How this series has continued to survive and draw audiences is rather baffling, as is the positive reception to each new entry. The meta commentary riffing on horror tropes has been aped to the point of parody. Anyone remotely following the dialogue while doomscrolling on their phones and simultaneously writing a thesis will still guess the killers quite early into the film. There are the obligatory red herrings and fake-outs, ‘clever’ dialogue and quippy banter that seems better served on the CW network. The hook this round is a change in locale, from suburbia to NYC, which served Jason Vorhees far better than it serves Ghostface. The acting, pacing, plotting is all over the place, and not entirely cohesive. Some actors seem to have gotten different script notes, and some are far more committed to the concept of acting than many of the others. What is good is the framing of the opening and parts of the first act, Jenny Ortega, and that its slightly better than the last movie. However, they haven’t just beaten the dead horse, they’ve repeatedly stabbed and mutilated the remaining chunks where they could only serve as chum. There are hints throughout that the producers intend to build upon the threads begun in the last film into some endgame scenario, but I’d earnestly implore them to just stop here.
Scream VI (2023)