For over 25 years, the question “Do you like scary movies?” has sent chills down the spines of horror lovers. Hell, even non-horror lovers know Billy Lumis’ (Skeet Ulrich) famous line before slicing and dicing Drew Barrymore to pieces in the first Scream movie. Last year, directors Tyler Gillet and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin proved they were worthy of following in Wes Craven’s iconic footsteps by bringing Ghostface back for a new killing spree while paying homage to the beloved ’90s film that started it all. But could they do it again without screwing up all the good they’ve done so far?
The short answer is: Yes. Scream VI does everything a sequel–excuse us, requel–should do. The body count is higher, the kills are gorier, and the final showdown between the survivors and Ghostface is a spectacle unlike any Scream movie that’s come before. What’s really cool is how Gillet and Bettinelli-Olpin set up their own Scream playground to play in without losing sight of the original series that paved the way for these new adventures.
The first rule you learn in screenwriting class is that a good movie comes with a surprising but inevitable end. That sounds like an oxymoron, and it is a difficult needle to thread, especially in the slasher genre, but it gets pulled off here. Without spoilers, the Ghostface reveal in Scream VI is layered and surprising, but once the truth is out you realize the killer couldn’t have been anyone else. The setting for the final showdown also allows Scream VI to pay homage to every Ghostface that came before so it feels like all of them have a moment to shine.