Scream VI. 2023
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Starring Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, Dermot Mulroney, Liana Liberato, Jack Champion, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra, Samara Weaving, Tony Revolori, Henry Czerny, Roger Jackson, Thomas Cadrot, and Jason Cavalier.
SYNOPSIS:
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter in New York City.
During the usual assessment of the story thus far and rules for survival, it’s declared that these characters are no longer in a series but a franchise. That means Scream VI (directed by Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, returning from last year’s Scream alongside screenwriter James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, once again featuring legacy characters created by Kevin Williamson) has to have a bigger budget and go bolder. It also means that fan-favorite characters are no longer safe and no longer cared about, making room for the new crew to be further established at the top of the hierarchy.
That’s also a solid idea considering that Scream VI is initially concerned with the PTSD sisters Sam and Tara (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) have from the events of the last installment, but more importantly, how differently they are dealing with that trauma. Now in college, they have hauled ass out of Woodsboro to New York City, where Sam is bravely undergoing psychological therapy while helicopter-monitoring her sister, taking on a more protective role. Meanwhile, Tara doesn’t want to confront any of it, carefree and willing to hit up frat parties and get intoxicated, vulnerable to drunken date rapists.
Following in the footsteps of the recent Halloween trilogy by addressing the trauma from these horrific serial killings, the human trauma in Scream VI is mostly convincing due to the performances. However, problems don’t arise once this has to become a slasher movie, but how it becomes one and how it’s intertwined with the rest of the franchise. Pulling from past characters, familiar faces, fresh blood, reoccurring themes across the films (here, social media conspiracy theories have turned Sam into the previous Woodsboro killer, further destroying any normal public life she can live), an extension of toxic fandom (which wasn’t necessarily subtle last time, but here has been stretched and exhausted a bit too far, Scream VI loses its sense of focus while trying to tackle too much.
The same could be argued about last year’s requel, but there is a sense that the filmmakers were far more confident in their ambitions last time since the third act stuck the landing, whereas here it elicits a shrug while falling into another trap of modern-day franchises; the necessity to build to something greater in scope in future installments, rendering much of what has happened inconsequential filler for whatever is inevitably upcoming. Rest assured, these filmmakers are going somewhere here, which begs the question that in a series of films built on surprises, what is the point of taking an idea and drawing up that framework considering that when it’s eventually put on the screen, it’s no longer going to be a shock. This time, there is a hollow functioning, with the purpose seeming to be milking more films out of the franchise.
Then again, that’s Hollywood and sequels; the film is content laying this out through the character’s mouths. Therein lies the key difference between Scream VI and the previous century; this film accepts the sad state of the industry as it is, whereas the other dared actually to push buttons about the increasingly depressing state of fandoms. On the upside, Scream VI is trying to have fun; the Ghostface killer (or killers; you know the drill by now) has also relocated to New York City, with the filmmakers taking advantage of that setting, namely with a supremely tense sequence inside an apartment complex. Knives also go inside body parts that even the most bloodthirsty viewers might wince watching, especially with a brutal blade twisting for good measure.
It would also be unfair to deny that, while the twists will most likely pop up in your mind while watching the movie, Scream VI is entertaining to sit back and let unfold, populated with likable characters and an abundance of possible scenarios floating around (even if the killer motives are lame and generic). However, during the first 15 minutes, it felt like this entry was going to do something truly audacious and new for the franchise, taking on what would have been an exciting perspective.
Sadly, it turns into yet another Scream movie, botching its attempts at two siblings processing trauma differently and learning how to support or when to pull back from one another. The worst part is that the franchise’s direction seems like a boneheaded idea that will appear more nonsensical than anything in Scream VI.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
