I couldn’t bring myself to rewatch Scream VI, at any time since the movie left cinemas, repulsed by my personal belief that this is where the franchise jumped the shark. A brief history: I love Scream. It might be my favourite film series. Its metacommentaries work as a celebration of movies, particularly horror, and the quality of the franchise has sit above so many for such a long time. But the pull to cash in on the brand may have gotten the better of it – Wes Craven nurtured this baby for four entries, while Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett paid due respect in Scream (2022). But in Scream VI, from what I remember, we got lazy – I don’t like Kirby coming back, I don’t like the degeneration of characters like Gale (and Kirby), I don’t like how unrewarding the gimmick of 3 main killers came to be, I don’t like how unthreatening getting stabbed came to be, I didn’t like the nostalgia bait of past props being worshipped by the plot, and I don’t like the uninspiring retread of Scream 2, recreating scenarios like Randy’s death in the park or the killer being a pissed-off parent 😮💨 I remember having this awful feeling in the cinema while watching Scream VI of this thing that I once loved getting taken out of my hands, and that it was not for me anymore. I felt old, obsolete, dejected. Now I hear Scream 7 intends to bring back Matthew Lillard, as Stu Macher, from the dead, along with many other passed faces; and torture Sidney Prescott once again, when I’d rather let her rest 😴 I’ve thought about boycotting this movie, but, you know, if there’s any set of movies you don’t want spoiled by not being fast enough to escape the internet, it’s Scream, where the killer’s identities are almost always the most worthwhile part of the mystery 😄 Should I care? Probably not. Should I push aside pessimism and hope that this movie might be made with love and respect? Maybe so. Every movie is an opportunity for greatness, and I’d love Scream 7 to knock my socks off. I’m hearing that Scream 7 will abandon the meta elements of its DNA, and although that’s a big change, it’s made me think of Wes Craven’s New Nightmare; how that movie was a complete left turn for the Krueger universe and proved a breath of fresh air. But if I do hate Scream 7, I can only ask that we all hate it together, please 🙏
Okay, I only just realised a day before this movie’s release, that Kevin Williamson directed this movie. I was looking up this movie’s director, to suss out their resume, assuming it’d be some fresh punk with a dream; but it’s the original Scream writer himself, with his only other director credit in 30 years being Teaching Ms. Tingle. Now, that is intriguing! At least if Scream 7 is trash, we’re keeping its success or failure in the family 🫂
Sidney Evans, once Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), is married, and moved on with her life, with her eldest daughter Tatum (Isabel May) now attending high school. Sidney shows remarkable resilience considering her adversities, but Tatum is annoyed that her Mum can’t relay any elements of her teenage years, concerning issues with boys and fears on the stage. Sidney wants Tatum to live a normal upbringing, with any, if not all, memories of Sidney’s past entangled with horrors of losing friends or being terrorized by Ghostface. But Sidney need not worry, because a fresh batch of shared horrors are about to come to town, with Ghostface now targeting Sidney through Tatum. One by one, familiar faces fall, as we try to decipher who and how Ghostface could be back again.
The action in this movie is terrific. Something tells me that someone in the marketing department might have been having fun with this movie – I heard whispers that the gore would be toned down, and that the meta elements would be thrown away, and neither of those things eventuated. Kevin Williamson also realised that the internet figured out how all Ghostface killers are once seen in blue plaid shirts, and so everyone is wearing blue plaid at some point or another here, and all end up deadsies 🪦 Ghostface is actually truly unhinged – burning Madison (Michelle Randolph) alive, piking Lucas (Asa Germann) on the beer tap, swinging at Hannah (McKenna Grace) as if she were a pinata. Absolutely fantastic. Absolutely gruesome. The metacommentary comes through some great dialogue here and there, mostly regarding how Sidney was nowhere to be seen in New York, the previous movie. And then the killers are revealed. Aaannnd… SPOILER ALERT… they are, Marco (Ethan Embry), who we see once in the psychiatric ward, and Jessica (Anna Camp), the next-door neighbour. Jessica really cares that Sidney missed out on the New York adventure, citing it as the reason for her murderous snap…… and I was laughing my ass off. Absolutely laughing my ass off here, people! Hey, better than groaning, like I was when Detective Dermot revealed his dimwit children as accomplices in Scream VI. My goodness, am I the only one who didn’t care that Sidney steered clear of New York? The money wasn’t in it for Neve Campbell. The killing spree wasn’t about her. In fact, I would have enjoyed it more if Gale was seen less too – I love the scene where she is running around her unit and her new boytoy is destroyed. But I didn’t need her regressing back to being a scene-chasing reporter, like she was decades ago while she was still trying to make a name for herself. I’m on record in saying that the way Gale and Sidney’s character conclusions were handled in Scream (2022) is perfecto, and they pass the torch over to Sam and Tara. Gale concludes she isn’t going to write about these killings anymore, because these psychos don’t deserve the recognition. And Sidney has moved on with a family, presumably married to Patrick Dempsey’s Mark Kincaid, and not this Joel McHale ring-in, trying to “rejuvenate his career”, as the movie lightly jabs 😄 Hey, at least Jeff (Joel McHale) can tell Annie (Alison Brie) that he made it to the end of his Scream movie, and was beloved by Sidney, while Brie’s snooty publicist couldn’t escape the first act. SIXSEASONSANDAMOVIE! – Community humour. Never mind.
