Scream VI
In the era of elevated horror, this franchise is stuck at the ground level
Ghostface takes a stab at a requel sequel in the latest Scream movie.
After surviving a pair of serial killers and finding out that her own father was in fact Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), the original Woodsboro slasher, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) needs to work through some issues. That would be easier to do if the internet hadn’t decided to form some sort of Q-Anon for movie nerds that’s chosen to blame her for the killings because “killing’s in her blood” (you’ll hear that line a lot, get used to it here).
Sam and her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) try to lose themselves in the anonymity of the big city by moving to New York while Tara attends college. They’re joined by twins Mindy and Chad (Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding), who survived the last film and are hoping to find a peaceful existence far from their bloodbath of a hometown.
But Ghostface has some frequent flyer miles of his own and doesn’t mind moving to the east coast.
When the killings start again, kids (who have dubbed themselves the Core Four), must figure out who is after them and why. Along the way, they remind us that the killers are setting up a franchise, which means legacy characters (like Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers and Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby) are on the chopping block along with the final girls from the last film.
If only writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick were on that list.
One of the features of the Scream franchise has always been its snappy writing. Characters are a conduit for most horror audiences — pointing out the emperor has no clothes on before they can. While the meta-style commentary has died out in popularity, what we have in Scream VI is just sort of…lazy. You’ll hear about Sam's genetic urge to kill so often that you’ll feel a little stabby yourself. People make wildly stupid decisions because we need a reason for them to be in the situation they’re in. And worst of all, Ghostface’s identity is so patently obvious that anyone who’s ever seen a movie before will pick up on it long before the reveal.
One massive hurdle the Scream franchise faces now is that smart horror is on the rise. In a world where Leigh Whannell, Ari Aster, and Jordan Peele are picking apart horror tropes in clever and socially relevant ways, name-checking John Carpenter and Dario Argento but not playing with style or tropes in a meaningful way just isn’t gonna cut it. And that’s the crux of the problem, the Scream franchise has lost the introspection and wit that made it stand out in a sea of slasher films.
Essentially, they’re the Stab movies now.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (who directed the requel Scream and the vastly-underrated Ready or Not) know how to set up a nice bout of violence. Their kills are gory and visceral. This is certainly a movie that earns its R rating. But those kills also lack tension. The setups for the slayings aren’t nearly as creepy as they could be, with Ghostface seemingly bored of chatter and popping out every five minutes to chase someone. Also, the violence doesn’t have a lot of consequences. Did you know that you could take several stabs in the gut and pretty much get on with your day?
There’s also some sloppy filmmaking that just makes the movie a bit eye-rolly. Ghostface is now some sort of Jason/Michael Myers clone. Where the killer used to trip and react to blunt force trauma we now have an unstoppable killing machine that can lift people one-handed and chop up a body in a matter of minutes. It’s a typical horror conceit, but this reviewer would argue that the human weakness of Ghostface was a feature, not a bug. Also, the NYPD is not one precinct. But evidently responding to kills all over the city is the job of one person and no one else checks in or follows up. Assigned protection is a thing that doesn’t exist. Characters steal a car at midday to race 12 blocks to save a character and arrive at night (granted, depending on your experiences with New York traffic this one might feel accurate). And worst of all the movie seems to lack the courage of its convictions with almost every attack. When M3GAN has a more cut-throat attitude towards its characters than you do, it may be time to reevaluate.
Still, I’m begging the directors — for Scream VII: The Stabbening, or whatever you’re calling it, stop de-aging Skeet Ulrich’s face. He looks like he’s got bad fillers. And I need him looking his best when they inevitably bring back Stu Macher.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some enjoyable moments. The kills are bloody. There are a few good lines. And the bond between Sam and Tara remains about the only truly heartfelt element of the franchise. It’s just that Scream is losing what made it sharp and is instead a run-of-the-mill slasher flick now. And that’s fine, but it’s not quite as fun.
Verdict: The latest entry in the Scream franchise is more of the same, what Ghostface lacks in innovation he makes up for in gore.
Scream VI is rated R and available in theaters March 10.
