Scream VI movie review - Aussieboyreviews

CAN SCREAM VI STILL BE PULLED OFF WITHOUT OUR ORIGINAL FINAL GIRL?

Scream VI can be an enjoyable instalment even without Sydney Prescott, massive flaws and logical issues. This slasher sequel to a “re-quel” is bloody, entertaining, fun and proves a horror franchise can still hold up strongly after six entries.

Storyline

Four survivors of the recent Ghostface murders leave the town of Woodsboro for a fresh start in New York City, only to find themselves under the threat of a new killer promising a bloody rampage.

Movie Images

Movie details

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Champion, Dermot Mulroney
Writer: James Vanderbilt, Guy Busick
Release Date (Australia): 9 March 2023
Runtime: 123 minutes/2h 3m
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Language: English

CONTENT GUIDE (warning: May contain spoilers)

Themes (MA15+)

The film contains sequences that feature a strong sense of threat as people are terrorised, attacked and murdered by a sadistic serial killer.

Violence (MA15+)

The film contains graphic depictions of stabbing and shooting murders that feature blood sprays and bloody wound detail.

Coarse Language (M)

The film contains occasionally aggressive use of coarse language including the words “f**k”, “s**t”, “**shole”, “c**k” and “bitch”.

Drug Use (M)

A character is depicted using a bong at a party.

Nudity (G)

A topless woman is briefly viewed covering her breasts on a television screen.

Sex (M)

The film includes sexual reference in which a couple can be heard moaning as they implicitly have sex. The film also features multiple verbal references to sex and virginity.

mpaa rating

R (for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and brief drug use)

Aussie boy's thoughts

Imagine you have the six entries to this suspenseful murder-mystery franchise lined up across the prison height chart; Scream VI is the rather petite one of the bunch that stands to the side a little further away from the others. It’s height signals the fact that logical flaws cease it from being taller, but the reason it’s standing apart from the others is because it stands out as a sequel (or you could call it a sequel to a “re-quell”). It’s just different.

This is the first Scream movie that takes us out of the small town of Woodsboro to the large city of New York, whilst it also kind of ditches the traditional story structure layout and features the absence of our beloved final girl, Sidney Prescott. The film features a returning cast of Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Courtney Cox, in addition to a thought-to-be-dead character from Scream 4 and as always, a few other newbies living in NYC who join the suspect list when the kills begin taking place.

It doesn’t take an idiot to guess that this movie’s extremely violent, packed with very suspenseful Ghostface chase sequences, and the build-up towards the killers’ identity reveal is immensely exciting. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any major flaws or plot holes that stand in the way of some significant scenes. A few elements this film could work on is the emotional depth between the characters (which is already attempted), having characters rest for some time after they’re stabbed multiple times, and the killer reveal/confrontation is fairly unsatisfying when you link it with the tension during the first two acts. It almost feels like the killer reveals are thrown in from a different movie. The nostalgia and horror movie tropes are also kind of messy here.

But after the fresh Scream instalment we gratefully received in early 2022, the effort in this sequel makes you genuinely believe that the writers and directors actually took feedback and advice provided by the critics and audiences to create a better movie, which it certainly is. Ghostface is as savage as he’s ever been, making extremely energetic and unhinged appearances during chase/murder sequences, all of which are very well-written, directly perfectly and occasionally feature a sense of claustrophobia. Running at 2 hours, this movie also spares room for some more character development, although the emotions and conversations could be a little stronger. But for the first Scream movie without Sidney and Dewey, it’s doing very well and deserves your time.

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