Further assessment of our killers: two out of three ain’t bad. Hey, this is how you reveal three killers, Scream VI, you dud – although I’m sure the movie would argue that it actually has four. But I say two of three because Jessica was terrible, but I liked the idea of the other two being relative unknowns from the story’s point of view. Karl (Kraig Dane) is the other Ghostface revealed halfway through the movie, seen once before and appearing to be nothing but a menacing bum. Being bumbling psychotics allowed these Ghostfaces to understandably botch or follow no rules regarding horror movie convention. Because they’re full-grown men, it gave credence to them being so strong, and brutal as they are. I like the idea of them being nobodies too, because it’s something we’ve never had before – “the killers are always someone you know” – and it stamps home what I think is a main message of the movie, that the tales of Woodsboro totally exist outside of Sidney now, and that it really wasn’t up to her to keep her story away from Tatum. Fans and psychos alike latch onto anything, for reasons of nostalgia and beyond, and there’s no telling how they’ll interpret them. Through books, television exposés, murder house tours, and the Stab movies, these stories are out there for anyone; just as with us, we have Scream. But then the movie tries to take on a revenge element through Jessica, as is tradition, and it’s tragic. Well, it would be if it wasn’t so funny! 😂 Sad for Anna Camp, the poor dear. The worst Ghostface killer may be a label that sticks quick.
I thought Isabel May was fantastic as Tatum. She doesn’t have to do a lot, but she doesn’t overact, allowing her character to be believably… timid, I suppose, while we all know Sidney takes focus. The moment where Tatum is in trouble in the coffee shop, gun in hand, did rival the heightened emotionality of Kirby spewing out as many horror movie remakes as she can muster in Scream 4, and… what’s another tense chase moment?… Hallie’s demise in Scream 2. Neve Campbell was excellent as well. She doesn’t act much nowadays, and one could be forgiven for thinking her presence alone would suffice (hello Ellen Burstyn in Exorcist: Believer 🤮). Well done, Neve. I thought Gale was goofy when she first showed up – a lot of swears to find that humour, a lot of swears. But the pay-off by the end was fine; how Sidney views Gale as someone she trusts – it was nice. But Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding); they were contractually obligated, right? They’re like the Pain and Panic of this movie 😩 Pain and Panic? That’s a Disney’s Hercules reference, for useless sidekicks that whimper more than provide any real assistance. Yikes. Guys, I’m sorry your franchise got blown up by Melissa Barrera’s firing, but you had no place being here today. I always thought Mindy would make a great Ghostface reveal, as the mastermind that coerced Amber and Richie (an echo of Scream 3, that provides further context to the basement moment in Scream (2022), where Mindy asserts to Amber that she’s actually the true Ghostface). But it wasn’t to be, and now she’s currently useless. Furthermore, on our young talent, Jimmy Tatro provided an excellent pre-credits kill. Sam Rechner is caricature creepy as the boyfriend, but manages to hold it together. Isabel May’s Young Sheldon alum in McKenna Grace wasn’t with us long enough, while Celeste O’Connor is underutilised.
And hey, I haven’t even mentioned the cameos yet. The surprise guests from the past! AI, huh? Makes sense. It’s no different than the voice modifier utilised by Roman in Scream 3 for me. I like it, as a callback that’s progressive at the same time. The story flirts heavily with Stu coming back, with a lot of characters asserting that it would be “cool, but not really”, and I’ve always been staunched in the “not really” camp. It’s cool for Lillard to get another paycheck out of a series he helped build – it must suck when you’re killed off so early only to watch a franchise boom – but that’s about it for me. I hope “Stu-heads” got their fix; a little acknowledgement for their fan theories, and enough to get it out of their system. And Roman (Scott Foley) was back, Mrs. Loomis (Laurie Metcalf) too – Mikey Madison too busy polishing her Oscar? Emma Roberts thriving in her career too? Naw, it’s disappointing we couldn’t get the entire collection together, but let’s not be glass-half-empty. All the script references to the history of Sidney and Gale were welcomed too and go to indicate that Kevin Williamson produced a pretty great script. Jeez, the more I write about this movie, the more I seemed to really like it! The only real down periods I remember feeling throughout, came from Anna Camp, and the beginning, where the movie seemed too much of the same – same teen bedroom scene, similar smalltown vibes, similar sympathetic cop on the beat. It was all too familiar. But I really love the story being told, by the end, and I hope it’s not missed by other critics. The story of how we all own a piece of Scream and Stab lore now, to manipulate as we will, and whilst many details of Sidney’s past are out there for anyone to see, the true strength and emotions of the experience can only be communicated to Tatum if Sidney talks about it.
Better than‘VI! I think I’ve made that clear. And not just because Sidney Evans is present – Jesus! I have to make that clear too. But for the love of all things holy, allow this to be the last Scream entry. I pray to God, Zeus, Odin, and whoever will listen! Seven is a perfect number to end on, and I truly believe that there is no more story to tell, unless it’s simply rinse and repeat. But, you know, someone out there smarter than me may know better. And that lure of dollar-dollar bills in Hollywood will always prove me wrong again and again 😀
3.5
P.S. Does Sidney own the same coffee shop from Scream: The TV Series? She doesn’t, it’s not, but it sure did make me think of it while I was watching it. Further evidence that Scream 7 can be a pretty conclusive culmination of all things Scream.
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