Scream 6: Movie Review

Cast: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, Dermot Mulroney

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett 

Legacy is a major theme in this latest iteration of the Scream franchise, a film that in many ways copies from the template of the second film in its meta touches and one that also has fun twisting up its tropes and situations while dialling up the gore.

In this latest, which picks up after the end of 2022's Scream, Melissa Barrera's Sam Carpenter is dealing with the fallout of her near-murder and the revelation that she's the daughter of the original Scream killer Billy Loomis.

While Sam's stuck in dead-end jobs and therapy, her sister Tara (Wednesday's Jenna Ortega) is trying to move on with her life, in college in New York and determined to live a little. 

However, when Ghostface seemingly strikes again in New York, the half-sisters are forced to rethink their life choices - and decide on fight or flight as the victim circle draws ever closer in.

Relocating to New York and moving the action out of Woodsboro is a smart and wise move by the makers of this latest Scream film.

If anything, bringing Ghostface to the streets of New York - and specifically a bodega set piece - adds a danger to the character that's been lacking for some time. It really signals how the filmmakers are looking to add an edge by bringing him into the real world. Much like in the actual NY people can just get randomly stabbed and attacked in a shop with serious consequence, the film tries to give weight to its murders with the horrific sound of the slicing and the bigger deaths (as per sequel rules) are more graphic throughout. (Certainly Ghostface with a shotgun is a thrilling update of the character and his menace)

However, that frisson of difference is somewhat jettisoned by a third act reveal that just falls back on all the worst excesses of the series and is all the worse for it.

By trying to shoehorn in commentary on social media character assassination, elements of coping with trauma, way too much meta film talk on the rules of the franchise/ sequel and discussion of legacy, Scream VI does teeter dangerously close to over-stuffing. Yet it manages to offer some solidly entertaining set pieces - including a Weeping Angels inspired subway sequence - before lapsing into the usual dumb tropes of the genre. (Certainly the twisty opening and breathtaking reveal shows how much the film wants to wrongfoot its audience).

Ultimately though it's Barrera and Ortega's film to win - and both do it with different approaches.

For Ortega it's the mix of her deadpan and stronger character that help, but for Barrera it's a more complex approach as she grapples with her own nature - certainly the franchise has never had a lead whose desire to kill is as strong as its antagonist, and it remains to be seen if the franchise delves deeper into this.

Ultimately, Scream VI is still very much the usual carnival haunted house horror ride - but by writing it larger on a bigger canvas and injecting some much-needed danger and horror into Ghostface (aside from the final revelations), this remains a horrific treat that has some killer edges and a lack of filler - despite its 2 hour run time.