audience will expect (just as directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett did with ‘Scream’ in 2022), ‘Scream VI’ spends a little time establishing the ‘core four’ (Chad’s words not mine) and their relationships with each other following the events of the last film.
With an array of new characters in the cast, and the much-publicised returns of Gale and Kirby, ‘Scream VI’ builds a whodunnit like nothing the franchise has seen before. There are plot twists and tricks abound and I’m pleased to say that working out who is behind the latest spree of killings didn’t prove to be an easy task. Paying homage to ‘Scream 2’ in a number of ways, as well as dropping plenty of Easter Eggs for avid fans of the series, ‘Scream VI’ delivers something bigger and more intense than its predecessor. The film is a rollercoaster ride where the rules get rewritten, and rewritten, over and over again as Sam and co try to unmask their latest tormentor.
Without giving anything away, I can say that the deaths in this film are brutal, and easily the most brutal of all six films. The tone is darker and moving the action away from Woodsboro to New York gives the film-makers a chance to reset. The set-pieces that have been teased in the trailers play out with incredible tension and those fans wanting more in the way of chase scenes won’t be disappointed. Fans of Kirby will also be pleased to know that she gets a fair amount to do in the film, and certainly more than Sidney (Neve Campbell) and Gale did in the fifth instalment.
Where I think the film may prove divisive is that it does lean into the absurd much more than previous instalments. The laughs come as frequent as the scares, and there are some moments that didn’t quite hit it for me. It’s really hard to say much more without giving away major spoilers but some of the scenes jarred a little due to the actions and conversations of the characters, given the situations they find themselves in.
What ‘Scream VI’ does do so well is utilise the four main survivors from ‘Scream’. Barrera, Ortega, Savoy Brown and Gooding all shine in this film and their characters feel much more rounded than last time. The same is true of the new supporting cast, who make far more of an impression than the newbies the last time around. Of course, it goes without saying that both Cox and Panettiere knock it out of the park too.
‘Scream VI’ is a film that will require repeat viewing. There is so much packed into its two hour and three-minute run-time, and SO many Easter Eggs, one viewing simply won’t do it justice. Is it as strong as 2022’s ‘Scream’? Not quite but is it a better squeal than ‘Scream 2’ was to the original ‘Scream’? I think so. ‘Scream VI’ establishes that the franchise can continue without Sidney (should Campbell choose never to reprise her role again) and it proves that there is plenty of life left in it so don’t be surprised when ‘Scream 7’ gets the greenlight in a few months’ time.
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, Josh Segarra, Dermot Mulroney, Liana Liberto, Samara Weaving, Jack Champion, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Henry Czerny, Roger Jackson Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin &Tyler Gillett Writers: James Vanderbilt & Guy Busick Certificate: 18 Duration: 123 mins Released by: Paramount Pictures Release date: 8th March 2023
