SCREAM VI

Six films in now, you know the drill. Or do you? Scream VI changes the game for the franchise by being the first film set outside Woodsboro, New York City taking its place. It may be a new setting for the franchise but it's familiar faces we see being sliced and diced by Ghostface in the Big Apple.

Four survivors of the Ghostface murders; Sam (Melissa Barrera), Tara (Jenna Ortega), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding), leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. However, they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when a new killer embarks on a bloody rampage.

There's certain aspects of a Scream film that will determine whether it works or not, the first of those being the opening sequence. Ever since Drew Barrymore first answered the phone in the iconic opening to the 1996 original, the franchise has always had strong starts. Scream VI is no different and even leans more towards heading in a new direction for revealing Ghostface to the audience which I felt was rather bold. The films have also always been as meta as they come, explaining the rules of sequels and now even franchises in this case, and it keeps things entertaining to an extent again here.

The script tries to move away from that more though in these later films and the focus is very much on the sibling relationship between Sam and Tara Carpenter, along with their group of friends caught up in the chaos. Alongside that, Scream VI has a new playground for kills and there are plenty of them, brutal and frequent to keep things intensely entertaining. The sequence on the train is one of the film's highlights, claustrophobic and the tension cranked up to the max. There's also a really cool Ghostface moment in the finale as well that just felt so right in the moment.

As important as the openings are for these films, it's the reveal of the killer in each film that they live or die by. After starting very strong and having a few solid sequences in the middle act, Scream VI sadly culminates with a rather underwhelming killer reveal that just fell a little flat on its face for me.

Coming to the performances, Jenna Ortega is given yet another platform to shine and carries large portions of the film as Tara Carpenter. Jasmine Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding continue to be an entertaining duo while Melissa Barrera takes the steely reins from Neve Campbell to face-off with Ghostface. Courteney Cox returns as Gale Weathers to offer her usual stubbornness to proceedings while it's great to see Hayden Panettiere back as Kirby, last seen in Scream 4. The duo play their part in making this a decent guessing game at who it could possibly be this time round.

While I liked Scream VI, it's clear that the franchise may be running out of ideas as to who the killers could be if they wish to carry on with it. That being said, this is a thoroughly entertaining entry and I'd definitely watch another because they always provide a good night out at the cinema.

Verdict: ★★★½