I didn’t love last year’s Scream requel. Therefore, I was skeptical of Scream VI, to say the least. As a longtime fan of the franchise, I anticipated an experience that would be fine given my nostalgia-fueled fondness for the first four (I liked the third one, sue me). Fortunately, I was proven woefully wrong. Because I tend to agree with everything Jezebel’s own Rich Juzwiak thinks, I’ll briefly paraphrase his review: “It’s one of the franchise’s best—as funny as it is scary as it is inventive.”
This time, Ghostface and the gang are in the Big Apple, which really works if only because I can’t think of a more terrifying venue than one that hosts a housing crisis, rat infestation, and startlingly inept mayor. The opening sequence, IMO, was one of the best in the franchise. The cast—most notably breakouts Jenna Ortega and Jasmin Savoy Brown—will never be the original, but they’re getting good in their own right. And seeing Hayden Panettiere on the big screen again? Well, it was a very welcomed homecoming. Go ahead, take a stab. —Audra Heinrichs