by Josh Sewell
If someone told me when the Scream franchise was hitting its nadir with third and fourth installments spread out over a decade (2000-2011) that it would eventually become the slasher equivalent of comeback sagas like Fast and the Furious and Mission: Impossible, I would’ve laughed. Surely there was no way to bounce back from such tired attempts to stay socially relevant and building an increasingly complex mythology.
That was especially true following the 2015 death of horror legend Wes Craven, who directed all four chapters up to that point. If the guy who made the 1996 original an instant classic ran out of gas, what chance did anyone else have?
Turns out, filmmaking duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett – the masterminds behind 2019’s gross, funny and twisted Ready or Not – were the perfect choice to breathe new creative life into a franchise that was on life support. 2022’s Scream (actually the fifth installment, but possessing a moniker pointing toward the movie’s intention to serve as both a “legacyquel” and a soft reboot) was far better than it had any right to be.
That’s largely thanks to a razor-sharp screenplay honoring original characters played by Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and others, while allowing them to pass the torch to a new generation of compelling protagonists/victims. Chief among those fresh faces were Melissa Barrera and rising superstar Jenna Ortega as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter.
The eldest has a deadly secret connection to one of the original Ghostface killers and the younger came close to being the first casualty of the latest round of copycats. By the end of that film, it was abundantly clear the franchise was in great hands – especially since the girls’ friend group was rounded out by the engaging brother/sister duo Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) Meeks-Martin, the niece and nephew of late, great film nerd Randy (played by Jamie Kennedy in the first two installments).
Scream VI, which hits theaters this weekend, picks up a little while after the tragic events of the previous flick. Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad have moved from sleepy Woodsboro to New York City, where they attend the same college. Things are nice for a while, but the murders inevitably start up again – all of them connecting to Sam in some way and evoking previous Ghostface personas.
Without getting into spoilers, the latest killings also draw in former characters played by Cox and Hayden Panettiere, as well as newcomers portrayed by Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Henry Czerny and Dermot Mulroney. The result is a mystery that didn’t really scare me but is nevertheless super gory and ridiculously fun.
As with all Scream movies, it’s tough to talk about this one without delving into spoilers – particularly when it comes to the many reasons it was such an exciting big screen experience – so forgive me for keeping things intentionally vague. As for aspects of the movie I can address, first and foremost is the phenomenal chemistry between Barrera and Ortega, who seem like real sisters, as well as their scenes with Brown and Gooding. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay Scream VI is that I didn’t want the horror elements to kick in because I was having so much fun just hanging out with the characters.
In most slasher flicks, everyone is written a terrible person so audiences don’t feel guilty about rooting for the killer to do his thing. What makes the Scream franchise so appealing is that we actually care about most of the characters, so it hurts even more when Ghostface takes them out. I also appreciate how the latest installments have cemented the series as a saga led by women who matter as people rather than just being easily murdered eye candy.
The screenplay, credited to James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, kept me on my toes. I went into the press screening with a mental checklist of potential character deaths and plot twists, and every one of my predictions turned out to be wrong. Sure, by the end I figured out part of the mystery due to process of elimination, but I love when movies surprise me.
Still, I must admit what shocked me most was how brutal the kills are this time around. The Scream franchise has always been bloody, but this installment is particularly dark and violent. That goes for Ghostface and the protagonists alike. If you saw the last movie, you know certain characters will go to great lengths to protect themselves and their loved ones. That’s even more true this time around.
I hope the surviving cast members (whew… I almost mentioned them by name – I told you it’s hard to talk about these movies without spoilers) make a bunch of sequels. The actors are so charismatic, and the screenwriters find such creative ways to plumb the depth of the endlessly complex mythology that I’ve got a renewed excitement for the series. I have a feeling Scream VII is right around the corner and I can’t wait.
Scream VI is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and brief drug use. Opens in theaters on March 10.
Grade: B+
That was especially true following the 2015 death of horror legend Wes Craven, who directed all four chapters up to that point. If the guy who made the 1996 original an instant classic ran out of gas, what chance did anyone else have?
Turns out, filmmaking duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett – the masterminds behind 2019’s gross, funny and twisted Ready or Not – were the perfect choice to breathe new creative life into a franchise that was on life support. 2022’s Scream (actually the fifth installment, but possessing a moniker pointing toward the movie’s intention to serve as both a “legacyquel” and a soft reboot) was far better than it had any right to be.
That’s largely thanks to a razor-sharp screenplay honoring original characters played by Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and others, while allowing them to pass the torch to a new generation of compelling protagonists/victims. Chief among those fresh faces were Melissa Barrera and rising superstar Jenna Ortega as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter.
The eldest has a deadly secret connection to one of the original Ghostface killers and the younger came close to being the first casualty of the latest round of copycats. By the end of that film, it was abundantly clear the franchise was in great hands – especially since the girls’ friend group was rounded out by the engaging brother/sister duo Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) Meeks-Martin, the niece and nephew of late, great film nerd Randy (played by Jamie Kennedy in the first two installments).
Scream VI, which hits theaters this weekend, picks up a little while after the tragic events of the previous flick. Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad have moved from sleepy Woodsboro to New York City, where they attend the same college. Things are nice for a while, but the murders inevitably start up again – all of them connecting to Sam in some way and evoking previous Ghostface personas.
Without getting into spoilers, the latest killings also draw in former characters played by Cox and Hayden Panettiere, as well as newcomers portrayed by Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Henry Czerny and Dermot Mulroney. The result is a mystery that didn’t really scare me but is nevertheless super gory and ridiculously fun.
As with all Scream movies, it’s tough to talk about this one without delving into spoilers – particularly when it comes to the many reasons it was such an exciting big screen experience – so forgive me for keeping things intentionally vague. As for aspects of the movie I can address, first and foremost is the phenomenal chemistry between Barrera and Ortega, who seem like real sisters, as well as their scenes with Brown and Gooding. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay Scream VI is that I didn’t want the horror elements to kick in because I was having so much fun just hanging out with the characters.
In most slasher flicks, everyone is written a terrible person so audiences don’t feel guilty about rooting for the killer to do his thing. What makes the Scream franchise so appealing is that we actually care about most of the characters, so it hurts even more when Ghostface takes them out. I also appreciate how the latest installments have cemented the series as a saga led by women who matter as people rather than just being easily murdered eye candy.
The screenplay, credited to James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, kept me on my toes. I went into the press screening with a mental checklist of potential character deaths and plot twists, and every one of my predictions turned out to be wrong. Sure, by the end I figured out part of the mystery due to process of elimination, but I love when movies surprise me.
Still, I must admit what shocked me most was how brutal the kills are this time around. The Scream franchise has always been bloody, but this installment is particularly dark and violent. That goes for Ghostface and the protagonists alike. If you saw the last movie, you know certain characters will go to great lengths to protect themselves and their loved ones. That’s even more true this time around.
I hope the surviving cast members (whew… I almost mentioned them by name – I told you it’s hard to talk about these movies without spoilers) make a bunch of sequels. The actors are so charismatic, and the screenwriters find such creative ways to plumb the depth of the endlessly complex mythology that I’ve got a renewed excitement for the series. I have a feeling Scream VII is right around the corner and I can’t wait.
Scream VI is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and brief drug use. Opens in theaters on March 10.
Grade: B+
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
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