Scream VI
Scream VI is a 2023 American slasher film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. It is the sequel to Scream (2022) and the sixth installment in the Scream film series. The film stars Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Roger L. Jackson, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Hayden Panettiere and Courteney Cox, all reprising their roles from previous installments, with Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra and Samara Weaving joining the ensemble cast. The plot follows a new Ghostface killer, who begins targeting the survivors of the Woodsboro murders in New York City.
Scream VI
- William Sherak
- James Vanderbilt
- Paul Neinstein
Brett Jutkiewicz
Jay Prychidny
- Brian Tyler
- Sven Faulconer
- Spyglass Media Group
- Project X Entertainment
- Radio Silence Productions
- March 6, 2023 (AMC Lincoln Square Theater)
- March 10, 2023 (United States)
122 minutes[1]
United States
English
A sixth Scream film was announced just weeks after the successful debut of Scream (2022). Much of the cast signed on to reprise their roles, with Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, Vanderbilt, and Busick also returning. Filming took place in Montreal, Canada, from June to late August 2022. Neve Campbell did not reprise her role as Sidney Prescott due to a pay dispute, making this the first Scream film not to feature her. Brian Tyler, who had scored the fifth film, returned to compose and conduct the score, with Sven Faulconer joining Tyler as a co-composer.
Scream VI premiered at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater in Manhattan on March 6, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 10 by Paramount Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $169 million worldwide, becoming the first installment in the franchise to earn over $100 million at the domestic US box office since Scream 2 (1997) and the highest-grossing Scream film in the United States and Canada (unadjusted for inflation). It won Best Movie at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.[6] A sequel is in development.
Plot[edit]
One year after the Woodsboro killings orchestrated by Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman,[a] Blackmore University professor Laura Crane is catfished and murdered by her student Jason Carvey wearing a Ghostface costume because of him blaming her for failing. Jason plots with his roommate Greg to kill sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter to finish the "movie" that Richie (a classmate of theirs) and Amber wanted to make. However, Jason receives a call from a different Ghostface, 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, their roommate Quinn Bailey, Mindy's girlfriend Anika Kayoko, and Chad's roommate Ethan Landry. Sam attends therapy with Dr. Christopher Stone and has become a public pariah because of an online conspiracy theory that she was the true mastermind of the recent killings. Quinn's father, Detective Wayne Bailey, 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.[b]
At the NYPD police station, the sisters meet with FBI special agent Kirby Reed, a survivor of the 2011 killings,[b] and reporter Gale Weathers, who has since written a new book on the previous Woodsboro killings despite promising the Carpenter sisters that she would not.[a] She tells them she spoke to Sidney Prescott and that she has gone into hiding to protect her family. Dr. Stone is murdered by Ghostface, who steals Sam's file and leaves behind a mask worn in the Hollywood killings.[c] 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 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.[d] 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 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. 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. Taking his knife from the original murders,[e] she realizes they have been locked inside. Two Ghostfaces appear and attack Chad. Wayne and Kirby both arrive with guns drawn and he shoots 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. They reveal their motive is to take revenge on Sam for killing Richie,[a] who was their brother and Wayne's first-born son. They defamed Sam online and infiltrated her life with the intent of killing her. Sam and Tara ultimately gain the upper hand after Sam insults them of Richie, distracting the family enough to fight them off with Kirby’s help, Tara stabs Ethan in the mouth and Sam kills Quinn after she recklessly attacks Sam with knife to a gunfight, while briefly rendering Wayne unconscious. Sam then dons her father's Ghostface costume, taunts Wayne with a phone call, and then stabs him to death. Ethan resurfaces, but Kirby smashes a television set 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.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Prior to the release of Scream 4 (2011), series creator Kevin Williamson claimed he had already "mapped out" Scream 5 and Scream 6, but would wait to see the box office success of the fourth installment before signing on for any more films.[9] In July 2014, Williamson revealed that Scream 4 was intended to kick off a new trilogy of films, but the film "never took off in a way they hoped". Williamson also said that he would likely not be involved in any further entries, as the series director Wes Craven and his team were "done" with him.[10] In Williamson's initial pitch, Scream 5 saw Jill Roberts being stalked by a killer at her college campus, while Scream 6 would feature Gale Weathers as the main character and deal with her relationship with Dewey Riley.[11]
In January 2022, Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, and Tyler Gillett expressed interest in making future films in the series.[12] Courteney Cox would later express an interest in a sequel while doing publicity for Shining Vale.[13] A sixth film was officially green-lit on February 3, 2022, by Spyglass Media Group. Olpin and Gillett of Radio Silence would return to direct while James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick would write the script once again.[14] By the end of the month, Campbell was approached to return for the film.[15] The following month, Cox had received the script and was courted to reprise her role.[16] Also in March, the sixth film's release date was set for March 31, 2023.[17] A few weeks later, plot details emerged, setting the film outside of Woodsboro. By June, it was announced the film would take place in New York City.[18] Ortega said the film would feature a more "aggressive and violent" Ghostface than in previous entries.[19]
Casting[edit]
