I was hard on the last entry in the “Scream” franchise. I think the trailer was so well done, and it elicited much of the intrigue I’d experienced with the first film, that I didn’t fully accept it for what it simply presented. I re-watched that film before screening SCREAM 6 last week, and thought it wasn’t as bad as I’d originally felt – but it wasn’t great either. It mostly was the same as the two that preceded it – formulaic, part horror with a ton of camp. It’s just the original “Scream” set such a high bar, and number two wasn’t too shabby either.
But the lesson from the 2022 film led me to be way more open-minded as I entered last week’s screening and, for the most part, I enjoyed the camp and horror pretty much the same as my second watch of the prior. What did change was my level of suspension when it came to some of the “stabbings,” because at this point either some of the characters need to give a lesson on being sliced and diced and surviving or they’re missing out on a huge opportunity for revenue!
In this latest installment, sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega) have moved to the Big Apple aka New York City, as guardian and college student respectively, with two of their friends from Woodsboro – siblings Mindy (Jasmin Savoy-Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) who we learned in the last film are the niece and nephew of the late legacy character Randy (Jamie Kennedy). It just so happens NYC is also the primary residence of legacy character, journalist, and writer of the Woodsboro Murders Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox). When a newer, and much more violent and deadlier, Ghostface appears to pay retribution to the crew, and a few new characters, all hell literally breaks loose and no one is safe or can be fully trusted.
Again, it’s a formulaic tale with new tricks and turns, but basically the same premise as the others and enjoyable enough that horror lovers can find some thrills in the chilling murder or attempted murder scenes. I’m betting that lovers of the franchise, I mean there is a huge cult following for “Scream,” will find solace in the Easter eggs the film offers, this version of Ghostface comes with an abundance nostalgia, and the film will definitely make a ton of money from its primary base – as it stands opening weekend was the highest of the franchise with a total of 44.5 million.
As a huge fan of the first three films, although I felt the third’s narrative was not as solid as the first two, I missed the clever nature I felt was interwoven in earlier scripts, especially the original, but the laughs were still there. I also thought the “core four” (Sam, Tara, Mindy, and Chad) were not as savvy at fighting Ghostface – and many of the decisions were questionable – but again the laughs were there to be had and made it much easier to keep suspending disbelief.
All in all, I rate “Scream 6” 3 out of 5 on the MMTrometer for its character likeability, you’ll even root for the not so sharp ones, its high entertainment factor – if you like scary movies that is – and it really works well watching it on a big screen.
SCREAM 6 opened in theaters everywhere on March 10.
Until next thought, Thomasena
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