Here’s the long and short of it: Scream is the best horror franchise in all of movie history. A bold statement? Maybe. But it’s the truth. A lot of people will be crying out that Halloween or Friday the 13th are better, but in terms of the quality of the entire franchise overall? Nothing even comes close to Scream. I like Saw, I like Final Destination, but again, both of those have at least one or two clangers amongst their ranks. Every franchise has a weakness, of course, with Scream‘s undoubtedly being Scream 3, but even its worst film is more watchable than any of the aforementioned franchises’ worst. I’ll die on this hill, don’t even try to argue with me.
Usually, when a franchise (especially a horror one) gets to it’s sixth movie, the whole universe is hugely dwindling in terms of quality and watchability, but not this time. In a daring move, Scream IV takes place in New York City – the first in the series to take place outside of the now famous Woodsboro. We re-join most of the cast from Scream 5, who have re-located to the big city as they move on from what happened to them a year ago. Ghostface, however, has other ideas, as brutal murders start to happen around them once again.
Fuck it. If you hadn’t already noticed, I love the Scream franchise so much and I’m not ashamed to give this one top marks.
Trust me: I too was concerned about the lack of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). It is with such a relief that I can now report her absence made no difference and this is a banger of a movie. While I did love Scream (2022) – probably more than most – the sixth instalment in this quintessential film series is actually even better. More gore, more intensity, solid character development, and the iconic Gale Weathers teaming up with Kirby mother fucking Reed. How can you not be excited about that? 10/10.
You have to give it to these directors too: they were tasked with taking over what Wes Craven built almost 30(!) years ago and they’ve genuinely done him proud. It has to be difficult at this point to write a script that both honours Scream’s past and is also original and packed with surprises, and yet that’s exactly what this sequel is. Although it’s all been updated for a modern day audience, it still has the very essence of what we all loved about it to begin with. And what more can we ask for?
Alarmingly, there were moments in which I was absolutely terrified about the fate of some of these characters, and I have to put my love for them down to these performers. Courteney Cox needs no explanation; she’s been playing Gale perfectly for so long you’ve heard it all before. Jenna Ortega and Jasmin Savoy Brown typically rise to the top, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with Melissa Barrera this time round. She was subject to a lot of scrutiny with the last movie, partly because she’s essentially a Sidney replacement. But this time she brought her own flair and some really impressive emotion so I found myself truly rooting for her. Well played all round, basically.
Anyway, you may call me biased since I clearly have such a deep love for these movies, but it’s honestly such a fun film. Immaculately and deeply meta, super funny at times and quite clearly one of the best Scream movies since 1996, I won’t regret giving this 5 Qs for a single second.
🔪Scream🔪Forever🔪
Scream VI is currently screening in most UK cinemas.
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The Quayside Review 