The Scream franchise was very successfully revived last year, in the confusingly titled Scream, rather than Scream 5, neatly incorporating the old and a new cast.
The star of that instalment, Melissa Barrera, returns as Sam Carpenter who has now moved to New York with her sister Tara (Jenny Ortega) as well as twins Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks (Jasmin Savoy Brown). Courteney Cox also reprises her role as Gale Weathers, making her the only character to have appeared in all 6 movies after Dewey Riley was killed in part 5 and Neve Campbell declined the chance to appear as Sidney Prescott.
Sam and her friends think they have escaped the horrors in Woodsboro. But a new ghost-face killer makes an appearance in the city. The police, headed by Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) suspect Sam of the new murders so she has to clear her name and solve the case herself.
I am struggling to think of a film franchise that has kept the quality so high throughout six instalments. The new setting gives the series a lease of life and the knowing script by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, referencing other horror films as well as previous entries in this series, still feels fresh. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett deliver some good gory set pieces, including another excellent opening.
Barrera is a terrific lead and it is good to see one of the stars of the underrated Scream 4, Hayden Panettiere return as Kirby Reed, now an FBI agent. The only real criticism I have the identity of the killers is a little obvious but that did not diminish my enjoyment.
And going back to another film series that has maintained its excellence through its first six entries. I can only think of James Bond, and even that had the comparative dip of Thunderball during that time.
Rating: 8 out of 10