Roberto Giacomelli
•With $140 million in revenue against a $24 million budget, "Scream 5" was the only film capable of dethroning "Spider-Man: No Way Home" from the box office podium in the winter of 2022, after several weeks of dominance. This success immediately prompted Paramount Pictures to greenlight the production of a new chapter. And so, we arrive at "Scream VI," a number behind the title that starts to become demanding for a major studio saga, especially in the horror genre, which is happily and easily serialized but often falls victim to a lazy decline in quality as sequels progress. Yet, plot twist: the "Scream" saga withstands the test of time and its underlying narrative mechanics. After the passing of the torch from the late Wes Craven to the duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett in the fifth film, the sixth installment also shows a freshness and energy we didn't expect.
A woman is waiting for her blind date at a New York restaurant, but the man is late. When the phone rings, another nightmare begins, but with an entirely unpredictable outcome. Meanwhile, Tara and Sam Carpenter, along with their friends Mindy and Chad, survivors of the Woodsboro massacre, have relocated to New York. Tara, Mindy, and Chad attend university, while Sam, deeply shaken by the events of the previous year, struggles with her trauma, as reflected in her psychotherapy sessions with Dr. Stone. Additionally, Sam faces a social media hate campaign, as some consider her the true culprit behind the Woodsboro murders. When Ghostface reappears in New York, Sam already knows she will have to survive once again the murderous fury of a psychopath imitating her father, Billy Loomis.
If "Scream 5" was a "requel" – a sequel following reboot logic – bringing everything back to the "myth"'s origin, "Scream VI" confirms we are in the midst of a complex saga. As Randy Meeks' niece explains in the essential key scene, the rules are different once again. Mindy's cinephile monologue – brilliantly performed by Jasmin Savoy Brown – is flawless, but viewers quickly realize that Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and their screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are following the path already paved by Wes Craven, reworking certain concepts/themes and ideas that were present in "Scream 2."
Thus, if the opening scene of that magnificent 1998 sequel became iconic for its cinephile strength (the scene with Jada Pinkett in the cinema screening "Stab"), "Scream VI"'s intro does the same, raising the stakes even higher and delving into territories never before explored by the saga. This perspective shift initially catches viewers off guard and signals just how unpredictable the film will be.
The parallels with "Scream 2" continue, showing characters outside Woodsboro and dealing with college life. For the first time, the saga created by Kevin Williamson finds its setting in a major metropolis, New York, carefully chosen and honored at the beginning of the film with images from "Friday the 13th – Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan" playing on TV. The urban setting is the film's real innovation and is well-utilized by Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, staging Ghostface attacks in public places like dark alleys, 24-hour convenience stores, subway stations, and trains, amidst the general indifference of New Yorkers. This seemingly challenging location for a slasher movie actually offers opportunities to experiment with murder choreography and play with the false sense of security provided by the crowd's presence – a crowd blind and desensitized to the city's violence.
And then there's Ghostface, never seen so furious, determined, destructive, and brazen in executing murders. With a haunting mask worn down by time, he is less clumsy, more calculating, almost experienced in crime, and carries out a well-thought-out plan full of surprises.
"Scream VI" is a grand homage to the entire saga, celebrating its past while distancing itself – as the killer admits in the prologue – from metacinema. "Who cares about movies!" exclaims Ghostface. The joyfully nerdy atmosphere of "Scream 5," which played with web psychoses and mocked the dangerous twists fanbases can take, is set aside for a more "concrete" narrative, offering viewers a series of well-crafted twists.
In "Scream VI," the new generation of protagonists, led by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, is joined by a host of new faces, including Samara Weaving, Dermot Mulroney, and Tony Revolori. Just like in the previous film, the old guard is also present, represented this time by Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), last seen in "Scream 4." Neve Campbell, aka Sydney Prescott, is absent, a decision tied to production issues but narratively justified by Gale Weathers.
"Scream VI" confirms that the most iconic horror saga of the '90s is in good hands and still has something to say, evolving alongside the genre itself. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have a great command of the language they are working with and have perfectly understood the spirit of "Scream," winking at their target audience. Their work is an act of respect toward the saga, the horror genre, Wes Craven, and their viewers – the best way to carry forward a true horror cinema myth while exploring new aspects of the franchise.
"Scream VI" exceeds expectations, entertains, thrills, and scares, and it's a joy to scream at the top of your lungs once again.
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