Scream VI Review: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega anchor the best Scream film since 1996

Ghostface’s Manhattan takeover in Scream VI leads to one of the best films in the franchise.

Last year’s film, was a step in the right direction, but still had too many characters and tones to juggle. In Scream VI, the setting may be grand in scope, but the screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Bisick keeps the film’s focus on the Carpenter sisters and Martin twins from 2022’s Scream.

Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega reprise their roles as Sam and Tara Carpenter. Barrera and Ortega are terrific as the definitive leads in the film. Following her breakout performance on Wednesday, Ortega is great as the younger sister who wants to move on with her life. However, Barrera is equally compelling as the older sister who is actually trying to deal with her trauma. If it wasn’t clear after 2022’s Scream or In The Heights, Barrera should be a star coming out of Scream VI.

Legacy characters like Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) return as foils and allies at different points of the story. The legacy characters work well in Scream VI. However, Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad are the focus, with the legacy characters adding some colorful flourishes. Josh Segarra, Dermot Mulroney and Samara Weaving represent the newbies in the franchise.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return as the directors. The dynamic duo orchestrates the most creative, bloody and horrifying sequences in the Scream franchise. There’s plenty of meta-commentary and enough humor to balance out the horror. Ghostface has never been more terrifying.

There are some missteps in Scream VI. The amount of stabbing a person can withstand in Scream VI is ludicrous. The Ghostface killer reveal is the most predictable in the franchise. However, the focus on building up the Carpenter sisters and their friend group makes the lackluster reveal more palatable.

Horror films set in New York City don’t have the best track record. Luckily, Ghostface’s return in Scream VI beats the odds.

With the overview out of the way, let’s sink the proverbial knife deeper into Scream VI. The Scream franchise is available to stream on Paramount Plus.

The Carpenter sisters in Scream VI

Sam and Tara aren’t on the same page at the beginning of Scream VI. Both are trying to move on following the events in California. They just have two different approaches.

Sam is trying to address her issues and stay out of the limelight. In 2022’s Scream, Sam was the hero. Since that time, her family history was revealed in a book written by Gale. Her heroic acts have been twisted to make it look like she orchestrated the California killings.

Early on Sam meets with a therapist. The sequence provides a quick recap of the last film. She stabbed the last Ghostface killer 22 times and her father was a serial killer. Sam leaves the traumatized therapist with her issues unresolved.

Meanwhile, Tara is trying to live the life of a college student. She attends a frat party and is letting a guy take advantage of her until Sam intervenes with a taser to the balls. Tara wants Sam to back off.

When Sam isn’t watching Tara like a hawk, she’s hooking up with a neighbor. Segarra makes the most of his scenes as a Danny Brackett. A decent guy who does exactly what Sam asks him to do. When Sam excludes him from the “core 4,” he understands and backs off.

As Scream VI continues, the sisters slowly grow closer together by talking about their issues with their friends and to each other.

Reprisals and newbies

There’s a new Ghostface killer on the loose. He’s leaving different Ghostface masks near the victims. The arrival of a new Ghostface presents an opportunity for franchise-favorite characters and newbies to enter the fray.

Gale appears as a reporter in New York. Without hesitation, Tara punches Gale in the face. Gale wrote a book about the California incident that insinuates Sam’s involvement. Later, Kirby from Scream 4 returns. She’s an FBI agent now and arrives to help Detective Bailey (Mulroney) with his case.

Bailey’s daughter, Quinn, is Sam and Tara’s roommate. She is brutally attacked by Ghostface, which turns Bailey into an ally for Sam and Tara.

The best thing about the returning characters is how it unites the Carpenter sisters. They question Gale and Kirby at every turn. The one drawback to how strong they’re as sisters is that it’s easy to figure out the suspects. There’s a character who clearly isn’t accused at any point which is a huge red flag in a film where the “Core 4” question everyone else.

Core 4 vs Ghostface

Scream VI features the most formidable Ghostface. He will kill anyone in his way. When Sam and Tara flee into a convenience store, Ghostface plows through the clerk and another customer. Once it’s clear Ghostface is in New York, Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad work together to lure the Ghostface out.

The dynamic between the self-proclaimed Core 4 is fantastic. I could get behind watching them venture to different towns solving serial killer mysteries in an endless number of equals. Mindy’s knowledge of horror movies comes to the forefront once again. The scene between Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Kirby where they go back and forth over their horror knowledge is great. Chad and Tara are in the early scenes of going from friendship to something more.

Every Ghostface kill is a tension-filled, gory delight. The scariest sequence is a Halloween subway ride where multiple passengers are wearing Ghostface masks as well as masks from other horror icons.

The about of stabbing is egregious, which breaks all facets of reality and cheapens Scream VI‘s ending. However, if you can look past the lunacy, it’s quite fun to watch Barrera and Ortega fighting off against a bunch of serial killers.

Scream VI final thoughts

Ghostface’s visit to The Big Apple in Scream VI is a massive improvement over 2022’s Scream. Scream VI focuses on the elements that worked in last year’s film while unleashing the most terrifying Ghostface yet.

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