Despite Solid Acting, Scream VI Often Gasps For Air
The tight timeline between Scream (2022) and Scream VI worried me somewhat. The last horror series that did a tight turnaround like that was the Halloweens Kills and Halloween Ends duology, which was admittedly disappointing.
I went to the screening with a positive but nervous attitude. The first 2/3 of this movie was twisted up into a jumble that was challenging and fun to untangle. It used a horror movie staple of making time seem so fluid that it was hard to tell how much time had elapsed in real life. The opening tableaux of Scream installments are a classic and this one is no different. We are greeted with a young woman, waiting for a date in a crowded restaurant when she gets a phone call. However, within a minute of this call beginning, I had a crushing realization. The writing for this movie is pretty bad.
There are definitely some highlights and lowlights in the writing department, but the stinkers really stink up a scene. The actors are trying so hard in spite of this and they’re largely succeeding and then it happens again. Most of the surviving cast returns for this installment. Tara (Jenna Ortega) and Sam (Melissa Barrera), the sisters from the last film, are the center of attention again and this time they’re living in New York. Tara, Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) are in college now and so the “core four” continues on. The noticeable absence is perennial final girl Sidney Prescott, and the explanation for her absence is, well, clunky. Some of the ideas are good — I loved the Woodsboro Truthers angle and was hoping for more from it.
This movie feels well made but the script by Scream (2022) writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick seems rushed, creating a weird tonal dissonance. It’s trying to be more hardcore than previous installments which is fine but doesn’t feel like a Scream move. It’s honestly the most similar to Scream 4, which happens to be my least favorite of the franchise.
This ghostface is brutal and violent. He uses a gun. We see more guts and ichor than previous installments. The action is compelling and interesting to watch. (There is a chase scene with a ladder that made me deeply nervous.) The scene in Gale’s (Courteny Cox) apartment is intense and well shot. The clunky writing doesn’t just extend to the dialogue, though, it also throttles the mystery aspect. As the third act is winding down and the reveals are happening I found myself saying “Ok, I guess…” over and over. For a horror franchise that leans on mystery to have such a lame mystery was truly a bummer.
Scream VI (Paramount Pictures; R; 2hrs 3 mins) wasn’t a scream. 3 out of 5.
