Scream VI

Scream VI
Starring Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett

2022 saw the re-birth of everyone's favorite knife-wilding killer(sometimes s) in a freaky mask, Ghostface, in "Scream 5," (or "Scream"), which served as a requel film to the original. A requel - in case you didn't know - is a movie that revisits the subject matter of an earlier film but is not a remake or a linear continuation of its plot (thanks Wikipedia), and "Scream" had a lot to live up to: most notably re-vitalizing a franchise thought long dead after one of its creators - the great Wes Craven - passed away. Thankfully, though, "Scream" proved that there was still some blood in the veins, crafting a great film that paid homage to the original, included the legacy characters of Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley, as well as introducing a new gang of youths who come under attack from the vicious Ghostface(s). While it was able to catch lightning in a bottle, concerns were raised once again when a sequel was not only greenlit, but filmed and prepped for release a little over a year later. As we all know with the rules of horror films, the more sequels it churns out, the less effective they turn out to be. It's only exasperated when a horror sequel moves locales and takes place in the Big Apple (that strangely enough looks more like Vancouver...). But, by the sheer magic of horror cinema, not only did "Scream VI" deliver the thrills, chills, and kills - but it also made itself the best film in the "Scream" franchise outside the original.

One year after surviving the Ghostface rampage in Woodsboro, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), her half-sister Tara (Jenna Ortega), and their friends Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding) move to New York City so they can attend college, and so Sam can keep a watchful eye on her sister, worried that she's not coping with what happened to her effectively. Sam endures taunts and threats by people who think she was responsible for the Ghostface murders, and when a new Ghostface emerges in the Big Apple and starts dispensing people around her, Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad will have to use their knowhow and cunning to stop this new Ghostface from killing them all - along with help from Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere).

New York City is the place horror franchises go to die, most notably (and possibly most infamously) being "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan" (which, no spoiler alert, the movie is actually playing on a television in this movie), where Jason stows away on a yacht and kills teenagers in New York City - or, as the movie actually goes, kills most of them on the yacht before spending about ten minutes in New York City. Thankfully, with regards to horror films, "Scream VI" learned from the mistakes of the past and actually makes NYC look interesting and a great setting for a slasher film (despite the fact that, due to budget, it was filmed in Vancouver). Smartly, the directors use the setting to their advantage, making Ghostface an icon and making him (or them?) able to kill indiscriminately in the streets because, after all, it's NYC and as we all know people get murdered there on the hourly.

The storyline for the sixth film centers around Sam, Tara, and their friends who survived the massacre one year prior. Now in NYC, they're trying to get past what happened to them - except for Sam, who's worried that Tara could still be in danger, and who faces countless taunts and threats from people on the street who think she had something to do with the massacre because, as we all know, if you read it on the Internet it must be true. This is an interesting concept to ponder: survivor's guilt mixed with continual apprehension of being a social pariah for doing nothing more than surviving. We see how it affects Sam's psyche and how it weaves itself into the narrative no matter how, honestly, stupid it is (Ghostface literally tries to kill Sam and Tara numerous times, yet people still think Sam is behind it, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever - but again, if you read it on the Internet...), but thankfully not a lot of time is spent on this story when the bodies begin piling up, which occurs rather early on in the film (as usual - well, mostly usual - there's a first kill that's epic, but the film doesn't stop there).

As the gang of four and their new flesh shields (I mean, new friends) gather together much like Sidney and her friends did in the first "Scream" and they also did in "Scream," our resident horror movie nerd Mindy lays it out all for us: we're not in a sequel, prequel, or requel: we've entered franchise territory. And as everyone knows when a film series becomes a franchise, all the rules get tossed out the window. Anyone is expendable at any time, and legacy characters exist solely to be killed off for nostalgia, and main characters can go at any moment (Tony Stark, Nancy Thompson, Luke Skywalker). Maybe it's a good thing that the producers couldn't give Neve Campbell what she wanted, because if she was in the movie she might've been killed off first. Still, the absence of Sidney is felt throughout, as if the franchise is missing its heart - but fear not, that heart still has a lot of blood pumping through it.

Speaking of blood pumping, "Scream VI" not only racks up the highest body count out of all the "Scream" films, it also does so in gloriously gruesome fashion. Blood spurts everywhere, bodies get hacked, and it's every horror fan's dream, and every squeamish person's worst nightmare - but why would they be watching this in the first place?

Returning for another go-around are the new crop of survivors from the last film including Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmine Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, and it's great seeing them all together on screen again. Their natural chemistry flows, and adds a sense of excitement to the film: you don't want them to die, but in a film like this, there's no telling what'll happen. Barrera brings a new life to Sam after the events of the previous film, as she's now a protective den-mother to Tara and also struggling with her own inner demons, while Ortega shines even brighter than before, as she gets a chance to really kick some serious butt as opposed to being in a hospital room almost the entire time. Savoy Brown's Mindy keeps the entertainment going with her (nearly) spot-on take on horror movies, and Mason Gooding's nice-guy Chad is simply a joy.

The new crop of actors also bring their own unique talents to the franchise as well as offering new tropes to the genre. Jack Champion's Ethan is the virgin; Devyn Nekoda's Anika is Mindy's girlfriend so the next possible love-interest suspect; Josh Segarra's Danny is the new boyfriend for Sam (and we all know how that ended up last time); Liana Liberato's Quinn is Sam and Tara's roommate and also the promiscuous girl in the group. Even stars Samara Weaving's film professor, Tony Revolori's film student, and Dermont Mulroney's detective roles add to the tropes that the film exploits, and all are welcome additions to the franchise - as long as they can survive.

Then there's the legacy characters who return for another go-around, but, as said earlier, it's sorely missing Neve Campebell's presence. Still, Courtney Cox's Gale returns true-to-form, and the much anticipated (and even more sorely missed) Hayden Panettiere's Kirby Reed show that the legacy characters still have what it takes, and their chemistry as well as their history come back in full display. Hopefully they also make it out alive for the next installment.

In keeping with franchise rules, "Scream VI" checks off all the boxes. Bigger production values? It's New York City (Vancouver) for goodness sake! Higher death count? It's got the biggest in the franchise. More blood? The city runs red with it. No one's safe? You'll just have to watch it to find out - but any fan of the franchise will not be leaving the theater disappointed.

The Score: A