HALLOWEEN 2K23: A Review of "Scream VI"

"A stab, a slice, and a do-si-do... where I'll stop, nobody knows! A twirly-dee here, and a twirly-dee there... stick around,
Woodsboro; you'll be in for a scare!"

Happy Halloween! I hope you all enjoyed this rapid fire, vomiting of posts I did because I'm such a shit scheduler and have no control over my life, it would seem. Thanks for tuning in this year to Spoiler Alert's Halloween 2K23 extravaganza. Oh, and be on the lookout later on today for some surprise posts from me too. Hinted at a couple of times, but they're sure as heck coming down the pike.

"Jeez, a den of Ghostface props and costumes from previous
murders. This is either an evidence locker... or the basement
of Wes Craven's house."

We arrive at our final (so far anyway) produced Scream film. The 2022 reboot-quel, upon doing some light research, was very well received and stands as a cornerstone of how to do a quality reboot-quel. Nothing too over the top, nothing in your face, nothing annoying; tickles all the necessary bones in just the right spots. No more, no less. Well, it was such a hit, that we now have a sequel released less than a year afterwards. Welcome to the latest (so far) Scream film, and the last one on our list this Halloween season, Scream VI. It too was stylized in the posters, this time as something funky I'll try to do in text... ScreaIVI or something. Nah that looks like ass, but oh well. Since the last one killed off Dewey, and it's also the first one to not feature Neve Campbell in any capacity... how does it fair? Let's dig into it and find out!

One year after the Woodsboro killings orchestrated by Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid in Scream '22) and Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison in Scream '22), Blackmore University professor Laura Crane (Samara Weaving) is catfished and murdered by her student Jason Carvey (Tony Revolori) wearing a Ghostface costume. Jason plots with his roommate Greg to kill sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) to finish the "movie" that Richie and Amber wanted to make. However, Jason receives a call from a different Ghostface (voiced by Roger L. Jackson), who has killed Greg and subsequently stabs Jason to death. Sam and Tara now live in New York City, with Tara attending Blackmore University alongside fellow survivors Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Chad Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown), their roommate Quinn Bailey (Liana Liberato), Mindy's girlfriend Anika Kayoko (Devyn Nekoda), and Chad's roommate Ethan Landry (Jack Champion). Sam attends therapy with Dr. Christopher Stone (Henry Czerny) and is ostracized in public because of an online conspiracy theory that she was the true mastermind of the latest killings. Quinn's father, Detective Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney), calls Sam in for questioning as her ID was found at the scene of Jason's murder, along with a Ghostface mask worn by Richie and Amber. On the way to the station, Ghostface calls Sam from Richie's phone, who then attacks Tara and kills multiple bystanders in a bodega, and leaves behind another Ghostface mask worn in the 2011 Woodsboro killings... as depicted in Scream 4 of course.

"Why yes, I would like to change my long distance plan...
what does the 'knife in my back' add to my cell plan?"

At the NYPD police station, the sisters meet with FBI special agent Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), a survivor of the 2011 killings, and reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), who has since written a book on the previous Woodsboro killings, much to Sam and Tara's anger. Remember when the previous film had a happy ending that said she wasn't going to do that? Well NUTS TO THAT I guess. Gale tells them she spoke to Sidney Prescott (not played by anyone here) and that she has gone into hiding to protect her family. A.K.A... Neve Campbell told the producers to leave her the f*ck alone. Dr. Stone is murdered by Ghostface, who steals Sam's file and leaves behind a mask worn in the Hollywood killings, Scream 3. Mindy theorizes that the killer is following the rules of film franchises, specifically the rule that anyone can die while the franchise will still continue. From his window, Sam's boyfriend Danny (Josh Segarra) witnesses Ghostface stabbing Quinn in Sam and Tara's apartment before attacking the group and killing Anika, leaving behind a mask worn in the Windsor College killings... Scream 2. Gale takes the group to an abandoned theater she found while investigating, which has been set up as a shrine to the Ghostface killers, featuring many items of evidence related to previous massacres now displayed like film props.

Ghostface calls Gale at her apartment and torments her about the death of Dewey Riley (played in Screams 1-5 by David Arquette) before killing her boyfriend and attacking her. Sam and Tara arrive just in time to stop Ghostface from killing Gale, who is taken to the hospital... so somehow with SIX movies under her belt, Courteney Cox misses the knife yet again. The group agrees to meet Kirby at the theater to trap Ghostface. Mindy is stabbed by Ghostface on the train. At the theater, Sam sees a hallucination of her father, original Ghostface killer Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). Taking his knife from the original murders... in Scream... she realizes they have been locked inside. Two Ghostfaces appear and attack Chad. Wayne and Kirby both arrive with guns drawn. Wayne attempts to lend credence toward Kirby being the killer, only to shoot her, revealing himself as a third Ghostface and the mastermind; his accomplices are his children, revealed to be Ethan and a still-alive Quinn, who faked her death to ease suspicion.

"Oh Lord, I just got the script for Scream VI... well, hang on,
I do need a new screen-end porch on my house..."

The trio reveal that they are Richie's family who want to avenge his death. They were responsible for defaming Sam online and plan to frame her for their killing spree. Sam denounces the Bailey family's motives before she and Tara gain the upper hand and fight them off, with Tara stabbing Ethan and Sam killing Quinn, while briefly knocking Wayne unconscious. Sam then dons her father's Ghostface costume, taunts Wayne with a phone call using the voice changer, and viciously stabs him to death. Ethan resurfaces, but Kirby smashes the television set that killed Stu Macher (played in Scream by Matthew Lillard) over his head, killing him. Sam agrees to let Tara live her life more independently and Tara agrees to go to therapy. As Mindy, Chad, and Kirby are taken to the hospital, Sam stares at her father's Ghostface mask before discarding it and following Tara and Danny into the city...

... and so ends ScreaIVI, and to date, the Scream franchise. All wrapped up in a neat little bow. A scary bow, a bow that calls you on your cellphone and heckles the shit out of you before chasing you, stumbling down the stairs, and letting you get away, kind of scary. What do I think of Scream VI?

I thought it was okay. It was just the right amount of Scream-iness sprinkled in to the right amount of whodunit to the right amount of chilling moments, with just the right amount of throwback/previous sequel references. They didn't even shoehorn in a lot of legacy characters to steal the thunder from the new characters this time. Just Courteney Cox got the callback to show up again. That, or Neve Campbell just refused to show up again. I don't know, I didn't really get a definitive answer on that one in my brief rounds of research. Still, I liked Scream VI. I very much enjoyed the callbacks to the previous movies, seeing all the previous Ghostface costumes and tools used for murder. It was like a Scream fan's biggest wet dream, this movie... and naturally, Roger L. Jackson brings his usual A game when voicing Ghostface. I hope that guy comes back for all the Scream sequels. Won't be Scream without him. Be sure to check out Scream VI, while it's expedient release to theaters seemed like Halloween 5 levels of suspicious since it was so fast, but it was actually the same level of fun. Really enjoyed it.

With talks of Scream 7 finding its director recently, this franchise shows no sign of slowing down. Will Scream 7 be another great entry into the franchise? What new rules are we going to hear there? I can promise you I'll have it ready and reviewed by the time of its release, no doubt. Until then. Thanks for joining me in Halloween 2K23, we'll see you in November!