Scream 6 Review - By: Benjamin Garrett

Goodbye Woodsboro. Hello New York City. Scream VI shakes things up with a move to the Big Apple, delivering a brutal and bloody sequel that ups the scale and body count from last year’s requel. Although bigger doesn’t always mean better, this latest entry proves Ghostface still knows how to show us a damn good time.

The “Core Four” from the series’ fifth instalment return, along with several new faces and some legacy characters too. Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega take centre stage, but the expansive ensemble cast is what makes this entry so much fun to watch. More characters means more suspects, and trying to guess who’s behind the mask, and what their motives are, is a big part of these movies’ entertainment factor.

It also comes as no surprise that this movie is very self aware. The meta commentary on film and the horror genre is a Scream staple, and that’s no different here. The way in which this movie toys with our expectations by blatantly calling out tropes is wickedly clever, and it also keeps the story from feeling stale when it falls into some of the same clichés it’s commenting on. Because of the tongue in cheek approach, you’re able to give it a little more slack than your average slasher. Is a trope no longer a trope if the film is self aware? You’ll have to decide for yourself.

As with prior entries, you’ll have to suspend some disbelieve in favour of thrills, but this movie occasionally stretches the absurdity to its limits. Characters are frequently sustaining life threatening injuries, only to walk them off like paper cuts in the next scene. The thrills are worth it though, with several nail-biting sequences and crowd pleasing moments that will have longtime fans cheering.

Scream VI delivers the brutal kills and meta thrills this iconic series has become known for over the last two and a half decades. This may not be my favourite scary movie, or even my favourite Scream movie, but it’s another entertaining entry in one of the most dependable horror franchises of our generation.

3.5/5

Review by: Benjamin Garrett

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