SCREAM VI

SCREAM VI (2023). Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. 

A lovely young woman is butchered in an alleyway outside a trendy restaurant in Manhattan, but the killer takes off his ghostface mask for the audience to see. Is this a radical change in the Scream franchise formula, will we know who the killer is from the beginning of the film? No, because this psycho is dispatched with by someone else, and then it's anybody's guess as to who's slicing and dicing up anyone who gets in the way of killing heroine Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her little sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega), who were also major characters in the last Scream installment. They and their friends who survived the massacre of the last film have moved to New York City, where of course no one ever gets murdered. But someone is still out to get them. 

Who is Ghostface this time?

Scream VI is slick, effective slasher film material which keeps you in suspense, keeps you guessing, and has you wondering not only who the killer is but which of the characters -- including the "legacy" ones such as reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) -- will survive the latest rampage of the masked Ghostface killer. If you're looking for anything else aside from some spurts of blood and excitement, you won't find it, but the flick is quite entertaining.

Some cast members of Scream VI

There are a couple of stand-out sequences, such as one involving a few cast members trying to escape the slasher by climbing on a precarious ladder that spans across and high above an alleyway. Then there's a creepy scene on the subway, and a climax that takes place in an abandoned movie theater that's been turned into a shrine to the Stab movies-within-a-movie. The acting from a large cast is all professional, although no one will be taking home any Oscars. The trouble with leading lady Barrera is that she just isn't that distinctive. This is better than the last Scream, which had the same two directors.  

Verdict: There's life in the Scream franchise after all, although this may be the last hurrah. *** 

SCREAM (2022)

SCREAM (2022). Directors: Matt Bettinelli- Olpin and Tyler Gillett. 

Well, a killer wearing a ghostface mask is again on the loose in Woodsboro, 25 years after the events in Scream, and again killing teens and others. Eventually the original participants -- Sidney (Neve Campbell), Dewey (David Arquette) and Gail Weathers (Courteney Cox), all of whom look great -- get involved in trying to find out who's responsible. The trouble with 2022's Scream -- which is basically Scream 5 whether it's called that or not -- is its sheer over-familiarity, In the first "kill" -- as gore geeks refer to the murder scenes -- the victim looks more like a child than a teen, and the word "overkill" occurs for some of the slasher sequences. The move is well-acted by the large cast -- very talented Jenna Ortega is a stand-out -- but not that well-helmed by two -- count 'em -- two directors. Basically this is just a retread of Scream 4, which was better and cleverer. 

Verdict: By no means terrible, but I think we've all had enough screaming. **3/4.