It is not easy to thrill a modern cinephile. The accumulation of people’s movie magic moments is large and it’s never taken more effort to raise the heart rate. Scream VI attempts the difficult by over-saturating the screen with more of just about everything.
Minutes in and the first blonde is dispensed with in a most bloody fashion. Playing the first hand dealt is a red herring but this accelerated level of energy helps to grab the audience’s attention. As the story develops there is more than a slight reliance on knowing the broad strokes of the franchise.
The Munch masked marauder is portrayed as an even more relentless killer and this fills every scene with a strong sense of danger. And in traditional slasher film shortcomings, no one ever carries out the much needed double tap, so things constantly escalate.
Paying dividends for fans of the first five, Scream VI is a thrill ride that is packed with self-referential easter eggs and gratuitous murders. It’s also peppered with twists a plenty (some you’ll see from a mile away and some not). The final resolution is so over the top, it’s a perfect way to make a memorable chapter pause for the oversaturated horror fan.
Rob Hudson
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