The children are back, as is the veiled killer that chases them. The most recent installment in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's (aka Radio Silence) "Scream" series finds the latest generation of Woodsboro survivors starting a new life in New York City, far from Ghostface's suburban shadow. Sadly, their peace is only temporary. After all, this is "Scream VI."

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The film begins with the murder of a film professor. As the number of dead increases rapidly, Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega), and twins Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) prepare to flee, but they are unable to do so quickly enough to escape this new Ghostface. Joined by other returning characters Hurricane Climates (Courteney Cox) and Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) as well as a huge number of rookies including Anika (Devyn Nekoda), Josh (Danny Brackett), Ethan (Jack Champion), Quinn (Liana Liberato), and Analyst Bailey (Dermot Mulroney), the shiny new "center four" should go head to head against the killer(s) by and by, this time in the core of NYC.

We've seen worse sequels to "Scream," but Ghostface's mask is showing the wear and tear of the years. The script is usable, but it's only surface-level. It has interesting ideas, but it never implements them. Early on, the movie talks about how characters deal with trauma, but when the first murders are reported on the nightly news, those worries disappear almost immediately. “Scream VI” doesn't say much about horror fandom itself—which, in this case, turns extremely toxic and deadly—aside from horror nerd sight gags like costumes from other scary movies in the background and Easter egg references to horror directors and movie podcasts. While the first film in the series by Wes Craven, "Scream," poked fun at the tropes of the horror movie genre, these most recent installments have pushed the meta explanation of horror movie rules even further without much of a point. At this point, they're nearly for comedic impact, an "in the event that you know, you know" reference for the crowd to gesture and chuckle in acknowledgment, not much for front line meta-critique. That has, dare I say it, been done to death.

Click this link to download full movie: Scream VI 2023


Fellow Busick and James Vanderbilt's content hits a wall, however between the primary kill and the film's climatic standoff, there are various thrilling set pieces where Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett demonstrate there's still some life left in the series. Ghostface locates the homes of Sam, Tara, and Quinn in a memorable sequence. He picks off a few, but a trio manages to barricade themselves in a room and now has a chance to cross with the help of a neighbor who is in love with them and a ladder. The tension is perfectly executed, and the sequence makes you hold your breath to see if everyone survives. Another moment occurs when one of the main characters is unable to defend themselves while staring at Ghostface in a crowded train. It is effectively chilling and haunting to feel like you are being targeted in plain sight.

However, franchise regular Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is one name that is sadly absent from this cast. Cambell said she didn't get a monetary deal satisfactory enough for her return, and in a film that venerates its own legend, missing this critical piece of the series feels like a slip up. In Campbell's nonappearance, Cox appreciates a greater amount of the spotlight, at long last getting a call from Ghostface and battling one more round with the executioner. Jenna Ortega, whose smudged mascara and sharp one-liners jolt every scene in the new "Scream" movies with electricity, is the biggest breakout star. This time, she's allowed a couple of good opportunities to land a few strong punches and kicks, a change from the last film, where she burned through the majority of the runtime genuinely injured.