Scream VI

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ www.firstshowing.net/2023/review-radio-silences-horror-sequel-scream-vi-is-satisfying-enough/ "Scream VI is satisfying enough as another sequel. The new location and sets bring much-needed freshness to the franchise. The killings have never been this visually violent and gory, pushing the entertainment levels of a pretty fast-paced story. Melissa Barrera proves that she's capable of leading a film of this scale, but Jenna Ortega plays in a league of her own. Unfortunately, the third act is everything that it shouldn't be: predictable, forced, underwhelming, and incapable of bringing together all its meta commentary – lacking development, or a plot. One too many inconsistencies, even for a saga known for not taking itself seriously." Rating: B-

Geronimo1967

Mar 23, 2023

7/10

Now I did approach this with some trepidation. I positively hated the puerile outing for "Ghostface" from last year. Still, it could hardly be much worse - and, as it happens, is actually really rather better. The plot still reminds me of something from an edition of "Scooby Do". The slasher manages to penetrate tight security; be in half a dozen places at one time; have access to secret phone numbers etc...; whilst those impaled appear to have a remarkable resilience for survival and recovery after an onslaught that would have felled an elephant. That's not the point, though. Unlike so many of the genre, this is actually quite scary and works well as a bit of a self-parody. If you've watched the others in the franchise, you will know how the dynamic plays out - and this is just an extension of that. The story doesn't really matter - it's the way in which the directors manage to imbue the whole thing with an entertaining degree of menace and paranoia, a few quite effective jump moments and by using a cast of relative non-entities (and by only using the wooden as a draining-board Courteney Cox sparingly), they manage to create a film that is actually a bit frightening at times. There are plenty of new characters for us to suspect including love interest Josh Segarra ("Danny") - who reminded me of Christian Bale, and the rather hapless Jack Champion's ("Ethan") before an ending that was, admittedly, quite ridiculous! This is not a film that will engage your brain on any level, but as piece of well constructed entertainment with some frequently quite witty dialogue and an eye watering encounter between a boy and a taser - it's well worth catching up with.