By Yaniera Rodriguez
“Scream VI” follows the Carpenter sisters and their friends from the suburbs of Woodsboro to New York. In this latest installment, Tara Carpenter, played by Jenna Ortega, Sam Carpenter, played by Melissa Barrera, Mindy Meeks-Martin, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown and Chad Meeks-Martin, played by Mason Gooding, find themselves facing a new Ghostface in New York. They are joined by Scream veteran and survivor Gale Weathers played by Courtney Cox, as well as Kirby Reed played by Hayden Panettiere.
After surviving the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors begin a new chapter in the highly popular horror franchise. The Carpenter sisters cannot seem to escape their terrible past, no matter how far they move. Living in a big city gives the younger of the Carpenter sisters, Tara, a sense of a new beginning, while Sam worries that Tara has not dealt with the trauma they endured.
Slasher films are a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people. Slasher films are known to follow a specific formula and set of rules. “Scream VI” acknowledges these sets of rules throughout the franchise. The characters try to break down what kind of film they are in as an attempt to predict what will happen next. “Scream VI” has makes nods of its films in every chapter and while adapting the rules to acknowledge the changing times. In this latest installment, the rules have changed. No one, not even legacy characters, are safe and everyone is a suspect. Using their knowledge of all the past Ghostfaces, the survivors attempt to outsmart this latest copycat killer. Murder is no longer enough, Ghostface wants to destroy reputations.
“Scream VI” is a satisfying continuation to the story of the Ghostface murders. Fans of the franchise can rest assured that the film does not sway too far from what makes the films so popular. Although the film does not bring back the film’s original final girl , Sydney Prescot, the film does a good job at capitalizing on that fact and allows a reinvention of a sort. “Scream VI” does not fall short on brutality and gruesomeness, something that devoted fans expect from the franchise.
This latest installment has officially evolves into its own version through a whole new set of characters, but continues nodding to the original. The franchise always leaves the story open for more and fans can always expect a new Ghostface from Woodsboro.