Scream VI (2023)

**Scream VI cranks up the violence, paranoia, and chaos but also enhances the character development and story, making the new directors' second entry even better than I had hoped!**

I have been hyped and anxiously anticipating this movie since the final moments of finishing Scream (2022) in theaters - and it did not disappoint! The Radio Silence team (Bettinnelli-Olpin and Gillett) prove they are the perfect new shepherds of the franchise. The four young survivors take giant leaps in character development as they grapple with the trauma, fallout, and spotlight of the last film's events. Their loyalty and care for each other draw immediate similarities to Sidney, Dewey, and Gale, which quickly endear the "Core Four" as beloved characters you desperately want to survive. The danger, kills, and gore all have been cranked up a notch, and for the first time in the franchise, even the survivors are possible Ghostfaces. I doubt and suspect everyone while simultaneously caring for them - that is masterful writing right there! On top of all that, having another legacy character back with Kirby Reed returning was fantastic. I loved this movie, but I really missed Dewey and Sidney. I also think the main Ghostface killer is a little too over the top when revealed, which keeps Scream (1996) and Scream (2022) ahead on my list. But those are incredibly minor complaints! Scream VI is another exceptional entry in the Scream franchise, and I hope we get another one soon!

Scream VI has the "killer" trademark opening kill we've all come to expect and it does not disappoint! The fresh setting (in New York City) is a welcome twist.

While it is somewhat self-referential it is not nearly as much on that vibe as Scream V. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are back with the same knack for set pieces but they're even stepped up their game more! Each scenario is cleverly set up for maximum suspense and tension, then pays off with buckets of blood. There's a scene set on the subway that is especially hair-raising.

The women rule here -- Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, and Jasmin Savoy Brown are totally believable and likable. It just goes to show that this franchise can survive and even thrive without the legacy characters.

I'll be watching this one again.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ www.firstshowing.net/2023/review-radio-silences-horror-sequel-scream-vi-is-satisfying-enough/

"Scream VI is satisfying enough as another sequel. The new location and sets bring much-needed freshness to the franchise. The killings have never been this visually violent and gory, pushing the entertainment levels of a pretty fast-paced story. Melissa Barrera proves that she's capable of leading a film of this scale, but Jenna Ortega plays in a league of her own. Unfortunately, the third act is everything that it shouldn't be: predictable, forced, underwhelming, and incapable of bringing together all its meta commentary – lacking development, or a plot. One too many inconsistencies, even for a saga known for not taking itself seriously."

Rating: B-

Now I did approach this with some trepidation. I positively hated the puerile outing for "Ghostface" from last year. Still, it could hardly be much worse - and, as it happens, is actually really rather better. The plot still reminds me of something from an edition of "Scooby Do". The slasher manages to penetrate tight security; be in half a dozen places at one time; have access to secret phone numbers etc...; whilst those impaled appear to have a remarkable resilience for survival and recovery after an onslaught that would have felled an elephant. That's not the point, though. Unlike so many of the genre, this is actually quite scary and works well as a bit of a self-parody. If you've watched the others in the franchise, you will know how the dynamic plays out - and this is just an extension of that. The story doesn't really matter - it's the way in which the directors manage to imbue the whole thing with an entertaining degree of menace and paranoia, a few quite effective jump moments and by using a cast of relative non-entities (and by only using the wooden as a draining-board Courteney Cox sparingly), they manage to create a film that is actually a bit frightening at times. There are plenty of new characters for us to suspect including love interest Josh Segarra ("Danny") - who reminded me of Christian Bale, and the rather hapless Jack Champion's ("Ethan") before an ending that was, admittedly, quite ridiculous! This is not a film that will engage your brain on any level, but as piece of well constructed entertainment with some frequently quite witty dialogue and an eye watering encounter between a boy and a taser - it's well worth catching up with.

Scream VI is bloodier and more gruesome than its predecessor, but that does not make up for an average plot and rushed first act.

This movie is a tale of two halves for me. The first half was pretty messy, with a lot of new characters introduced and events taking place across multiple different locations. The New York setting created a multitude of interesting set pieces, but the spanning locations result in the movie being slightly unfocused at times. The film rushed through this introduction, which resulted in poor pacing. The second half was an intense, paranoia-inducing sequence that had me on the edge of my seat. As a whole, the movie worked well but could have been much better.

The best parts about Scream VI are the characters and the action. All of our returning cast is fantastic, and their chemistry works so well together. They are so great on screen that I feel as though the film does not really need the legacy characters, as they seem somewhat unnecessary. Our new cast members do fine in their roles, but they are not nearly as interesting as our core four. But that is fine in a slasher, as their role is to be carved up by Ghostface. This film is especially brutal, with some particularly gruesome kills and fantastic effects work to show the remains of our victims. There are a few kills that were top-notch and will go down as some of my favorites in the franchise. Scream VI is the first film for me that genuinely had me stressed. There are a few scenes that just linger for a moment too long and create an unsettling feeling in me that I thought worked really well. My favorite scene was the subway sequence, as my heart was pounding for genuinely two minutes straight.

Other than the rushed first act, my only complaint has to do with the ending and some of the unbelievability in terms of our cast's survival. Although I do not think the final reveal was as bad as most reviewers make it out to be, I still think it could have been slightly better. I had one killer pegged from the beginning, but the other was a surprise, so I think they did a good job keeping the audience in the dark. Our characters take quite the beating in this film, with some being stabbed nearly a dozen times and still somehow being able to survive. It isn’t a huge deal, but it did take me out of the film a bit. Also, I spent nearly ten minutes of the movie trying to figure out how the hell Kirby was alive; I could have sworn she died in Scream 4.

Overall, Scream VI was a welcomed addition to the franchise, even if it was not as good as Scream (2022). I do think my expectations were a bit high from the initial reactions, which may have led me to being slightly let down.

Score: 68%
Verdict: Good