Scream VI
Written by James Vanderbilt, Guy Busick and Kevin Williamson (based on characters created by)
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Starring Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Courtney Cox and Jasmin Savoy Brown
Running time 2 hours and 3 minutes
MPAA Rating R for language throughout, brief drug use and strong bloody violence
In theaters March 10

by Rosalie Kicks and Katie McBrown of Best Friends Forever 

“Maybe without ghost face in your life you’re gonna fade away.”

Rosalie Kicks (RK): Scream VI is a satisfactory entry that manages to breathe life into a franchise that frankly seemed set to expire after the 2022, Scream. Even so, it still had no business being two hours and three minutes long.

Katie McBrown (KM): I really miss the simplicity of a 90 minute film. Especially in such a goretastic series. We really need to start petitioning for films to have a cut off time.

RK: Yes. The Hollywood brass need to understand the concept of quality over quantity. 

Dear movie pals, if you are reading this, I realize that no matter what I say will change your mind about whether you will procure a ticket to see this film. I find when it comes to particular series, especially of the horror genre, fans are of the mindset that it must be experienced in order to form their own opinion. I respect that and have the same mindset. My belief is that what brought you here is that you want further insight into what others thought of that piece of media your eyes consumed. Therefore, no spoilers here… instead just some thoughts from me and my Best Friend Forever.

I saw the film this past Monday evening with my BFF, Katie McBrown after consuming copious amounts of noodles. I’ll admit my carb consumption was cause for concern as I was headed into this picture thinking a nap was not out of the realm of possibilities. Scream (2022), left me quite disinterested in the Woodsboro gang along with the news of the studio refusing to pay Neve Campbell her due. (Kinda surprised they didn’t just release this picture on International Women’s Day to double down on their decision.) However, with the prospect of moving the story out of Woodsboro and into The Big Apple on a long Halloween weekend, there was an inkling of promise. My only hope was that it would not be another Jason Takes Manhattan, in which the majority of the story is spent on a cruise ship rather than on the city streets.

KM: It seems that with the reboot of the franchise from 2022 we are mirroring the college campus setting from where Sid and company attended in Scream 2. 

RK: I am glad you mentioned Scream 2, as there were many callbacks to the legacy pictures and I appreciated the way Scream VI attempted to weave in that history. The scene that showed the old movie theater with all the Ghostface artifacts that were collected by the killer was right up my alley. I loved seeing the former Ghostie robes draped on mannequins and found it thrilling that the old masks were turning up at crime scenes. It made the story a lot of fun. Often when franchises are rebooted, much of the previous story is thrown out the window to start anew. With Scream VI they have created a new path for the characters to travel down without forgetting the past. Where this film suffers though is with its pacing. As much as it is trying to sell itself being one of the goriest in the series, I left thinking that I could have seen more kills. The reason for this is due to several moments in which the drama overtakes the suspense. Dialogue heavy scenes suffocate the action.

KM: As soon as that old theater appeared on screen I knew you would be delighted. In fact, I envision your basement taking on a sort of homage to all the thrilling collectables you've procured throughout the years. Now that your diner booth is installed, it's time to dive into this project. 

I agree with you about the pacing. There was entirely too much time between the initial kills and for the action to get going. I found myself growing antsy in a noodle-fueled dream state. The subway scene, that many will know from the trailer, needed to have a little more punch. I wasn’t a fan of how long it took to get to the - spoiler alert - stabbing! The cuts between the separate subway cars should’ve moved quicker, and been reminiscent of the speed of a New York City subway itself. Look, Ghostie is out for blood and for horror fans that's what we want to see! 

RK: The subway almost played off as cute? They seemed more concerned with how many callbacks to slashers they could fit into the scene rather than effectively directing what should have been a suspenseful moment. Sure, it was fun to see Jason and Mikey Myers rolling on the train with Ghostie but I did not see the crew arriving at their destination in real time. Now, before I ramble more… I don’t want to leave without mentioning two things from Scream VI that have managed to stick with me. First is the return of Ghost Dad. It can’t be overstated the extreme importance to me that this character would reappear. There was a moment in which I was genuinely scared by Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) stating that she was not hallucinating any longer and seeing her dead dad. If the spectral image of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) had not been made part of the show there would have been no hesitation in recommending that this movie be skipped.

KM: I believe there was a twin moment where both of our hearts sank at the thought that Ghost Daddy wouldn’t appear. Luckily, we got Loomis. Though, I’m not sure what they are doing to de-age his face. It’s BAD. Skeet Ulrich is aging wonderfully and should just be a little bit older ghost daddy. I’ll make this recommendation for the next installment

RK: Good call Katie. The second thing I feel is worth discussing is the opening. The first sequence of these films has become notorious for not just inducing thrills ‘n chills but sets the tone for the rest of the picture. Each flick’s opening has made the attempt to put the viewer on the edge of their seat and hopefully stick with them long after they leave the cinema. Some have been more effective than others in doing the latter. Of corpse, the most notable being from the one that started it all, Scream (1996) in which Wes Craven pulls a Hitchcock killing off what many thought to be the leading lady (Drew Barrymore) in the first few minutes of the flick. I first saw that motion picture when I was thirteen and I credit that scene as providing many sleepless nights. It will remain burnt in my mind until the day in which my brain turns to beans.

Which brings me to the opening scene of Scream VI. If I were to rank the curtain-raisers of the Scream filmography none of them come close to dethroning the spooktacular 1996 rendition. In terms of creativity  Scream 2, holds some weight as it did involve a movie within a movie angle with a murder at a cinema. I will not discuss the start of Scream 3, other than to say: SLOP (a song from Creed made an appearance… goodbye). Scream IV, the movie itself plays out fairly well, but that opening was more than exhausting, it was eye-roll inducing. I am hazy in terms of how Scream (2022) starts as I only recall the most important thing: Ghost Dad. Which leads  me to Scream VI.

As it was playing out, I could not help but ask: why does it always have to be a woman that dies in the opening? I feel this scenario was the perfect opportunity to flip the script and have a guy end up in a coffin. By setting it up that the woman was a film professor and horror aficionado that still made the mistake of going down a dark alley alone was more than insulting, it was infuriating. To make matters worse, I believe that the writer had Ghostface reveal themselves after the rapid stabbing episode simply to try to avert my attention. I saw what they did though and I didn’t like it. I don’t know maybe I am nitpicking here, but I truly believe a film bro professor would have fit this bill much better.

KM: I hope that people are a little more hesitant to walk down a dark alley to help a stranger make their way to the meeting point. It's 2023, we have GPS on our phones. Not only are alleys full of spooks and frights but you’re definitely going to be walking through some pee. I agree with Kicksey’s idea of the first victim being a male. I very much would have enjoyed this and maybe even gave the film an extra star.

RK: Despite Courtney Cox’s gratitude intro at the start of the film for my return to the cinema to see the motion picture as it was intended to be seen, I don’t believe this warrants a trip to the cinema. In fact, I think viewing it at home would be more advantageous as one could procure a pizza beforehand. Regardless, I am sure we will take another trip to Woodsboro soon. My only hope is that next time Sydney Prescott is there to greet me.