Scream VI (2023)

After last years ‘requel’ (eleven years after the franchise’s last instalment) had provided a pretty reasonable critical response, a sequel was inevitable. Seeing this as part of a double bill with last years’ installment promised a huge amount of fun, and indeed there are things to like about the 2022 fifth installment. Sadly, Scream VI is absolute rubbish. Bringing a new generation into the franchise was inevitable, but what makes Part V work to an extent is the return of old faces, bringing characters that you care about back to the forefront. Scream VI focuses on the new generation as they all head to college together, and, yawn there’s another ghost face killer on the loose. The problem is that you don’t care about any of the new characters whatsoever, a couple of which that are especially insufferable. As they once again try to deconstruct the horror genre you realise how much this has now run its course, even the appearance of Courtney Cox fails to muster any sort of enthusiasm for the viewer. You can’t see how another installment can possibly be any good, but sadly you know that there almost certainly will be one. 3.4/10