Scream VI 2023

Pros:
* Different format of the opening scene was refreshing
* The New York setting; the change of scenery was definitely a benefit
* The new Core Four from the last movie are likeable and enjoyable
* Ghostface was relentless and gave some absolutely brutal kills
* Credit for the movie trying to slightly switch up the formula a bit

Cons
* Some of the scenes were so corny / cringeworthy - the whole Tara and Chad thing, especially, had me squirming in my seat more than some of the gore
* Plot armour - stab wounds in this movie are pretty trivial, on par with getting a splinter. Something the characters are pretty much able to just dust off with ease. Most, if not all, of the main cast are fatally stabbed (some multiple times) at some point in the third act, yet are able to dodge roll, parkour/climb, perform takedowns from above, etc. You'd think they were just playing tag. And sorry, but there was no way Chad would have survived being stabbed that many times
* Kirby was underused - felt like she was just brought back so that she could be a red herring for 5 minutes towards the end
* Dumb decisions - these characters should be pros at shit this by now, but they'll be good and god damned before they learn

The series usually handles the balance between horror and comedy well, but I felt it was 50 / 50 with this entry. Not everything landed for me, and for every scene that made me laugh there was another that made me roll my eyes.

Overall though, Scream VI had me thoroughly entertained from start to finish. It was definitely one of the better entries. Looking forward to Scream VII :laughing: although, I'd be happy if they leave the legacy characters out now, unless they plan on killing them off. At this point, they just seem to be around for the sake of it, but I think the Core Four can take it from here.

"A Sequel To A Requel"

10+/10
Greatness On A Different Level
"I Fcuking Love This Franchise"
Well another Tuesday
And the best Scream movie yet,
And after the events and
The Sadness,
shocking disappointment of what
Went down in
Scream V
I seriously wondered
If another movie was even possible
And not just possible but
Work as Well if at all
let alone be as entertaining.
verdict is in
oh boy this worked
this absolutely worked
and then some.
This Phenomenal movie
kicked ass from start to finish,
everything absolutely worked
so very very well.
I was so surprised how
Frickin Awesome this installment
actually is, I'm even more
Surprised how this installment
Is on a complete
different level than SV.
This installment was
fresh and so much fun,
i had a great time
it was
Brutal and right up in
Your face, and I absolutely
Loved it.
This is my favourite installment
of the hole franchise (to date).
Ghost-face did not give
A fcuk marching around
In public it was like
Ghost-face was in
Full Jason* mode behaviour wise.
Still managed to surprise
And shock me,
I just couldn't believe how
Awesome and entertaining
this installment
Was especially compared
To "S-V" a year prior.
This installment has jumped
In to my top 3 favourites
6,1,3.

Verdict: After decades
The Scream franchise
Still remains my all time
Favourite
Horror Franchise
They evolve and grow
And move with the times
And with current technologies,
and attitudes
Plus with the way online
Social media evolves
and grows.
This franchise
is timeless and just keeps
Turning Banger after
Banger after Banger out
And stays consistent and
More importantly stays
True to it's strengths and it's
Roots and I am Super excited
To see what's next for
"Scream 7" now that it's
Gone into production.
The stakes have never been
so high, because where in
a "mother fcuking franchise now"

GHOST-FACE WILL RETURN
SCREAM VII
(Keep em coming baby).
(Give it up for the
fcuking core 4).

Those who didn't like the previous films in the "Scream" series won't warm up to the sixth installment either. And those who were already fatigued with the previous sequels won't be cured here. But those who had fun with the last movie will probably have as much fun with this one.

"Scream VI" is a straightforward continuation of the series. Following the trailers, one could have believed that the relocation of the plot to New York would provide many new approaches, but this is not really the case. All the elements that have made up the series so far are still present. Perhaps one of the few innovations is that Ghostface is a bit more vicious in his kills this time. The New York setting, on the other hand, is hardly used except for a really intense subway sequence.

Among the actors, the new core quartet, consisting of Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, is particularly strong. However, I had my problems with the so-called legacy characters. Courteney Cox may have had a little too much done to her face to still be able to act effectively. Furthermore, the writers devised a really stupid twist for her character, Gale Weathers, which renders the entire ending of the fifth film absurd. Hayden Panettiere's Kirby, despite being my favorite character in the fourth film, also failed to impress me.

I'm mixed about the plot. The opening sequence is superb and plays with the established tropes of the series. The rest of the introduction is also enjoyable, and you quickly get a good overview of what the situation of each character is right now. When the action starts, it also kicks off nicely. I wouldn't call it incredibly gory, but Ghostface doesn't exactly act with restraint either. So far, so good. Unfortunately, I didn't like the last act at all. The killer reveal is one of the worst in the series for me. The final confrontation also left me feeling indifferent.

