Rating: 3/5 stars

“Scream VI” is a direct sequel to “Scream V” and revival of the series, “Scream,” which started in 2022.

You do not have to watch all of the movies in the franchise to understand “Scream VI,” but “Scream V” is highly recommended before you watch the most recent movie. 

Nostalgia bait is everywhere as this film has various odes to previous entries in the series that are incredibly apparent in the plot. “Scream” has always been known to straddle the line between the slasher and parodying genre. The opening scene in fact talks about the genre trope through a film media studies professor who becomes the first victim of the movie. 

The latest film stars Jenna Ortega (“The Addams Family”) and Melissa Barrera (“In the Heights”) as sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter. 

A year after the Westboro murders in California, four of the original main cast from “Scream V” move to New York City for college. Sam opens up the main conflict of the prior movie to her therapist. She was the “Final Girl” of the last movie and would be considered the “hero” of this movie due to killing the prior ghost face killer. Due to the spinning of the narrative on social media, rumors are swirling that she was the real mastermind behind the events of “Scream V.” It also does not help that her father was a famous serial killer and ends up saying, “it felt right” when she stabbed her ex, Richie. The events of the prior movie have affected both sisters in different ways with Sam and her friends being very overprotective of Melissa which drives a wedge between them. As murders happen close to Melissa’s college, GhostFace calls Sam to threaten them saying, “I’ll kill anyone who gets in the way of me killing you.”

The idea of public spaces being safe is thoroughly destroyed as they are immediately attacked in a Bodega where other residents are trying to kill GhostFace but are also swiftly dealt with. The gun of the Bodega owner is shown as useless to the seemingly invisible masked killer, who easily murders and stabs the victims. 

“Stab” is an in-universe movie series about the “Scream” series and is mentioned as the GhostFace’s main inspiration. The meta is incredibly strong to the chagrin of the audience. As Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown, “Sound of Violence”) says outright the rules have changed as “Stab” is a franchise now and legacy characters are even more likely to die akin to Star Wars and other big franchises. She also tells the audience that the “Core 4” the victims of the original movies including, Mindy, Melissa, Sam and her brother Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding, “Love Victor”) are the only ones who are not the killer.  

The best scene of the entire movie would be in the subway when the cast all goes to the final destination for the climax. It is Halloween night and the crowds of NYC cause a character’s claustrophobic effect. Then they spot a GhostFace, which multiplies to three of them, and we as the audience have no idea who is a killer and a regular civilian. The trick of the lighting and camera movement really emphasizes the feeling of being prey. 

 The franchise is in theaters and is a fun, scary way to spend the weekend with your friends.  The tone of the movie has a lot of comedy, suspense and mystery in the movie. Figuring out the mystery of the ghost face killer with friends is great! If you want something dark and thought-provoking, “Scream VI” is not for you. 

Image from Paramount Pictures via YouTube