Scream VI (2023) Movie Review

Verdict on Scream VI

Core Four Characters

Sam has been living with a new level of hate from an internet conspiracy claiming she was behind the last killing spree. People have used her connection to Billy Loomis to make it difficult for her to connect to people. She is trying to work through the problems and keep close to Tara. However, when the new killer arrives, she finds herself needing to make a difficult decision when it comes to a showdown with Ghostface again.

Tara has morphed into the typical college student, she hasn’t dealt with the pain she has been through. She wants to live a normal life and is tired of Sam around her. Her pain comes from not being able to escape the shadow around her.

Mindy has gone full Randy here, she brings out the rules and is almost the voice of the audience as the movie unfolds. She is easily the heart of this movie, getting the best lines throughout the film. Chad is Mindy’s brother and looks to step up to keep the three women safe, well more Mindy and Tara. He does get a blossoming romance through the film too.

Legacy Characters

Kirby returns to the franchise with a connection to help solve the case. She uses her position to help solve the mystery while helping understand what the others have been through. Gale Weathers returns with another big character change, returning to what we know of her before. She cashed in on the last round of killings once again, continuing the big talking points behind her motivations.

New Characters

When it comes to the new characters, we are always going to be diving into the question of, ‘who are the victims’ and ‘who is the killer’. We do get a nice selection of potential suspects, they all fill the typical new character potential killer vibes. We have new love interests in Anika and Danny. New roommates in Quinn and Ethan. As well as a detective trying to solve the killings who has a personal connection to one of the new college friends. While they are fun characters, however, we don’t tend to learn much more about these characters.

Performances

Melissa Barrera brings a new level to her character here. Melissa has become the one you want to see more about because there is so much more to her character. Jenna Ortega continues her rising career here, however, she doesn’t get as much out of her role as potentially we could.

Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding are both great as the Meeks-Martin twins. They bring a relaxed feeling to the situation as well as an added comedy when needed.

Hayden Panettiere is the best of the legacy performances, while Courteney Cox gets some great scenes, Hayden feels more connected to the bigger picture.

It is the new stars that seem to struggle in the movie, while nobody is bad. They just don’t seem to make the most of their characters, this is more because the cast feels more bloated this time around.

Story

The story here follows the four young adult survivors in a New York college environment being hunted down by a new Ghostface. They must follow the rules of a franchise now to figure out who is behind the mask this time around. This sees them reunite with an old friend a fellow survivor from their past.

The movie is bigger and bolder than any Scream movie. By having the setting and killings happening in New York, it adds a layer of chaos to everything. The mystery is still there, and the survivor’s conversation and action are what is most important. We get to dive into how Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad have built up a connection and watch each other’s backs. The suspect list is long and we are kept second-guessing everything we see throughout the film.

Themes

Scream VI is easily the most violent movie in the franchise. It holds nothing back with the vicious kills in play here. This is the first time in the franchise it gets to a look away because of how violent the kills are. Outside of the violence, the bigger picture gets grown a lot more the setting and openness of the kills bring a new level of fear to everything we see.

Final Thoughts – Scream VI is the most violent movie in the franchise and keeps shocking us along the way.