Overall, however, I am moderately pleased with the film. Especially in view of the fact that the turnaround for this sequel was very quick, I can't complain. Of course, the next part will end up on my watchlist once again.

There's a good film in there, but the ultra lame characters just suck out any interest I have in 'Scream VI'.

I felt similarly about 2022's 'Scream', in that the legacy ones are solid though the newcomers just lack any sort of conviction with their performances, in my eyes anyway. Jenna Ortega is the only one I named as decent in the predecessor, however even she isn't all that in this 2023 release unfortunately.

Melissa Barrera is OK but forgettable, Dermot Mulroney overacts by chewing the heck out of the scenery and the rest of the friends circle range from boring to irritating. I don't intend to hate on them too much as I actually don't dislike them, it's just they consistently stopped me from getting into the movie.

...and that's a shame, as its other elements are quite good. The visual use of Ghostface is effective, the music plays well (on that note - big fan of Demi Lovato's end credits song, as I was for last year's film from Salem in fairness... they know how to pick 'em!) and, most importantly, the kills are actually awesome; fwiw, they help boost up my rating.

Sadly, for me, the characters are too detrimental, but also the limp reveal at the conclusion simply stopped any positive thoughts from forming in my head whilst watching this. Wish I enjoyed it.

"Who gives a fuck about movies!"

Scream VI is a massive improvement over the last one. Yes, it has the same structure as the other movies, and it’s nowhere near as great as the first Scream movie, but it is a solid entry in this consistent horror franchise.

Oh, and by the way, I saw this back in March, and the reason I'm reviewing this now is that I thought it would be perfect for the spooky season. The rest of this review were notes I wrote down back in March. I am just that dedicated. Has a Scream film ever come out in October time?

Anywho…

I was not keen on the last one, as it was busier re-familiarizing us with the franchise since it had been a while since we had a new entry. Not to say this movie doesn't do that, but not as much.

The opening scene for every Scream movie is always memorable, but this one is stellar. It was very unexpected and got my interest right away.

I cared about the new characters this time, and the actors had more time to shine. The Core Four, with cast members like Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding delivered good work. Their bond is felt and proves that they all can carry the movie without the aid of legacy characters.

Speaking of which - Courtney Cox returns as Gale, who has good reasons for her character to be in this movie but doesn’t have anything to do. She has a good scene between her and Ghostface in her New York apartment, so there is that.

Hayden Panettiere is also back as Kirby, and she serves her role in the story. It’s just great seeing Panettiere back, as I feel I have not seen her in anything for a while. The last note-worthy thing I remembered from her was the video game Until Dawn.

The scenes were intense, and Ghostface was menacing. The store scene is easily the best part of this movie and the franchise, as it shows how brutal Ghostface is, killing out in the open, using a shotgun, and not caring anymore.

It is a flawed movie with questionable scenes. The killer reveal was not the best and treads on a familiar revenge motive from the previous films.

While I liked the new setting in New York City, on the other hand, I don’t think it was used to its full potential for certain horror scenes. Maybe it was for budget reasons, but there are creative ways around it.
Even though I had a blast with the sixth film and would like to see where the series goes, they need to do something different for the seventh film, as the structure is starting to be tiring. And pay Neve Campbell, you assholes!

I appreciate what Radio Silence brought to this series, but the mystery/whodunit aspect could be better.

Also, I found it a bit laughable how many times a character can get stabbed, and if they are a crucial character, then you will be fine. If not, then it's instant death. There is a part where one of the Core Four gets stabbed around the stomach area, and no joke here, but after the final climax with police and ambulance arriving at the scene, that character shows up walking around just fine with a bandage around where they just got stabbed. Ridiculous.

Overall rating: "Not every movie needs a post-credits scene."

I loved that, maybe not the guy in my screening who waited to the end, because he said out loud, “Oh for fucks sake!” It was funny.

In a way Scream 6 seems like an apology for the awful Scream 5. Or they just listened to the criticism and tried to work with some of it. In a way it also feels like this is the film writers and directors actually wanted to make all along, but they needed Five to set it up. Either way, it's much much better, even if it's borderline illogical, but we'll, there's a lot of stabbing, so I'm mostly fine with it.

Spoiler alert.

I still will never forgive them for the Never Campbell disrespect though. That woman is the Queen of Scream and no matter how much money she asks for, you'll give it to her.

Anyways, back to the movie.

