There’s nothing new under the sun. This is a common, universally applicable adage that can be extended to the film industry. The craft of writing and directing a film is not about creating a new story, since, as the phrase indicates, such a thing hardly exists. Rather, a filmmaker’s job is to bring to life a story that’s been told before in an innovative, unique manner. It’s not the story; it’s the execution of the story that makes a film original. Scream VI delivers on this and then some, pushing the Scream films in intriguing new directions that proves a nearly thirty-year-old franchise can still bring the kills and alongside it, a sense of character development rarely afforded to modern slasher franchises.
The first major creative decision that elevates this to a franchise best is to shift the action from Woodsboro, California to New York City. Never before has a Scream film so brilliantly utilized its central location to enhance tension and increase the realm of possibilities with respect to its scares. The city, with its dark alleyways, subways and apartments is just as significant a character as the humans in the film. It crafts a fascinating identity for the movie, a lesson in how to perfectly utilize a location as a benefit. There are several standout moments that convey the power of a well-set scene. One takes place on a subway which, without revealing too much, is true to real life, yet makes the audience consider the ghastly things that might occur during such a form of transportation. The inclusion of apartment complexes is also a wise choice as characters occasionally peer out into their friend’s windows across alleys and walkways between buildings catching terrifying glimpses of Ghostface. A particularly phenomenal scene is one involving a character trying to warn his girlfriend who lives across the courtyard of an apartment complex that Ghostface is in her apartment. He screams her name and bangs on his window but she can’t hear him. This scene leads to what is being dubbed as the ladder scene, which will not be revealed here because it features one of the best kill scenes in the Scream franchise; needless to say, it involves ladders and windows! Another standout scene is the film’s opening, which makes the best of the alleys of New York to achieve a particularly gruesome opening.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. There are alleyways and subways in many cities so what does it matter that New York City is the setting? Well, not every city is as large as New York, with as dingy and creepy subways! All joking aside, the film could be set in any city and still be great, because ultimately, the best perk that comes with setting Scream VI in the city is due to the multitude of unknown variables. Gone are the sheriffs that these people knew their whole life. Gone also are their parents, lesser friends and the overall Woodsboro community. They only have each other in a large city that is full of strangers. Paranoia increases as literally anyone in this congested city could be the killer. This is a great enhancement to a franchise which sometimes, in earlier installments, wore out its clever suspenseful sequences.
The other fantastic creative decision is due to sharp writing and a genius bit of casting. As much as Neve Campbell was a vital part of the franchise, I have never really taken to her character. That is not the case with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, who both turn in unusually excellent, nuanced performances for a slasher film as sisters, Sam and Tara Carpenter. This is a case where both the writing, as well as Barrera and Ortega’s script interpretation, take to Scream VI down some fascinating and dark thematic paths. Without spoiling too much, the audience gains insight into the psychological headspace of the sisters’ fractured relationship, the trauma they’ve endured thus far and how that affects them going forward in a manner never as fully developed before in the franchise.
The film does have some fairly negligible faults such as featuring the heaviest plot armor for its characters yet (the stab wounds people endure might as well be punches to the face!), as well as a somewhat predictable first twist. But the power of the film’s writing and inspired creative choices, as well as the shock of the film’s second big reveal ultimately render these critiques quite trivial. Scream VI is at a franchise high, honestly the best since the original. It smartly takes the saga of Ghostface to new heights, creating a more complex story in utilizing the setting as a benefit to craft suspenseful scenes, weaving a chilling tale through excellent writing and enhancing the character-driven story with great acting. I am eagerly looking forward to the return of Ghostface, who will undoubtedly be wielding a knife-and a script-as sharp as ever.