Movie Reaction: Scream VI

Formula: Scream 2 + (Scream 4 * Scream 5)

The Scream franchise has always been a snake eating its own tail. More specifically, it's about making sure it has eaten its tail just the right amount. It's a self-referential franchise by nature. But it does have to be responding to something or else it risks recycling the same points. I won't pretend to be a detailed historian of the franchise, but I know that personally, what I liked the most about Scream V was that that it felt like they waited long enough that there was a whole new generation of horror to comment on. It could interrogate both "elevated horror" and legacy horror franchises. With Scream VI coming out barely a year later, the question I had was if it would be a savvy commentary on rushed sequels or the very thing it was trying to comment on.

Also set about a year later, Scream VI moves the action to New York City where Sam (Melissa Barrera), Tara (Jenna Ortega), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), and Chad (Mason Gooding) have moved to for college or just as an attempt to get away from their notoriety back home. You see, the story of the Ghostface killer has made it to the true crime and conspiracy nuts. Many at-home investigators believe Sam is actually the murderer from the last film who then blamed Richie. You'll be shocked to discover there's a new killer now and they've made it to New York as well. As our protagonists try to survive this film, there is plenty of new examination of tropes, mostly from Mindy. The argument here is that the franchise has become bigger than any one character and no one is truly safe. Not even Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) or returning favorite from Scream IV, Kirby (Hayden Panettiere).

Scream VI mostly suffers from its inability to practice what it preaches. The mission statement of this installment is that all bets are off and all plot armor has been removed. No one is safe...except, it turns out everyone is safe. Look, the thing that really made Scream special back in 1996 was that Drew Barrymore died in the first scene. That was such a ballsy move. Scream VI doesn't risk that much. No one of consequence dies, even when they really should. After the similarly selective body count of Scream V, that was really disappointing. And it negates the confidence the movie is brimming with.

I mostly did enjoy the movie though. The opening death(s) is fairly memorable. Barrera and Ortega are great dual scream queens. The cast is full of the right kind of vaguely recognizable actors to fill the suspect pool with. It did keep me guessing until the end and found another new angle to inspire the killer. Scream movies are just at their best when they are as clever as they think they are. Scream VI falls just short of that. But, one nice thing about keeping a solid core intact is that I'll probably come back when they make another.

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend