When Drew Barrymore appeared on the big screen in 1996 in Scream, it started one of the most famous horror movie franchises. The opening scene of the 1996 Scream lives with fans as one of the franchise’s most memorable and iconic moments. Scream has had many movies over its running from the years 1996-2023. In total, there are six movies. All of them live up to the legacy that the name Scream holds.

In 2022, 11 years after Scream 4, a reboot of the same title as 1996’s Scream was released. The 2022 Scream was released under just ‘Scream’ without any number indicating a fifth edition, which made it seem that they were almost rebooting the series. This was the first Scream that Wes Cravens, the original director, didn’t work on due to his death in 2015. This movie starred Jenna Ortega. Some of the original cast members of the past Scream movies, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette, were part of this original cast starring in the new adaptation and were in the past four movies. In this movie, they passed down the torch to Jenna Ortega. She became the new Sidney Prescott of the Scream franchise. A big thing that hit the Scream audience was that Neve Campbell and Sidney Prescott would not be in Scream (2023). This was a big disappointment for fans, but in the movie, they gave her a well-deserved happy ending from the chaos of Ghostface.

As the slogan on the movie poster says, “New York, New Rules,” it shows that it is set in New York City. The movie opens with Scream’s signature opening. A woman is in a bar, on the phone with her date who is trying to find his way there. She goes outside to try to help him navigate his way to the bar. She is led into an alley, where she is soon murdered. This was a big plot twist that hit the audience right off the bat.

The opening scene of Scream VI, shows Tara Carpenter, who is now in college in New York City. Her sister, Sam, is living with her. She is still very paranoid about the events from the last movie they were in and has to find ways to protect her little sister and deal with the trauma she experienced. Sam just wants to move on and enjoy her college life. The killer soon finds them and chases them in settings such as the Subway, a Bodega, and the streets of New York City. The killer is revealed at the movie’s end, following the pattern of every other Scream movie in the franchise.

You are introduced to many other characters from 2021’s Scream and a reappearance from a character from Scream 4. Chad, Mindy, Richie, Billy Loomis, and Kirby return from the fourth movie as part of the FBI. In total, there were nine deaths in Scream VI. Not all of them were relevant, and some were looked over, but there were nine known deaths.

The final reveal of the killer(s) was unexpected and stomach-turning. This was a huge plot twist. The way they introduced the killer(s) and connected them through the previous movie was a great way of grasping the audience’s attention.

One of the best parts of this movie was that there was an abandoned theater that is a museum of all the past killer artifacts. This is where the movie ends, where the main fight between the killer(s) and the main characters go down. Having a tribute to all the past killers was a great way to end the Scream franchise.

I highly recommend this movie, especially for Scream fans. If you have never seen a Scream movie and are interested in the new one, I recommend watching at least 2021’s Scream before watching Scream VI.