In the next installment, the survivors of the Ghostface killings leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter in New York City.
I enjoyed the three original Sream movies, even the underrated Part 3, and when it finished, it appeared that that was the end of the franchise. I was good with that. Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven had made three well-made horror films, and now it was time to move on. But in 2011, Craven returned to the director’s chair for “Scream 4,” and while it made a lot of money, it was not as well received as the previous three, and for good reason. In the eleven years since “Scream 3,” the hardcore fanbase had moved on with their lives, so the fourth entry in the series seemed to flounder aimlessly, and while I understand a studio’s desire to make money, it felt like an unnecessary case of “cash grab,” designed to capitalize on nothing but nostalgia.
Once “Scream 4” came and went, talk of a fifth entry arose now and again, but after Part 4’s less-than-stellar box office returns, it appeared that the franchise was done. Enter writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Wanting to take the series in a new direction, they hashed out a script that would be known as “Scream,” bringing back as many original characters from the previous entries while introducing new faces into the franchise. Technically, it would be a relaunch of the franchise and a direct sequel to Part 4. When released in 2022, it garnered generally positive reviews and made over $140 million against a budget of $24 million. In it, the characters are hunted by a new Ghostface, as they are all somehow linked to the original killings.
In “Scream VI,” the survivors of “Scream,” led by sisters Sam and Tara (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) and their best friends Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding), have moved from Woodsboro to New York to further their college careers, trying to leave their horrific past behind them, but when a new Ghostface appears, attacking them and anybody remotely connected to them, they must band together and try to figure out the killer’s identity, before there are none of them left.
While I went into 2022’s “Scream” with low expectations, especially since the original director, Wes Craven, had passed away, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett surprised everyone by making a thoroughly enjoyable worthy follow-up while maintaining the franchise’s meta-edge. Combining OG characters and new faces helped to restart the franchise again, adding the possibility of new divergent narratives moving forward, and “Scream VI” continues that trend. While Neve Campbell does not reprise her Sidney Prescott role, the film focuses more on the remaining characters, giving each of them more screen time but also more of an opportunity for any of them to be the new Ghostface. And that is where the script begins to falter.
As with all five previous installments, every time the killer(s) was revealed, it was a huge surprise, and even here, it still manages to elicit a sense of shock and disbelief, but at the same time, it makes you wonder just how many times they can tie the new killer to the previous film(s), before eventually succumbing to self-parody, like the “Scary Movie” series. While Courtney Cox returns as journalist Gale Weathers, Hayden Panettiere, whose Kirby Reed character was the final girl in “Scream 4,” also returns, now a special agent in the FBI. Her appearance feels more like a last-minute addition written into the script because of Neve Campbell’s absence, but Panettiere serves no real purpose to the overall storyline other than to say “Hi! Remember me?” The cast works well together, with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega leading the charge, and no doubt there will be a “Scream VII,” but anybody’s guess is where it goes from here. Like the original trilogy, there is only so far you can go with the new characters and narratives before the audience tires of the repetitiveness that eventually lays claim to most horror film franchises. For now, though, enjoy the series while it is still in a state of successful revival.
In Theaters Friday, March 10th
