Scream VI - Film Review
By Manny Melendez
Scream VI has no business being as entertaining as it is, and as good ol’ fashioned slasher fun for the summer break goes, it’s delightfully blood-soaked popcorn entertainment, perfect for a jolt after a lazy day of rest.
The second sequel from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known to their fans and the world as the filmmaking collective Radio Silence, came to mainstream success and acclaim with 2019’s Ready or Not, a quietly subversive and fun black comedy horror film that established many of Scream VI’s strengths, which, unfortunately, also highlight the growing weaknesses of the popular slasher film franchise after Wes Craven’s death in 2015.
It’s easy to disregard how long ago the original Scream (1996) was released to unsuspecting movie theaters and viewers in December, a month not known for horror fare, something Craven’s classic changed the moment audiences caught wind of the freshness, the brutality, and the laugh-out-loud meta humor he and Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter for the first two Scream films, brought to the screen. That Radio Silence named their 2022 sequel to the franchise simply Scream shows how much these new sequels function as soft reboots for a series that has stayed dormant for just over a decade, centuries in the age of social media and ever-shrinking attention spans. Of course, everything old is new again nowadays, where nary a week goes by without another retread or another sequel gracing the big screens across the world. It is testament to Radio Silence’s talent and desire to adhere to the original Scream films that Scream VI is able to still furnish so much cinematic joy and entertainment, a veritable two hours of gore-splattered popcorn and spilled drinks over well-executed jump scares and genuinely surprising thrills.
With a budget around $35 million, Scream VI can afford to look and sound good. Its cinematography, though nothing to write home about, still offers compelling coverage of the action as well as the surprising amount of dialogue scenes and, thankfully, continues the franchise’s trend of using natural lighting and avoidance of too many color filters or the unfortunate smearing present in Scream 4 (2011), still the outlier in the franchise as far as visuals are concerned, especially now that the earlier films are being remastered in time for the arrival of the new sequels. Kudos to Radio Silence as well for one of the more fun title cards thus far in the series, always one of the places each Scream film is able to show a little visual flair. The sound mix is exceptional as well, each gut-stab or arm slash or piercing scream as crisp and pristine as modern cinema technology can provide, whether in a screening room or the comfort of one’s home. The same can’t be said for the score, unmemorable and rote as it is, even with a couple of all-too brief reprises of some of the original themes from Marco Beltrami’s original score and the presence of “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the unofficial theme song of the entire franchise. The editing is a little messy, with at least one kill subject to an abrupt cutaway that reeks of censorship and a haphazard final act, though, blessedly, the set pieces themselves, the raison d’etre of these films outside their self-awareness meta logic, are exceptionally well crafted and montaged.
In fact, Scream VI showcases some of the series’ best chase sequences and kills (including a moment involving a ladder that ranks with the best in all modern slasher cinema and another fantastic moment where Gale Weathers, played by Courtney Cox, gets to shine), brutal in their bloodshed and gore, taut and relentless with their pacing and its suspense, and with at least one incredibly hilarious and unexpected line reading and one genuinely new jump scare. To avoid spoilers, it’s sufficient to say this is the most visceral of the sequels since Scream 4 and the original, still the only film in the franchise to be cut by the MPA (Motion Picture Association) for its violence. This sequel relishes in more than one nasty look at the aftermath of a Ghostface killing or an inventive stabbing or two, and like last year’s installment, the bloodletting, while still firmly in R-rated territory, is not tame, even with mild censoring of the most violent moments.
The plot for Scream VI, such as it is, borrows so heavily from Scream 2 (1997), that it becomes the primary crux for the inevitable disappointment in this Scream sequel, despite it being a strong film overall. To avoid spoiling the story, all that needs to be said is that the stories of both sequels, despite their obvious deviations from each other, culminate in a very similar and very chaotic theatrical fashion and share more than one moment of nearly identical dialogue or sequencing of events (to Radio Silence’s credit, they have the decency to reference this within the film, adding a fun, if slight, meta layer to the proceedings). Unfortunately for Scream VI, it has no chance of topping Scream 2, still the best of the sequels by quite the margin and not just because it came before the others. Radio Silence, in their loyalty and fidelity to Wes Craven, are stuck in a one step forward, two step backwards loop: for every great conceit they bring to the franchise, they find themselves repeating and oftentimes violating the rules set forth by Kevin Williamson’s original scripts, including, but not limited to, the recasting of the original four survivors, Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley, and Randy Meeks, with the new generation cast of survivors, right down to the character tropes, writ so large it almost becomes parody, and the increasingly idiotic choices by people who absolutely should know better.
It’s easy to get caught up in the nostalgic feeling of wanting to recreate what worked so well, but this sequel doesn’t do enough to carve a name for itself. Even the move to New York City, despite actually working quite well and breathing some life into the atmosphere, is nothing new to the franchise, as Scream 3 (2000) took place entirely in Los Angeles. Slasher fans will also remind anyone who will listen (and this film does too, right from the get-go) that the eighth installment of the Friday the 13th series, Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), also takes place in New York City, albeit to quite disastrous and unintentionally funny results. Truth be told, Scream VI is still a fabulous entry in the series, but with a botched final act, either due to editing or a story that simply doesn’t go anywhere very interesting while simultaneously borrowing too much from a previous sequel, not enough kills, and the repetitive nature of many of the dialogue scenes, either heavy on exposition or retreading (almost) literally the same ground as last year’s sequel. And the less said about the Ghostface reveal, the better.
The characters and the cast, also, don’t get much to do this go-around to stand out, though Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter) continues to make a case for herself as the true final girl of this new batch of sequels, despite Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) being the lead. With Wednesday (2022) and X (2022) putting Ortega front and center as the Internet’s favorite new it girl, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if and when she does become the new Sidney, especially with Neve Campbell’s absence from this entry after salary disputes. Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks-Martin) and Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks-Martin) flex some more emotional and physical muscles in this installment and easily get the best lines and some of the more effective tugging-at-the-heartstrings moments but are inevitably bereft of agency or characterization beyond their inevitable reconceptualizations as, respectively, Randy and Dewey, the former played by Jamie Kennedy through Scream 3 and the latter by David Arquette through last year’s sequel. The return of Kirby Reed from Scream 4 is a surprising letdown, despite the character still being a fun addition to the roster.
As for the new additions, only Devyn Nekoda as Anika Kayoko makes an impression with Dermot Mulroney as Wayne Bailey, a detective assigned to investigate the new killings, particularly adrift in this film, often laughably bad and over-the-top even by Scream 4’s standards, the last of the entries in the series to feature truly heinous overacting or misjudged cues. Courtney Cox is still having clear fun as Gale and adored by the fans as she is, Radio Silence give her some of the best audience-cheer moments alongside the Meeks twins. Neve Campbell’s absence as Sidney is referenced within the film but she, despite Campbell and the character remaining rightfully iconic, is not missed, a testament to the remaining power in this franchise’s beating heart. If Sidney never returns, it’ll be okay.
With $168 million worldwide (and a franchise-best domestic opening weekend to boot back in March), it’s safe to say Ghostface will be back to hack and slash his way through more airbrushed skin. Here’s hoping Radio Silence brings more stakes and less nostalgia next time, lest the franchise truly become that which it loved to criticize: just another dumb body count.
Scream VI is available to view with a Paramount+ account and available for rent at Amazon, iTunes, and Vudu, as well as for purchase on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD and most digital streaming services.