By David Dent
Matt Bettinelli and Olpin Tyler Gillett’s hasty follow-up to last year’s Scream reboot has all the hallmarks of a rush job. It’s undeniably the nastiest of the franchise but the nagging thought while watching this arguably unnecessary sequel was of the cynical motives behind its production.
Survivors from the last movie, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), have moved away from Woodsboro and are forging a new life – with new friends – in New York City. But Sam struggles to cast off the opinion of others concerning her complicity in the Woodsboro murders, and Tara is busy masking her trauma through excessive partying.
But when a series of murders take place, the victims tracing a line to Sam and Tara, the movie becomes ‘Ghostface takes Manhattan’ as the girls realise that they haven’t left their past behind, and everyone in the circle becomes a suspect. Or dead.
In the grand tradition of the franchise, Scream VI follows its own neatly described ‘rules’, on this occasion jettisoning most of its self-referential archness in favour of some well edited, but rather charmless mayhem (I’m wondering whether the pair saw Damien Leone’s incredibly vicious Terrifier 2 as their gore jumping off point with this one).
The return of Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers, and Hayden Panettiere, returning from Scream IV, as Kirby Reed, inject the movies’ now familiar cross-generational character interplay (Sidney Prescott is referenced but doesn’t materialise); but here the knowingness feels forced, as does the rather eye-rolling Scooby Doo ending.
The Manhattan setting is actually Montreal, a fact that acts as a good summary of the rather false feel of the whole thing. Disappointing, although I liked the ‘museum of Ghostface’.
Scream VI is now showing in cinemas.
Bloody Flicks 