After seeing Scream 5 I was completely sucked back into this franchise. While the film wasn’t anything new, it was still an excellent sequel and a very entertaining movie. For the first time in maybe forever, I was excited for a Scream film. It had a great cast, good directors and most importantly a new premise. But Scream 6 surprised me in multiple ways I didn’t except – some for the best and some for the worst.
What I love about this franchise is simply how entertaining they are and Scream 6 is no exception. From the beginning to the end of this film, I was glued to the screen because there was never really a slump. It was such a fun and enjoyable ride that reminded me why I love these films so much.
A big push for this film was how aggressive and dangerous the new Ghost Face would be (something that really interested me). Now there is one scene early on where they do feel more threatening – the killer is killing randoms, twisting knifes deeper and using new weapons. But the rest of the film, it essentially reverts to the same old ghost face. I would have loved to see this continue, with a ghost face that’s even more unhinged (maybe torturing victims or fucking with them more).
Building on from this, I think the horror in Scream 6 is perhaps some of the worst it’s ever been. There was never any point that felt like it was really trying to be scary. Maybe it was intentional because the directors wanted to move in a more action focused genre, but I never felt tense like in previous Scream movies.
Something I didn’t expect from Scream 6 was to love the core cast as much as I did. In number 5, I found a lot of them annoying and over the top but in this film, they feel a lot more dialled back. Just like Drew Barrymore, Samara Weaving stole the opening of this film and I instantly wanted to see more of her. I also loved Melissa Barrera because she felt more dangerous than the killer and had this refreshing intensity to her. Finally, Mason Gooding really stood out with a natural charisma that makes me want to see him in everything.
I think an underlying issue with this franchise is they feel each one must repeat some core tropes – the group stuck in a room being killed, someone breaking down the rules of horror movies, the killer being revealed at the end blah blah blah, its boring and repetitive. None of this needs to happen for this franchise to be successful and loved. What was engaging to me about this movie was the new direction they allude to but which they didn’t follow through with. So thereby I present to you, the
THE FORTY-FOUR CLOVERS SCREAM FILM
As soon as I finished the film I was very excited to write about how I would have made it (no offense intended). The best scenes from Scream 6 were when the protagonists were out in the streets of New York. Now I understand that the budget wasn’t huge, and they wouldn’t be able to afford it but hear me out…
Imagine this film but completely set in one night on Halloween. You have Melissa Barrera starting off with a huge group of friends as they slowly get taken out. Like Die Hard, she gets more and more injured but because its Halloween no one takes notice. Having the ghost face masks everywhere is an amazing psychological horror element that wasn’t utilised enough in this film.
Melissa has this physicality to her of a true action star that should be explored. Imagine Escape from New York or the Purge 2 but a Scream Edition. It could have been an excellent action / horror film that completely revamped this franchise. You don’t even need to have one singular killer but instead have a group of Richie loyalists all out for revenge against Melissa (like the Batman).
SPOILERS
I feel bad for the writers because trying to pick a killer who the audience doesn’t immediately suspect is near impossible. Nevertheless, this one felt particularly bad. It’s basically the most obvious guess you could have because they just did Scream 2 again. In my head, I was sure it was Mathew Lillard but that’s probably because I just wanted it to be (I pray they are saving him for the next one). While there were certainly some great twists, I don’t think the ending was as satisfying as previous films.
The Future of Scream
In Scream 5 and 6 they allude to Melissa Barrera being some sort of serial killer. In Scream 7, I know they will probably tap into this a little more, but I think the whole film should be about her having this violent streak. They can’t just do the same thing again or this franchise will fall off. Maybe a film about her taking on the mantle and killing anyone who is associated with the killers would be refreshing. While she is doing this, someone is chasing her down and trying to kill her (Mathew Lillard). I just think there is so much more potential for this franchise that isn’t being explored.