By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
If you’re a fan of slasher films, you likely love Scream, the 1996 Wes Craven classic that crystallized decades of tropes into a self-aware modern masterpiece. The success of that film reinvented the slasher genre in a big way and paved the way for a series of good (though not always great) sequels. Case in point: Scream VI disappointed some fans when it came out, but rewatching it on Netflix is a great way to discover how smart this neo-slasher really is.
Scream VI On Netflix
If you’re watching Scream VI for the first time on Netflix, here’s what you need to know: the surviving Carpenter sisters from the previous movies are trying to start a new life for themselves in New York City. Unfortunately, the terrors of Woodsboro continue to haunt them, and a new Ghostface (or is that more than one?) is now stalking the city that never sleeps. The gals get help from friends new and old, but all these players may just mean a higher body count for the most resourceful Ghostface any of them have ever faced.
Scream VI has a much better cast than most slashers on Netflix, including returning Carpenter sisters Melissa Barrera (best known to horror fans for the 2022 Scream and Abigail) and Jenna Ortega (best known as the star of Netflix’s Addams Family spinoff Wednesday). Other cast include Jasmin Savoy Brown (best known for Yellowjackets) and Mason Gooding (best known for Love, Victor). We also get returning Scream franchise veteran alumni, including series mainstay Courtney Cox and surprise returnees Skeet Ulrich and Hayden Panettiere.
Before Scream VI landed on Netflix, it slashed its way through theaters, earning $169.1 million at the box office against a budget of about $34 million. This was enough of a profit to warrant a sequel, though Melissa Barrera was dropped from the franchise due to social media posts and Jenna Ortega dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with the next season of Wednesday. That means the next film will be missing the franchise’s new big stars, though Neve Campbell will (for better or for worse) be back to reprise her role as the franchise’s original lead.
Initially, Scream VI rubbed some old-school fans the wrong way, though it has found a wider audience on Netflix. Despite some haters, it still impressed the critics enough to earn a 77 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In general, critics noted that certain aspects of the familiar franchise were getting a bit stale but that this film’s new setting and ambitious set pieces offered a much-needed change of pace.
So, given that some fans think that Scream VI is the weakest link in the franchise, why do I think you should stream it on Netflix? First of all, Scream is the cold pizza of horror franchises. That is, even when it’s bad, it’s better than most other things you could consume.
Additionally, Scream VI really has experienced a resurgence since it came to Netflix and other streaming services. For example, on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a 91 percent audience rating, proving that fans love the film much more than critics. In general, these fans praised the movie for its combo of killer characters and creepy kills, all great reasons to check this one out for yourself.
Finally, Scream VI is exactly what fans always say they want from a sequel to a long-running franchise: something old and something new. We have a new setting and new villains mixed with old-school slasher sensibilities and returning characters. It’s a neo-slasher without the pretentiousness that usually comes with that label, and it’s easily a cut above the rest of the bloody box office competition.
Will you find Scream VI as bloody entertaining as I did when you watch (or rewatch) it on Netflix, or is this one film that will never be described as your favorite scary movie? You won’t know until you watch it for yourself. Do it now and you’ll be perfectly prepared for where the upcoming sequel takes horror’s smartest franchise.
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