Can the Scream franchise survive without Neve Campbell? Yes and we will explain to you why. In this installment, the Carpenter sisters have left Woodsboro to settle in New York. But, Ghostface is back.
News Scream Queens
The last time we talked about Scream in Zapping Decrypted, we wondered if the franchise would be able to continue without the presence of its iconic Scream Queen or Final Girl. Let us realize: Neve Campbell has been associated with Sydney Prescott for 20 years. Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega replace her without difficulty. Not that we didn’t love Sydney Prescott, but the Carpenter sisters have something extra.
If we had to summarize the Final Girls or Scream Queens of horror films from the 80s to 2010, we would say that they all meet the same characteristics: nice, innocent, simple, wise young girls, without fuss, on whom the fate is ‘relentless. Fate or a monster or a serial killer.
If little Tara embodies innocence, this is already less the case for Sam who must deal with his past. Basically, it makes it very interesting and more realistic. One of the character traits that appeals the most is that she goes to meet the killer and is not afraid to confront him.
This is also the case for Tara. The latter tries to stay out of the story, but, realizing that she won’t succeed, she ends up going to confrontation. Overall, the characters are a little less binary — in every sense of the word — and we have to admit that we like that.
From victim to culprit
If I decided to talk to you about Scream VI – apart from my immoderate love for horror films – it is because of a passage which strangely resonates with current events. Sam picks Tara up from a student party. She has an altercation with a stranger in the street, who takes up a conspiracy theory, presenting her as the real assassin of the latest events in Woodsboro.
Later, she will discover that this conspiracy theory, widely circulated on social networks, was the fruit of the assassin, who has this phrase “today, we are not content with demolishing the body of a victim, we must also demolish his reputation.” We must remove any feeling of empathy and compassion with the victim, so that the public only remembers one thing: the victim was looking for it and good riddance. The focus is changed in order to isolate the victim socially.
We still see it in terms of gender-based and sexual violence, but recent events in the Middle East have shown that this is valid in armed conflicts. It had not been 24 hours since the deadliest attack that Israel had experienced since its creation that voices were already being raised to explain that the aggressor was in reality the attacked, who was only defending himself. . We also saw this rhetoric during Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine. However, this was less massive, less consensual.
The assassin, when revealing that he is the author of this conspiracy theory making Sam the real author of the Woodsboro massacre, gives a rather terrifying explanation as it is so simple: people are always ready to believe what There is worse in human beings. It gives them an excuse to be their filthy selves.
Less meta and more tasty
We know the credo of the Scream franchise: to be meta, that is to say, to insert different references to horror films well known to the general public, as so many winks to the fans. Is this a sign that it was time to capture a new generation? Scream VI is definitely less meta.
Without spoiling the plot, you will see that there are references to Scream and Stab, which are less marked than in the previous five parts. There is a common thread, which we had already more or less seen in reality, but which is different and quite well brought out.
If the generations are renewed, there is something appreciable in the horror film: the actresses have the right to age. In the franchise, we follow the evolution of Sydney and Gale as well as their physical change. Obviously, they remain beautiful and slim and I very strongly suspect Courteney Cox of having resorted to the scalpel. But, it remains quite natural. We also saw it with Halloween: Jamie Lee Curtis is no longer a 20-year-old debutant. We are shown a woman who has aged and that does not prevent her from remaining attractive.
The other advantage of the franchise is that it ages quite well. We can watch the first Scream again without thinking that it has aged badly. This may be due to the fact that the franchise does not overuse IT. It is present in small touches in almost all films, but, anecdotally, like a brushstroke on a canvas. From then on, we don’t say to ourselves “today, it’s not working”.
Fans can rest assured: Scream 7 is in preparation and has found its director. A priori, we will find Melissa Barrera and probably Jenna Ortega. We don’t have the screenwriter or the rest of the cast yet, but it’s on track. For the release date, you will have to be patient: due to the screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood, the film which was expected for the beginning of 2024, is delayed. This gives you time to rewatch the entire saga.
Scream VI is available on DVD.