Split ‘Scream VI’ early reactions warn that it’s scary, though not as much as living in New York City

On Friday, Scream VI will be out in theaters for people to watch. It is coming shortly after the last Scream film brought the franchise back to prominence, and while horror franchises usually get worse with time, it appears this is not yet a Halloween Ends situation.

Over at The Hollywood Reporter, writer Frank Scheck says while the series is not exactly cutting-edge anymore, there are some shining moments to still be had in the latest installment, like the gleam on a newly-purchased knife. Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers and her faceoff with the latest Ghostface, as seen in the trailers, is apparently really cool, and an additional moment fans have caught some glimpses of also stands out — though the movie’s conclusion apparently left Scheck feeling more could have been done with it.

“The film includes several elaborate set pieces, the best of which is a lengthy sequence in a crowded subway car filled with Halloween-celebrating riders wearing not only Ghostface masks but also ones from numerous other horror film franchises. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett ratchet up the suspense in the scene expertly, even if the results are ultimately less terrifying than simply riding the 6 train at rush hour.”

At IGN, Amelia Emberwing gives the release in the blood-soaked house Wes Craven built a nine out of 10. For her, the structure of the piece plays out nicely, as it allows new characters to do their thing, while legacy characters are not there to upstage (something Emberwing also says other franchises have not figured out). She allows that previous Scream tropes get ignored in order for fans to get to know these characters better, but that some bits — like the absence of Neve Campbell’s Sidney — are not explained as well as they could be.

“That said absence is explained in a throwaway line that’s about as well delivered as it was written. Writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick nail it when it comes to everything else in this new chapter, but that particular explanation was handled about as well as Neve’s contract negotiations.”

Of the reviews floating around, most are praise-filled or right on the line, but at Entertainment Weekly, Joshua Rothkopf lets fly with a high level of fire. He says the new production can barely pay the rent, becomes blandly excessive later in its runtime and, ultimately, that the movies do not ever go as deep as we think and in the end, no one loves them as much as the cast and crew do.

“The Scream idea, meta to its core, was always a preening celebration of its own cleverness, never mind the occasional half-explored nods to toxic fandom or cancel culture. When the final showdown goes down, in a museum filled with artifacts from the other films, you’ll realize that such a hall of mirrors will never be built. No one loves these movies quite that much — not as much as the movies love themselves.”

Scream VI currently has an 80 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this story’s filing. This is based on 51 reviews.