Scream VI is a 2023 Paramount Pictures release starring Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere, Courtney Cox, and more. Slight skepticism coming into this film if I’m going to be entirely transparent here. Anyone that knows me knows that I consider myself quite the fan of film and I have a deep admiration and fandom for horror movies both new and old, more specifically even, I’m a fan of the meta horror series that is Scream. That’s why I was a bit uncertain when it came to this film. I’ve been pretty honest and open about my gripes of Scream V or Scream (2022), although the kills themselves were very intense and brutal feeling throughout. I was a fan of the OGs, the originals, the 90s Scream films with Sidney, Randy, Dewey, and the original crew and I felt the very obvious shift away from them and onto the new cast in Scream V and that in itself left a bad taste in my mouth. The cast felt very dry, boring, and lacking believability or anything to make me truly care for them throughout the duration of the film.
Scream VI I personally felt did a lot more for me as a fan and a viewer. I cared more about the main characters or the “Core Four” if you will in this movie as more time was spent with them and more character depth added, the kills stayed more intense and brutal than its predecessors, the fan service done for true fans of the horror genre throughout the movie added some fun “Did you catch that?” moments, and the change of scenery to the big apple and away from Woodsboro helped make this movie feel original from the ones before it and added scenarios we’ve never seen Ghostface or his victims in before. Most notably the awesome scene on the Subway with everyone donning Halloween costumes helping Ghostface to blend into the crowd easier and the scene of Ghostface in a bodega wielding a shotgun were fun and fresh scenes for this series as a whole.
The curveball cold open, the scene on the subway, in the bodega, and the final showdown of the film showing Melissa Barrera’s Sam and Jenna Ortega’s Tara drive for intense brutality when pushed over the edge were among my favorite scenes in the film but I won’t reveal any more than that. This film doesn’t hold back when it comes to the gore and viciousness of the kills throughout, but still does a decent enough job of keeping the meta and self awareness aspect that made Scream what it is alive. Overall I’d say this is a good 6.5-7/10. It was certainly better than the film before it and number 3 and most likely comparable in terms of quality to the 4th installment of the series, but still couldn’t hold up to the original or sequel (1 and 2). Although I have a hard time thinking anything to come in this series will for me personally.
