There was a lot of pressure on this requel sequel after it was announced Neve Campbell would not be returning. Not only is she it’s leading final girl but she is also one of the slasher genre’s most recognisable names. Did Scream 6 suffer without Sidney Prescott? Nope! In fact, what we have here is a fantastic film which stands up tall against the beloved original.
The cold open of each Scream film is so important in setting the tone for what’s to come. The one we have here is creative, exciting and comes with some thrilling twists which serve as a massive red herring. It’s so well done and so different to what we’ve seen before and for those reasons you are hooked from the start.
The whole film felt like an upgrade with some great kills which were graphic enough and satisfyingly gory. The set pieces were fun too with a great scene in a convenience store and the the subway scene we saw in the trailer keeps you on edge and did not disappoint. The setting for the film’s finale was a great way of drawing in everything we’ve seen before and made for a brilliant setting to end with.
Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega prove to be outstanding final girls as sisters Sam and Tara. A year on from their Woodsboro nightmare, they are living in New York and both dealing with the past in very different ways. The mix of legacy and new characters works so well, especially as we have 2 categories of legacy characters now. Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding from 2022’s Scream are back as Mindy and Chad, cementing the ‘core 4’. The return of Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers and Hayden Panettiere as Scream 4’s Kirby Reed serves a lot of purpose. Courteney Cox completely shone, portraying the driven, cut throat Gale that we love and didn’t get to see last time. She even got to have a long overdue moment that we haven’t seen her have before.
As we are warned to change our thought process, newbies Josh Segarra, Jack Champion, Dermot Mulroney, Liana Liberato and Devyn Nekoda are great additions and serve their purpose well in being prime suspects. One thing I found in the film was the amount of brilliant one liners which are mostly provided by Mindy during her film student breakdowns of what is involved in being part of this story. Some very well executed humour was an added bonus. And as for the reveal of Ghostface – I actually didn’t guess this time round. One character was definitely pushed towards the firing line but I was left satisfied with the reveal.
The best element Scream 6 has to offer is the complicated character in Sam. She’s a final girl with an edge, pushing boundaries of what we expect from that role. Sam is complex and it will be interesting if they continue to pull at some of those threads with another inevitable instalment.
Verdict
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet have managed to do the impossible with this film. They have offered something familiar and nostalgic with nods to its origins and a soundtrack which is like an old friend, while at the same time keeping it fresh, inventive and just a whole lot of fun. It treats it’s original characters with the respect they deserve but once again showcases a new cast who have proved for the second time that they have the gravitas to bring something so dear to us to a whole new generation.
I have no shame in confidently giving this 5 whole stars.
