Despite all the “Ghostface takes Manhattan” jokes (and the misplaced hatred for FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII that inspired some of them), moving the SCREAM franchise from Woodsboro to New York City was a smart move. SCREAM VI pulls its punches in more ways than one, but where it excels is in its slasher set pieces, taking full advantage of its cramped urban setting to amp up the tension and provide some of the best scares and most brutal kills in the whole series. The cast remains stellar — Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, and Jasmin Savoy Brown are even bigger MVPs this time around, and it’s always a pleasure to hear Roger L. Jackson’s leering rasp. But while this “sequel to the requel” has quite a few surprises up its sleeve, few of them land with the emotional or narrative weight of previous entries. Viewers who want to see Ghostface slice and dice their way through bodegas and subways will find plenty to love in SCREAM VI, but those who like the franchise to play with higher stakes may walk away disappointed.
It’s Halloween season in New York, and a new Ghostface is in town. Tara (Ortega) is attending Blackmore University with her friends — and fellow survivors of 5CREAM — twins Chad (Gooding) and Mindy (Brown). She shares an apartment with her older sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) and their friend Quinn (Liana Liberato). Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) is back and as ambitious as ever, and anyone who saw the trailer or read any entertainment news leading up to the film’s release already knows that fan favorite Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) returns for this installment. Rounding out the pool of suspects/victims are Chad’s roommate Ethan (Jack Champion), Mindy’s girlfriend Anika (Devyn Nekoda), Sam’s “cute boy” neighbor Danny (Josh Segarra), and Quinn’s police detective father (Dermot Mulroney).
Viewers familiar with the franchise know the drill: returning characters and new faces alike must contend with threatening phone calls, a meta monologue from a horror geek laying out the basic beats of the movie, at least one knife-wielding maniac in a Ghostface mask chasing them around town, and a final monologue explaining the motive(s) of the killer(s). No one is safe; everyone is a suspect. As Mindy helpfully notes in the aforementioned movie geek monologue, franchise entries do what they can to subvert expectations, and this film certainly achieves a few jaw-dropping moments by seeming to zag from the established rules of the SCREAM universe. Those shocks wear off, though, and they may leave behind a bad taste in the viewer’s mouth as you realize they didn’t amount to anything more than just that: shallow, momentary shocks that hide how much the film is retreading familiar ground.
That’s surely intentional: subverting the expectation that your expectations will be subverted is exactly the kind of meta prank the SCREAM franchise is known and loved for. This is typically the point in franchises where movies take wild swings. CURSE OF CHUCKY, JASON LIVES, THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS… these bold sequels all represent the sixth entry in their respective franchises. By flirting with a “Curse of Ghostface” approach and then careening away from it, SCREAM VI is simply continuing the series’ ethos of skewering — lovingly or otherwise — the slasher subgenre and its devoted fans. How you respond to that ouroboros will depend entirely on your appetite for all things meta.
The film also takes aim at the slasher fandom’s cousins: true crime obsessives. We learn in an early scene that Sam has been harassed online ever since the Woodsboro Legacy Attacks, as the events of 5CREAM are called. There’s a persistent rumor that Sam was the real Ghostface and that she framed her boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid). Sam is the subject of stares and insults wherever she goes, and online conspiracy theorists either loathe or worship her. It’s a smart move on the film’s part, and a necessary one, to interrogate the way that the “real-life” Ghostface killings and their media portrayals blend together to create a warped version of reality. That’s always been a hallmark of this franchise, but by specifically highlighting things like true crime limited series and fan art of alleged murderers, SCREAM VI stays fresh and current.
The “Core Four” — the nickname Chad gives himself, Mindy, Sam, and Tara — are another way the movie stays current. Without getting too FAST & FURIOUS on you, SCREAM movies are about family. Despite the slasher subgenre inherently requiring warm bodies to be introduced just so they can be carved up and thrown away, the SCREAM films simply don’t work if you don’t care about the characters. This franchise has always excelled at writing and casting characters we love and root for, and the chemistry and camaraderie between Tara, Chad, and Mindy give SCREAM VI a refreshing wit and energy. Jenna Ortega — a bona fide scream queen with an already impressive list of genre credits — is the movie’s not-so-secret weapon, expertly conveying Tara’s humor, vulnerability, and desire to escape the past without actually having to deal with it.
The SCREAM franchise has always adopted an ironic, and precarious, position: building the future by looking at the past. Starting new trends in horror by poking fun at old ones might not seem like a sustainable trajectory for a long-running franchise, but so far SCREAM is one of the most consistently strong slasher series in history. SCREAM VI doesn’t break new ground, but it doesn’t break that streak either.
Tags: Brett Jutkiewicz, Brian Tyler, Courteney Cox, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Guy Busick, Hayden Panettiere, Henry Czerny, Horror, Jack Champion, Jack Quaid, James Vanderbilt, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jay Prychidny, Jenna Ortega, Josh Segarra, Kevin Williamson, Liana Liberato, Mason Gooding, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Melissa Barrera, New York, New York City, Roger L. Jackson, Samara Weaving, Slashers, Sven Faulconer, Tony Revolori, Tyler Gillett
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