Scream VI

By Sean Patrick Kelly

Trigger/Content Warning

This film contains the following triggers that may be alluded to in this review: Excessive or gratuitous violence

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This Review is Spoiler-Free

Ghostface returns in the Big Apple in Scream VI. One year after the latest attacks in Woodsboro, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) have moved to New York City along with fellow survivors Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and her twin brother Chad (Mason Gooding). Sam struggles to move on as the internet has vilified her due to her parentage. However, a new Ghostface killer emerges, leaving the previous killers' masks at the murder scenes. The recent murders are investigated by Detective Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney), the father of Sam and Tara's roommate Quinn (Liana Liberato). With the help of Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and survivor-turned-FBI agent Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), Sam and Tara hope to end the Ghostface killings once and for all.

Scream VI Synopsis

One year after taking over the franchise with last year's “requel,” Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return with the sixth entry of the Scream franchise. The meta-theme of the new film is the franchise's legacy as a whole, with the new Ghostface wearing the masks of the previous iterations, taken from a mysterious shrine in an abandoned movie theatre. The Core Four survivors of the prior film return along with newcomers that include Tara and Sam's roommate Quinn Bailey, Chad's nerdy roommate Ethan Landry (Jack Champion), Mindy's girlfriend Anika Kayoko (Devyn Nekoda), and Sam's neighbour and new love interest Danny Brackett (Josh Segarra). The film also features appearances by Ready or Not stars Samara Weaving and Henry Czerny, as well as Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Jason Carvey, a college classmate of Tara.

My Thoughts on Scream VI

When a film enters the sixth film in a franchise, it either starts running out of steam or finds fresh ideas to stay relevant. I will argue that Scream VI belongs in the latter category as Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, along with writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, tackle the legacy of a franchise that is fast approaching three decades in length. As the successor to her uncle Randy, Mindy Meeks-Martin, at one point, breaks down the rules of a franchise, which boils down to all previous roles being thrown out the window.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett show that they are keenly aware of the fan theories surrounding the film, some of which I wrote. They clearly try to subvert expectations while not entirely ignoring them. While not getting into too much detail about why this is probably the first Scream film in two decades, that did not have me correctly guess the killer's identity before the final reveal, even though the reveal does make sense after it happens.

The question now is, where does the Scream franchise go from here? The obvious answer is to continue and even bring back Neve Campbell, who declined to return for this film due to payment issues, for one final performance as Sidney Prescott. That said, I think Scream VI makes for a better final chapter of the franchise than Scream 3 did in 2000. Whatever happens next, I can say that the Scream franchise's legacy is in good hands.