Can you believe the first Scream film came out in 1996! I can remember watching all of the films in this series growing up. This one is NUMBER SIX! My brother Aaron is a big fan of the series. He has rewatched the old ones the last two weeks leading up to this one. We went together for an advanced screening in preparation of its release. We also saw this in 3D. I usually love 3D films, especially when my Papaw and I would go weekly. However, I’ll spoil this right now…. the 3D was terrible. Essentially non-existent. This has no bearing on my rating, but if you choose to go. I would skip the 3D. Yes Mom, I mean you. If you haven’t watched any of these films, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Back in 96’ we meet Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends in Woodsboro, California (Fictional Town) and there is a serial killer, or killers going around in a “Ghostface” mask taking out her friends and coming for her. The series progresses and Sidney continues to be chased. What made/makes these movies fun, it they are tongue-in-cheek. Many of the films call out stereotypes to other horror movies. They give “rules” to survive. Many of which hold up. The first 4 films were directed by horror legend Wes Craven. He came back for number 4 after 11 years. We then see Scream (5) after another 11 years. So, this would have been 2022. The good news is, we didn’t have to wait another decade plus, the next chapter arrives now. So how does it hold up?

Onto the film.

This week’s review is tricky. If you know these films, it is easy to spoil the killers, and the twists Someone usually dies in the beginning. So we are going to skip the normal intro and discuss strictly what works and what doesn’t.

What works:

The main have many returning characters from the last from Scream 5 and their characters grow from the trauma they experienced and especially Jenna Ortega’s character (she’s turning into a superstar) was a women addition in terms of her screen time. The “core four” continued their friendships and relationships and you started to care more for them. The kills! They were gruesome, and unique. I was impressed it wasn’t a rinse and repeat like some of the previous entries. Ghostface! The creepy voice, the back and forth on the cell phones. It works as usual. The opening was also VERY GOOD.

What fails:

The location. The film is hyped up about being in New York City, and as someone who just returned from NYC, I wasn’t feeling it. Aside from a neat scene in a subway it felt like any suburb. I learned from my brother this was actually filmed in Canada, so that explains it. Nice try. Actually, show us New York. It’s a unique, and fun place. So much missed opportunity. Also, as I mentioned in the beginning the 3D was a complete waste of time. Very disappointed.

The good and bad aspects of these film help to create an opinion that I feel is just. If you’re a fan of this series, you’ll be there immediately. If you’re on the fence, but like the horror genre. Go see it. This doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a nice addition to the franchise and it’s always a fun time to see Ghostface in action. 3 ½ stars out of 5