‘Scream VI’: There is a march in New York

The sequel to the sequel to the ‘Scream’ saga arrives in theaters, which in its sixth installment tries to reinvent itself (again) with a change of scenery and more blood and gore than ever before. In ‘Scream’ (2022), Ghostface followed new rules, those of the reboot, including that the killer must have a connection with the first villain, original characters must appear, and a lot of attention with the group of friends. In addition, some of the pre-established rules were skipped, such as that any LGTBIQ+ character was guaranteed survival or that deaths had to be increasingly elaborate. ‘Scream VI’ has a new statute, that of franchises, in which no character is safe, neither the new protagonists nor the classics, and everything, absolutely everything, must go further, that’s why we swapped Woodsboro for the Big Apple, because if no one in space can hear your screams, in New York they directly ignore them.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return behind the scenes with a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, that is, same team for more (more) of the same. And what is it about? Survivors of the previous massacre, the Carpenter sisters, head to New York where Tara (Jenna Ortega) and twins Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) attend college. Sam (Melissa Barrera) is still traumatized that her boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid) tried to kill them and that her father was a serial killer who lives inside her head; and of course a new assassin under the guise of Ghostface wants to stab the whole world. Also returning are Courteney Cox’s Gale Wheaters and Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed, the final girl from ‘Scream 4’, returning to the franchise 12 years later. New additions include Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion (“Avatar: The Sense of Water”), Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra and Liana Liberato.

If the fifth installment was a tribute to the master Wes Craven and his entire filmography, ‘Scream VI’ sails into its own metaverse (albeit with some homage to Alfred Hitchcock). And no more talk of winks, if not to incorporate all of his into the plot lore. You win whole numbers if you arrive with your homework done, but those who return to the saga have nothing to fear, after all this is not Marvel, and we came here to see people die. To get in, you just need a basic understanding of horror movie clichés (not anatomy, forget those).

The film opens with his classic phone call, the first twist of a script that will not cease to strive to blow up the expectations of both its fans and its characters. Who or who is hiding behind the mask? The question still works after 27 years of the saga (and may continue to do so if the box office is good) because it continues to embrace the same irreverent and wild spirit. “Scream” has always taken the genre tremendously seriously, with an enviable sense of humor and self-awareness. Also, and unlike its predecessor, “Scream VI” is less tongue-in-cheek and critical of its audience as blood flows as expected.

“Who cares about movies?”

Following the precepts of Mindy’s monologue about what a sequel should offer, not only does the backstabbing increase, but also its magnitude. We’ll see more violent and ambitious deaths, and Ghostface even trades knives for firearms in one of the most memorable sequences of its 123-minute run. Of course, this has to compete with the set of pieces – set of pieces of the New York subway on Halloween night, a mousetrap filled with monsters and cinematic references whose final stop is an abandoned cinema turned museum. This scenario almost works as a metaphor for a film that uses the full weight of its story to gain momentum.

‘Scream VI’ doesn’t try to replace Neve Campbell, it doesn’t even try to justify her absence, and the void left by Sidney Prescott hurts less thanks to Ortega, whom he just swept along with an equally dark role in ‘Wednesday’; AND Barrera, the psycho heroine we deserve. We must also highlight Gooding and Savor Brown as great supporting scene-stealers and Cox as an anchor for the legacy of Craven and Kevin Williamson.

Subversive and at the same time consistent with its identity stamp, the new proposal of the (now) franchise has enough blood for slasher fans, Enough Easter Egg for fans of the saga and enough pace, action, and tension to succeed as a thriller. Ghostface is in good shape and so is “Scream VI”.

Note: 7

The best: Your meta-consciousness.

Worse: It’s a sixth installment, the final twist isn’t that hard to guess anymore.