Xtreme Vogue London Desk: Judith Benjamin
Star Cast: Melissa Barrera, Jena Ortega, Courteney Cox, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Josh Segarra, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Champion,
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olphin & Tyler Gillett.
What’s Good: How even in the sixth installment, the adrenaline-pumping factors work every single time the makers want them to. It’s bigger, better, and 10 levels high Gorier (if that counts as good for you).
What’s Bad: Some very obvious loopholes, but they can be ignored.
Loo Break: Well, I won’t lie; some scenes might make you want to use the restroom, but the thought that Ghost Face might be waiting there for you will stick you to your seat.
Watch or Not?: On a big screen if possible. But even a small one will scare you almost the same, I guess.
Language: English.
Available On: Theatres Near You.
Runtime: 123 Minutes.
User Rating:
So the ‘Core Four’ from Woodsboro, Samantha (Melissa), Tara (Jenna), Mindy (Jasmin), and Chad (Mason) are now in New York trying to live a normal life after the last Ghost Face trauma. But like we as an audience, the Ghost Face follows them, and a new prodigy to the phenomenon rises to kill Billy’s daughters.
Script Analysis
Originally created by Kevin Williamson, who also serves as an executive producer in Scream 6, the franchise took a visual shape in 1996. 26 years ago, a story about a murderer on the loose with a ghost mask on entered our lives and refused ever to live. After a long gap, the fifth film released last year, proving that the franchise still owns a whole lot of mettle and that this is probably one of the few ones to survive the test of relevancy for over two decades. When the same team returns to tell the story for the 6th time in less than a year, do they still stand the test? Let’s dissect.
With James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick taking the characters ahead from Kevin’s work, Scream 6 or VI is technically an ‘aged like a very strong poison’ version of the franchise. The writing gets more brutal, Gorier, and never really shies away from showing the most gruesome things with camera zooming right into them. Call this the franchise pacing up with the world that wants to see every detail. We have now come to terms with the fact that Scream movies are probably the most innovative in shaping its antagonists. The sixth makes fun of that same aspect, and even lays the entire plot in front of you right in the beginning, but you still give it a side eye and then realise that the writers did play with you.
We already know the film scares you, brings you to the edge of your seat, and makes you look away from the screen more than once. But what the film does uniquely is acknowledging the legacy of films and artistic material it has built its castle on. We have so far seen a parallel cinema culture functioning in the story. This time it takes that part of it notches ahead. There is an Alfred Hitchcock homage with posters of Psycho and Vertigo hanging on the walls, and a character in the opening sequence names Laura Crane after Marion Crane from Psycho. A tribute to Rare Window is also very evident, and it all works so well and organically for the story.
While being smart in cunningly hiding its cards while keeping them in stark open, Scream 6 also gets the humour just right. Adding humour to a film as gruesome as this might just dilute the purpose and make the film look weird. But the way writers add more of situational humour, with Mindy taking the driving chair for it is so much fun. The film does cleverly walk through all horror and crime movie troops and also acknowledges them.
Star Performance
Melissa Barrera has now found the hook in Samantha, and it is no longer a task for her to accept every crooked trait of her character. Her unapologetic nature now comes out very effortlessly, and she manages to make us root for her so well. Barrera never let’s her confidence flicker even a bit because she has now survived this multiple times and can walk out alive from an atomic explosion, maybe. The actor is amazing at being badas*
Jenna Ortega is on a roll, and nobody should stop her anytime soon because our girl is super strong. She somehow sees a transition in her attitude from the first scene to the last. While the trajectory is very loosely written, she manages to make it work pretty good.
Jasmin Savoy Brown needs to be in all the Scream movies by law. Mindy is used as the voice of the viewer in a smart move and she exactly says and asks every question you as an audience have for the film. Mason Gooding as Chad is a thirst trap and a very useful one in the movie, and many need more of him for sure. Courteney Cox is officially the Scream Veteran who has worked in all six installments. There is no chance she is going wrong with this one.
Direction, Music
Director duo Matt Bettinelli-Olphin & Tyler Gillett return after the 2022 film and deliver yet another nail-biting sequel to the requel as they address it. The synchronisation between the writing and direction and how sure the team was about each of the move is visible in every corner of this movie. With the DOP, the directors create the world with a pinch of old world charm and capture the ghost face in a very scary way.
Why are people so less bothered about their friends dying and that too so brutal deaths. They literally move to the next scene without even acknowledging the tragedy that happened the same day. Also, Mindy, in a crucial scene is stabbed very bad twice. But 10 minutes later (probably a few hours in the film), she comes running to help others acting like no injury ever happened. How?
The Last Word
Scream VI is how a franchise is supposed to be built in a way that it only flourishes and explores more. This one will scare you to the core and if not scare, at least check your locks twice every night before you go to bed for a few days.
