Scream VI has successfully continued to carry the horror franchise’s reputation of being one of the most consistent of its kind; on the surface, perhaps that’s an easy task when you’re armed with one of the most serializable serial killers of all time, but factor in its rather ambitious insistence on leaning into meta commentary and satirizing the horror genre, and this achievement is more than worthy of a tip of the hat.
And on top of that, what may have once been considered a shaky aspect of the film is now, according to one thread on r/horror, quite possibly one of the best things that could have happened to the franchise in a purely in-universe sense.
For those of you not in the know, Scream VI is the first Scream film to not feature Neve Campbell or her perennial final girl Sidney Prescott. The actress reportedly wasn’t happy with the offer she was given for the film, and so declined to get involved with Scream VI.
And while the idea of such an important horror icon getting an insulting offer after all she’s done leaves us with an icky feeling in our stomachs, perhaps Gale Weathers was delivering an omen when she said that Sidney deserved her happy ending, especially if it gives the Carpenters and co. that much more room to breathe.
Still, there were a couple stragglers who just couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea of more Sidney-less Scream films. At the very least, one more appearance by Campbell could give her a more proper sendoff than a poor offer.
Others just went completely off the rails with the question.
At the end of the day, no one’s bigger than the team, and while Campbell will always be close to the hearts of horror fans for generations to come, the success of Scream VI points to a world where Ghostface goes beyond its original raison dêtre, and that’s a world we’ll happily welcome.
Scream VI is currently playing in theaters.