The four survivors of the last film return and are now attending college in New York, mirroring Scream 2. I think they could've done a bit more with the overall location change but it works pretty well for what it's supposed to do, namely giving Ghostface a larger field to play on.

Melissa Barrera's Sam is still the main focus and while she was one of my main criticisms in the last movie, she works better here. Barrera is still not the best actress and falls a bit flat against her co-stars, but Sam is much better written and she does a great job in the final act.

Jenna Ortega shines again as Sam's sister Tara, making me wish again they would switch this rebooted franchise around and let her be the lead, but at least the chemistry between the sisters feels more legit this time around. I enjoyed the Meeks kids in the last film and even more so here. Mindy feels more like her own character instead of just the Randy replacement and Chad is just so damn charming (just love Mason Gooding on Love, Victor) and his romance with Tara is actually pretty sweet.

Gale returns once again and her face off with Ghostface is one of the most thrilling scenes of the franchise. Also returning is Kirby and I have never been as happy before about a recon as I am here. Sure, Scream 5 introduced the idea of Kirby having survived, but this movie got her back into the mix again and once again Hayden Panettiere shines. Just to mention it, Scream 4 is underrated and the second best in the franchise. BOOM! Mic drop!

I do enjoy the legacy characters and new core group (or core four, as the movie never lets you forget) and I'm glad they survived to face another Ghostface, but it still feels a bit like a cop out. The newly introduced characters are solely existing to be killed, be the killer(s) or in case of Sam's new toy boy, be the red herring no one believes in.

This movie has probably some of the most brutal killings in Scream history and now some of my favorite moments in the entire franchise. The opening scene was spectacular and unexpected, the supermarket massacre, Gale facing off Ghostface, the tension in the subway and the sisters fighting the killers are all brilliant.

I also admit that while I had some suspicions about the identities of the killers, the movie does a fine job of throwing the audience off the loop. I'm not sure if three killers is as innovative as they think it is, but it made for an exciting climax.

Unfortunately, with all the good comes also a lot of dumb.

First off, they didn't dodge the hilariously stupid Billy Loomis hallucinations. Thankfully they toned them down, but it's still so dumb and unnecessary. The film also sticks with the idea that Sam might have some "serial killer gene" which is stupid. They could salvage it a bit if a third movie should happen, by at least committing to the idea and let her become some kind of vigilante Ghostface going after other killers, only for Tara being forced to stop her ...or something like that. Right now it's just silly.

While I like the overall idea and conclusion, the story also toys with some smarter and more interesting ideas in the beginning. One would be the aforementioned Sam becoming a type of Ghostface herself, the other being the one delivered in the opening scene. For a few moments, after the first Ghostface takes off his mask, I was hoping we'd get a movie that reveals the killers identity to the audience but not the characters. A movie that lets us in on Ghostface's perspective, that changes the game. Imagine the thrill to know as an audience member who is behind it and then watch the characters figuring it out. That would've been a different path for a Scream movie.

Logic is also not the film's strongest part. I know, we're not trying to be too logical here, but seriously, the Woodsboro murders are famous. Sam is famous. Nobody knows that Bailey is Richie's dad? Nobody knows about his siblings? FBI Agent Kirby can't figure that one out? Bailey was a detective before his son became a killer and I'm pretty sure he didn't hide his three kids away.

Speaking of the FBI or police work in general, no one knew how all the evidence from years of Ghostface killings disappeared? They could find DNA from the original killers on the masks but not the new ones? When they mentioned that someone on the police force must be in on it it's used as a throwaway line instead of inspecting the people who are? Yeah sure.

Also, Ethan saving Mindy made not much sense. Why would he even do that?

The film is super dumb, but also super fun. I had an actual blast watching it and despite some obvious flaws, I enjoyed watching it a lot.

I wanted to hate it, it’s not THAT bad though, new setting was nice. For me part of the magic of scream has always been the surviving main cast has always returned. While I appreciate them mentioning Sidney being absent, they way they did hurt her legacy and the the franchise in addition to making it awkward should she come back. That paired with the heartbreaking loss of Dewey in the previous film sucked all but a glimmer of magic keep alive by Gale out of the film.

I said I wouldn’t pay to see this and I didn’t but I think next time I won’t even allow someone else to foot the bill for me to see it. While it was a good movie and give the actors their dues, it just didn’t feel like a scream movie if felt much like when other horror franchises pull from the second string stars to keep a franchise alive. Unless they bring back Neve I’m out even if Courtney returns, let’s face it after this one she’s not going to have much mileage left

Next time keep negotiations going find a compromise give the woman her dues she is scream.