“What’s your favourite scary movie?”
”Not that one!”

I had thought the franchise ended with Scream (2022) for me. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely excited to see this beforehand, I mean I went to the fan event if that tells you anything, but Scream (2022) was such a fantastic “conclusion” to the franchise in my eyes that I was having a hard time fully committing to the hype. However, once I heard about the excessive positive feedback that test screenings were getting I was starting to get really excited!! The marketing for this was FANTASTIC and what little I knew about it beforehand I loved. So yeah I was very excited sitting in my seat waiting for the film to start.

(I won’t mention any explicit spoilers but I will talk about different aspects and how I felt so if you prefer to go in completely blind then stop reading!) 

Let’s talk about that opening kill!! Never have we ever gotten an opening kill so AMBITIOUS, with so many LAYERS. It got legitimately confusing with how many layers there were, with both “Wes Craven Scream” and “post Wes Craven Scream” incorporated. It was with the opening kill that I knew I was getting into something really special. The first 15 minutes or so are probably my favourite part of the entire movie, hell it’s probably my favourite opening kill of the entire franchise!! I give major props to the creatives behind it. 

The kills in general are absolutely BRUTAL (so much head trauma???!!?). Each character’s death felt personal and emotionally driven. I’ve never watched a Scream film where the deaths have affected me in such a way as these did. They made me fear my own mortality!! 

I absolutely loved the new characters introduced and the roles they played (until a certain point)! I thought all of the actors did an incredible job. The cinematography was great, LOVED the set design, the gore was top notch. Each Ghostface just gets more and more cruel and I’m honestly on board with it. Overall the movie is well made and is fully aware of what it is (as to be expected with Scream at this point). 

I was having the time of my life for a while, this movie felt made for ME and I was so so happy. I was seriously considering this to be my favourite Scream instalment (besides the first) at one point! It did lose a bit of steam around the middle but I wasn’t too upset about it because I knew that the killer reveal is what makes or breaks a slasher film. 

And….it fell flat for me. The entire film my mind was racing and considering all these amazing outcomes and then it happened and I just felt…underwhelmed. IN THEORY IT SHOULD’VE WORKED because (read further at your own risk!!) it felt VERY similar to Scream 2’s reveal which I adore. But I just didn’t care about these killers at all. I didn’t feel their anger or their disgust, which is such a critical aspect to the reveal! Scream (2022)‘s killers were arguably weak as well because of their “motive,” but I felt even Amber and Richie nailed the infamous “killer presence.” Here I felt almost nothing besides enjoying the overall feel of it. It does feel very Scream, for better or for worse. 

There’s a ton of other small things that make and break the movie for me, but this review is already long enough. There are a lot of GREAT things about Scream VI, it isn’t afraid to take risks and manages to give us something exciting and entertaining despite being the sixth instalment to a slasher franchise. That’s unheard of in the horror genre!!! It’s managed to take an already beloved franchise and modernize it for new audiences!! And it does it really well! 

Despite my problems with Scream VI I am happy with my experience. Yes I do feel a bit let down, and I feel a bit sad that everyone is head over heels with this and I’m…not. But overall? Any Scream content is good content! 

(Also it wasn’t until after the movie was done that I discovered that someone had actually dressed up as ghostface for the viewing….talk about a 4D experience)