I'm a fan of metaphorical comparisons, so let's launch this one: I think Radio Silence (directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett) wants SCREAM VI to be the franchise's THE LAST JEDI, when it's really THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.
Characters are brought back for little reason other than their actor is free. The franchise's legacy is discussed to such an arduous extent that the characters literally talk about themselves as part of a franchise. These aren't characters; they're mouthpieces for Redditer theories and YouTube thinkpieces. What small arcs are originally crafted are mostly abandoned in service of repeating plot beats from previous movies or jabbering on about the "rules" of not only horror movies, but every movie?
There's so much navel-gazing that it may as well devolve into the black hole bagel in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, a grand vision ultimately leading to nothing. The reason SCREAM works is because its whodunnit is crafted with the rules of mysteries, giallo thrillers and slasher movies in mind. SCREAM works, arguably better, without characters explaining the rules to you. It's just a damn good horror flick.
And much like THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, SCREAM VI seems to think the reason people like these movies is because they've watched the same movie before. Friends, I disliked this year's THE OUTWATERS, but at least I can say I've NEVER seen anything like that before. When we're getting movies like INFINITY POOL & BARBARIAN, WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR & TERRIFIER 2, how can the '90s slasher formula still be considered the horror rule book? Unfortunately, I think the SCREAM franchise is simply just content with recycled ideas and approaches.
But please, stop having your characters pretend these movies are anything different than throwbacks. It'd at least be honest.
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Closing Song: "You Have Stolen My Heart" - Brian Fallon
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