Scream 6 (2023)

Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.

The first movie in the series not to feature Sid moves the action to New York, where a new set of killers are targeting the protagonists. “Scream VI” centers Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega), showing them in college (as Sid was in the second movie). Once again, there are rules about what happens in this type of horror flick.

I’ve liked every entry in the franchise, including this one. Not just the kills, but the callbacks to the preceding movies. And of course, it’s neat seeing which people they cast in some of the minor roles. It’s not the best movie in the franchise, but still one that you’re bound to love.

With the Scream movies and “Wednesday”, Jenna Ortega has become one of the undeniable scream queens of the 2020s.

I will say this one tried harder than the others and succeeded in a lot of areas with writing and tension. It was still weighed down by some tired old tropes, over the top acting, silly one-liners, dumb meta humor and cartoonish reveals (very much like the first one, honestly). It’s like when the newer Bond movies couldn’t help themselves and say “shaken or stirred?” but had to throw in the “do I look like I give a damn?” line, to telegraph to the audience, “oh, this is different!” All that said, it was entertaining, but it had a considerable amount of silliness that took away from it being as good as it could have been. You can also tell the script wasn’t fully changed after Neve Campbell refused to come back, as they still made a couple of specific references to her character, but didn’t explain her absence.

It will take a lot for me to rate these movies low. I’ve been a huge fan since I was in middle school and I’m not middle aged. There is nothing out there like Scream.

However there is one flaw in this movie and it’s at the end. It’s similar to what the Duffer Brothers do in Stranger Things by not killing anyone off except for the new extras. It’s going to lead fans to not trust what you’re doing and perhaps not be as emotionally invested. Of the 6 movies, I think this is the only one I can say this about. Creator’s, be careful with this. Take more risks like when Wes killed off Randy. That was hard but it would have been worse to have had that happen and him survive.

Other than that, I love what they did with the killer/s. Though I was able to predict and that’s never happened before… but there were still parts around that that were thrilling and surprising.

Gale’s scene had me on the edge of my seat and so emotional for her.

Ghost face is just more aggressive and violent. Super scary. The scene in the store, the subway, Gales apartment, the window screen, all nail biting, screaming, edge of seat stuff. That mask is great too. They amped up the thrill for sure.

It worked without Sydney. I, personally, didn’t miss her. You don’t want to come back? Peace.

Kirby. Yeah that worked. I’m not mad about that storyline. I was concerned that wasn’t going to work but it did.

This isn’t no 1996 Scream. It’s original like the ’96 Scream but it’s different. In a good way. I’m interested with where they will take this storyline with Samantha. A lot they can do.