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Posted in: Movies, Paramount Pictures, Review | Tagged: Jenna Ortega, radio silence, scream, scream vi, spyglass
Scream VI Delivers One Of the Best Horror Sequels Ever Made {Review}
Scream VI does the unimaginable and turns in one of the best entries in the franchise six films in. As good as horror sequels get.
Scream VI does the unthinkable and somehow becomes the second-best entry in the franchise. Full of the character work missed in last year's film, the Core Four is one of the most engaging and endearing casts in a horror film in ages. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett take a firm grasp of the material and show that they were the perfect pick to reinvigorate the franchise. Inventive action sequences, a great Ghostface reveal, and one of the better openings in the series all add up to a film that should be near the top of most horror fans' best-of lists for 2023.
Scream VI Is One Of The Best Entries In The Franchise
We pick up from the last film with Tara (Jenna Ortega), Chad (Mason Gooding), and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), all in college in New York. Tara's sister Samantha (Melissa Barrera) lives with Tara and her roommate Quinn (Liana Liberato, and is getting therapy after the events in Woodsboro. When Ghostface killings start up again, the friend group teams up with a detective (Dermot Mulroney), and the returning Kirby (Scream IV's Hayden Panettiere), and Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) to try and figure out who is behind the mask this time.
A Scream film is as good as its opening, and right from the jump, we get maybe the best one aside from the original. Samara Weaving enters the franchise here in a very memorable way, and after we meet her, we get an extended sequence setting up the mayhem to come that feels incredibly fresh. Screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Gary Busick have a firm grasp on what makes A Scream film work and have taken the gloves off here. Where the 2022 film was lacking in subtlety and finesse, this entry is full of both. You can feel the confidence in the material this time. They trust that they know we will be along for the ride this time. Same for the directors. When Radio Silence was announced as the successors to Wes Craven, it felt like a perfect pairing of material and creator, especially to anyone who saw their gem Ready or Not. That was part of what made the 2022 film so disappointing; it felt like they were holding back and not being themselves. No longer, their voice comes through tenfold, as the humor lands hard and the gore packs an emotional punch.
The success has everything to do with the cast. The Core Four of Ortega, Barrera, Savoy Brown, and Gooding are spectacular, in every way better and more fleshed out than last time. They balanced and lifted each other flawlessly, each with moments to shine on their own, especially when together on screen. It is so interesting to get the little nuggets from each about how they dealt with and continue to try and move past the events in Woodsboro, and that bond that could easily rip them apart instead brings them closer together. It makes for a more emotional experience that was sorely needed—Ditto for the supporting cast, including Panettiere and Cox. Josh Segarra also stood out as the love interest for Samantha; the dark romance vibes are strong between those two, and the electricity between them radiates off the screen.
That is the other success of this Scream entry; the darkness that pulls at Samantha. Too often, films, even horror, and especially franchises, are too nervous about exploring a heroine that can have some serious edge and darkness. Not so here; instead, they steer right into it and have given us a modern final girl, so to speak, with a much more interesting story than just one as a survivor. Just how far they may go with that remains to be seen, but they sure gave us some things to discuss.
As far as the horror of it all, this film will solidify Ghostface as the modern horror icon champion. This is the most menacing and violent we have ever seen the person wearing the mask be, and some of the kills are downright painful to watch. You don't just see the violence; you hear it as well. Something about those sounds really sticks with you, and Ghostface has never been more terrifying. Kudos to Roger L. Jackson for still bringing it all these years later as the man on the other end of the phone.
Not often can a franchise claim that they are throwing fastballs in a sixth installment, but Scream VI does just that. The quality could not be higher, and at the end of the day, this will go down as one of the best horror sequels we will ever see. Here's hoping that they take the lessons learned from the first two films and stick the landing for what is sure to be a trilogy sometime down the road. Until then, be prepared to be thrilled, laugh, and thoroughly enjoy this fantastic entry.
Scream VI
9/10
Scream VI does the unimaginable and turns in one of the best entries in the franchise six films in. Full of great characters, thrills, and one mean Ghostface, this one steps the game up in a major way. This is as good as horror sequels get.
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