Notable Cast: 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
The meta-commentary that has always been provided within the
Scream franchise found new life with Scream 2022 when it was
released… let me check my notes, uh, yep, last year. The attack on the “requel”
- or which can also be labeled as the “legacy sequel” - was smart in playing on
the freshly minted tropes, particularly for slashers, and suddenly this horror
franchise had legs and momentum under it once again. In the rather insane way
that the Scream films have evolved, it was the next step to bring it to
the current state of horror.
Although Scream VI tries out a few “new” ideas by
taking the sequel and planting it in Montreal New York and attacking
modern horror franchise continuations, it’s one that mostly sticks to its
knives when it comes to delivering a Scream sequel. Although it hardly
reaches the cleverness or seemingly invested writing of the fifth entry, it
does happen to deliver quite a bit of slasher entertainment as it ramps up the
brutality and cutting slasher chase sequences that maximize its Montreal
New York setting.
Scream VI, which abandons the requel titling joke of
its predecessor for a more straightforward title, has a new angle to cozy up
with in its satirical notions. The franchise sequel. Granted, the entire
concept, which is thoroughly explained to the audience by Jasmin Savoy Brown’s
ultra-horror movie nerd character Mindy, is not nearly as provocative or clear
in its baseline rules as previous entries (which stem mostly down to “THERE ARE
NO RULES, YOU ASSHOLES!”) it’s just biting enough to warrant threading for the
series. Even if that logic has been applied to most of the films prior. One can
only make the claim that the final girl is now game for the slashin’ and see
her survive so many times before it becomes a false promise.
So yes, before we get too far, this review will have mild
spoilers for previous Scream entries. I’m sorry, that’s just how this
works when it comes to films where there’s a whodunnit and a significant body
count for its ensemble. Sorry, not sorry.
While the promise of the “franchise sequel” seems intriguing
enough, it’s not the big bait that is going to have fans excited for this
entry. That is the Montreal New York setting. To make this very apparent
that the directors and writers understand that this is not unique, there’s a
character in the opening sequence that just so happens to be watching Friday
the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. Yes, don’t forget. Everyone in
these films loves horror movies. It’s a nice nod though.
And while Scream VI owes a ton of its inspirations
more to recreating moments and parallels to its own franchise in Scream 2,
the Montreal New York of it all is a very nice change of pace. Not that
the film actually looks like it was filmed in Montreal New York (I’m
also not sorry for the strikethrough joke in this review that will not stop)
but so many of its key sequences are built around movie Montreal New
York ideas that do really spike some great moments of tension. While many
viewers will definitely white knuckle their way through the
ladder-in-between-windows escape sequence in the second act, it’s the subway
sequence that was featured in the first trailer that is the true standout of the
film. The flickering lights, the Halloween-time setting where everyone is in
horror costumes, and the mounting tension of these kills being done in public
spaces is the highlight of the film. Partner that with the brutality of the
Ghostface killer(s?) in the film, where 17 stabs might as well equal 1 stab or
shotgun blasts tear open entire people, the kill sequences of the film
definitely makes this one a worthy contender for some of the best moments in a Scream
film.
However, as much as Scream VI wants to be the next
evolution of this series, so much of its plotting and characters are seemingly
muddled in the process. The film never quite figures out how it wants to handle
Sam Carpenter’s is she or isn’t she a serial killer in the making subplot and its
playfulness with its “Core Four” ensemble feels like a desperate cling for
building the dynamic of the original run’s thrilling three. At least they give
Jenna Ortega a lot more to do this time around.
The performances are all decent once again, but the familial
dynamics feel far more forced in the script this time around and it does
undercut some of its dramatic beats. Even bringing back Hayden Panettiere as
the fan-favorite Kirby from Scream 4 feels a bit more forced than it
should have. They play it off with some funny jokes and she gets a few good key
moments, but it does feel more like the random cameos from other entries than
something naturalistically written in.
As for the finale, that seems to have drawn some divisive
reactions amongst fans of the series online, and, in general, I get why. Not
that I will spoil anything here, but if this film was meant to recreate Scream
2 in many ways - it also tends to make some massive leaps to reveal the killers
and their motivations for this one. Nothing will be quite as much of a leap as
the outlandish reveal of the killer in Scream 3 or the silliness
of “I want to prove to people that horror movies actually do make killers” in Scream
2, but this one does require a few mental gymnastics to get there. Fortunately,
the setting of a Ghostface museum in a dilapidated theater and some fantastic
visual pops from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett make the
ending at least entertaining even when it’s a tad baffling.
All in all, Scream VI is a solid entry into the
series, not reaching some of the effective heights of other sequels, but the
patchy script does feel rushed at times and it never finds the best balance and
themes for its characters to navigate as it runs the course of its plot. It manages
to entertain fairly well, pile on some great Montreal New York (last one
I swear) sequences, and give us all of the staples of a Scream
movie.
I’m still disappointed they didn’t call it Ghostface Takes
Stabhattan, but I digress.
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