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“In the next installment, the survivors of the Ghostface killings leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter in New York City.” Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler GillettWriters: Guy Busick, James […]
“In the next installment, the survivors of the Ghostface killings leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter in New York City.”
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Writers: Guy Busick, James Vanderbilt, Kevin Williamson
Staring: Courtney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Skeet Ulrich, Samara Weaving, Henry Czerny
Release Date: March 10, 2023
IMDB
Ghostface is back, and back with a vengeance. Scream VI (2023) is a fine example of not only a sequel recapturing a prime essential essence, but also a fine example of a damn good movie. Regardless if you have an affinity for the Scream franchise, Scream VI is a slasher that brings with it frenetic pace, thrilling twists, fantastic gory kills, and compelling characters put in dire straights.
Did not think that Scream VI would break the mold of entertaining, but this murderscapade in New York pulls all the right strings.
Scream VI starts off with a poor pretty women killed in a dark alley, and is immediately followed by two boys who wanted to make the new Ghostface film getting massacred by another, unexpected, Ghostface. In the concrete jungle, murders with large knives committed by individuals in a mask are quickly rising.
The main story starts on a college campus where Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) finds out from her roommate Quinn (Liana Liberato) that her younger sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) has gone to a college party. Tara is living life a little recklessly, but fellow Ghostface survivors Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) are there to at least keep her in somewhat of a line. Among that trio are also Mindy’s girlfriend Anika (Devyn Nekoda) and Chad’s roommate Ethan (Jack Champion). These are the group of individuals who will be at the center of Scream VI. It is a new primary cast getting a full chance to shine.
Sam is looked upon oddly by society because there is an Internet rumor that she is the one who actually committed the 2022 Woodsboro Murders. She doesn’t exactly keep herself out of society’s mouth with her actions, and we learn in a therapy sessions that she felt her killing and butchering of Richie (Jack Quaid) “felt right.”
The chaos begins when Samn is brought in for questioning by Quinn’s father, Detective Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney). There Sam gets a call from Ghostface from Richie’s phone, and immediately she and Tara are thrown into danger and come face-to-face with the evil they thought they had vanquished.
With panic becoming the pervasive among those who know what is coming, a new hero enters the fray. You remember Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), the horror loving survivor from Scream 4 (2011)? She is now a FBI agent and she has obviously taken a keen interest in anything revolving around Ghostface.
And it would not be a Scream movie unless we had at least one original character make an appearance. Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) is back being a cocky, profiteering asshole. Never a fan of her as a character, but I do have to respect her hustle. Gale wrote a book after the 2022 Woodsboro murders and Tara makes it well known that she blames Gale for continuing the legacy of Ghostface.
The stage is set, the characters are in place, and so Scream VI begins its propulsive pace. Death follows, and death is riding a swift horse dealing immense amount of pain. Friends are killed and friendships become strained. Trust becomes fractured. As Mindy explains, Scream VI is no longer playing in sequel rules; rather all these characters are playing on a franchise game board. Everyone and anyone can be toppled at any time.
Scream VI brings the story’s heroes face-to-face with the evil they are fighting in a fitting climix that bathes that audience is blood and satisfaction. By the movie’s end, the main characters of Scream are flushed out with solo adventures that are not baked in nostalgia or callbacks. The sixth movie in a franchise gives Ghostface and the franchise’s new recognizable faces a huge breath of fresh pizzaz.
The biggest issue with Scream (2022) was the character of Sam Carpenter, and her relationship with her sister Tara. It was nothing to do with the actress Melissa Barrera. The story’s inclusion of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Dewey Campbell (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) made it hard for the story’s new main character to get enough screen time to shine as the new “it” girl. In Scream VI, without Sidney and with minimal Gale, Sam Carpenter the character gets flushed out and her relationship with her friends in the film, and us the audience, is deepened.
Barrera gives a great performance, but she is part of an ensemble that delivers the chemistry needed for a movie like Scream VI to survive. When I saw Scream, I saw Jenna Ortega and didn’t think much of it. But now I have seen X (2022), and Scream VI and I can confidently say that I get it. She has gotten better playing the part of the bad ass heroine of horrifying tales. In Scream, Tara was cooped up in a hospital and lamed up the majority of the time but In Scream VI she gets a chance to stretch her legs and prove herself.
The Carpenter sisters are great, but they don’t even have the best lines in the movie. Mindy Meeks-Martin, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown, is the best character in Scream VI. This character has the best sense of humor about the whole ridiculous scenario. Compared to all of the other franchise installments, Meeks-Martin is the best honorary follow-up to Randy (Jamie Kennedy) from the original. She knows the rules, she knows the clichés and she knows how to have fun in this traumatic time.
Her comedic timing is outstanding. Speaking for myself personally, I audibly laughed out loud when she screamed “I got it wrong again. Fuck This franchise!” It all works and that is a massive credit to Jasmine Savoy Brown.
We can give accolades to the good guy portrayers Mason Gooding, Josh Segarra and Hayden Panettiere, but none are as fun as the killers. The twisters of demented of fate. Spoilers time for those who have not seen Scream VI, but I imagine if you haven’t seen the movie then you have not gotten this far.
The ending to Scream VI really works. There were going to be multiple killers because there almost always in this franchise, but having three wasn’t on my bingo card. Suspecting Quinn Bailey made a lot of sense when she went into the bed room and came out bloodied and broken. The Scream movies don’t shy away from the killings, so I don’t think they would have hid her demise unless it was for a reason.
In terms of the other two Ghostsfaces, I did not see that coming. I thought the twist of Kirby being a bad apple was a good one, but that being a misdirection had me all dizzy with expectations. Detective Bailey, his son Ethan Landry, and his daughter Quinn are all looking to avenge the death of the death of Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid)
It is a nice go around at the idea that in Scream 3 (2000) Detective Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) did not end up being a part of the killing spree when many (including myself) believed that he would be. Perhaps it is my own stupidity that kept the idea at bay this time around, but I couldn’t help but think that the detective storyline was done already. The family dynamic is like a modernized version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with the overlording father figure, rather dumb sibling and then the truly demented one. It works for the grand finale, and what a grand finale it is.
Scream movies don’t pull punches with gore, and the finale of Scream VI is filled with crazy thrashings, gruesome deaths, and outstanding one-liners. It is the Carpenter sisters wreaking havoc and dropping one-liners about killing virgins and destroying family trees. It is an ending that doesn’t feel forced for a twist or gimmicky. Most importantly, it is an ending that fits the character and highlights the truly demented shit that Sam Carpenter is going through. I mentioned how she was the biggest issue with the reboot in 2022, but she is the movie’s biggest asset here in 2023.
Just have to touch on some other aspects before closing this out.
STANKO RATING: B+
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