In May 2022, it was announced that Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Jenna Ortega would all return for the sixth film.[20] The following day, it was announced that Hayden Panettiere would reprise her role of Kirby Reed from the fourth film.[21] When asked about her involvement in the film, Cox claimed that her contract was not yet completed.[22] Also in June, it was announced that Dermot Mulroney had joined the cast, playing a police officer,[23] and Cox officially confirmed her involvement with the film.[24] On June 16, Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Devyn Nekoda and Josh Segarra joined the cast, followed by Henry Czerny on June 23.[25][26] Samara Weaving and Tony Revolori were both announced as cast members on July 14.[27]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Scream VI grossed $108.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $60.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $169.1 million.[4][5]
In the United States and Canada, Scream VI was projected to gross $35–40 million from 3,675 theaters in its opening weekend.[73] The film made $19.3 million on its first day, including $5.7 million from Thursday night previews.[3] It went on to debut to $44.4 million, marking the highest opening weekend of the franchise and finishing first at the box office. Of the opening weekend audience, 71 percent of the audience was between the ages of 18 and 34 (with 42 percent being between 18 and 24), while 51 percent were male.[74] It made $17.5 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomer Shazam! Fury of the Gods,[75] and then $8.4 million in its third weekend, finishing fourth.[76] The film crossed the $100 million mark on April 5, becoming the first of the franchise to do so domestically since Scream 2 (1997).[77][78][79] It became the highest-grossing film in the franchise at the United States and Canada box office in unadjusted dollars.[80][81]
Critical response[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 308 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Certain aspects of horror's most murderously meta franchise may be going stale, but a change of setting and some inventive set pieces help keep Scream VI reasonably sharp."[82] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[83] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B+ on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall 87% positive score, with 74% saying they would definitely recommend it.[74]
Chicago Sun-Times's Richard Roeper gave the film three out of four stars, writing "Nevertheless, off we go on another aggressively gruesome, wickedly funny and at times cleverly staged Scream-fest that cheerfully defies logic while hitting all the right notes we've come to expect from the franchise." He praised the performances of Barrera, Ortega and Brown and felt the film's ending was "the most outlandish and spectacularly brutal ending of all".[84] Owen Gleiberman, writing for Variety, gave the film a positive review despite finding it "too long", noting that it "is a pretty good thriller [...] [and] a gory homicidal shell game that's clever in all the right ways, staged and shot more forcefully than the previous film, eager to take advantage of its more sprawling but enclosed cosmopolitan setting".[85]
Benjamin Lee from The Guardian gave the film a four-star rating out of five, describing it as gorier and a smarter follow-up to Scream (2022).[86] Simon Thompson from The Playlist gave the film an A and described Panettiere as "the active ingredient here, the bolt from the blue, and she revels in the role, delivering a real treat for die-hard fans".[87] Bleeding Cool writer Aedan Juvet described the sixth entry as a "perfect" genre film, praising Panettiere's return to the franchise.[88] In a review rated four out of five stars, Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent called the film "bloody, satisfying and ridiculously fun" and similarly praised the performance of Panettiere, who "plays the role with a sly wit".[89]
Olly Richards, reviewing the film for Empire, gave it three out of five stars, opining that it was "still far more inventive and entertaining than most horror franchises of a similar vintage", yet "one of the sillier series entries in terms of plot, but still scary enough and funny enough to leave you hoping Ghostface might yet kill again".[90] Jeffrey Anderson, writing for Common Sense Media, wrote "While this slasher sequel is bogged down by complicated lore and is far more brutal than it is actually scary, the strong characters and an effective mystery come together to make it a cut above. Fans of the franchise will likely want to rewatch the previous five movies before tackling Scream VI, as it has many, many references to them."[91] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave it a mixed review, believing the film to be a satisfying addition to the franchise by blending nostalgia with a fresh take, but concluded that it was "not exactly cutting-edge anymore".[92]
Sequel[edit]
In March 2023, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet were "hopeful" for a seventh film in the series and said they would like to continue to see more movies in the franchise "whether we're involved or not".[97] They also stated that they wanted Campbell to return in future installments, saying "we'd love to be able to make another movie with her, and we're not giving up".[50]
In August, Christopher Landon was announced as the director of the seventh film.[98] Production had been slowed by the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes; plans were pushed back again on November 21, when Melissa Barrera was fired from the film for social media posts in support of Palestine during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war which were interpreted as antisemitic by producers.[99][100] The next day, it was announced that Jenna Ortega was not returning due to scheduling conflicts with filming the Netflix series Wednesday,[101] as well as due to salary disputes with Spyglass Media Group,[102] while it was also reported that screenwriters Vanderbilt and Busick were now tasked with "starting from scratch".[103] On December 23, Landon announced that he was no longer associated with the sequel, saying: "I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it's time to move on."[104][105]
In March 2024, Neve Campbell wrote on her Instagram that she would return as Sidney. She also confirmed that Kevin Williamson, the writer and producer of several previous Scream films, would direct from a script by Busick and Vanderbilt, with Radio Silence returning as executive producers.[106]
