“Scream” is iconic for being a tongue-in-cheek horror classic that is simultaneously nail-biting and hilariously self-aware. The original trilogy has grown on a massive scale to become a meta franchise that has spanned 27 years of gritty entertainment. Trailers for “Scream 6” claimed that this time around, Ghostface was going to be the most violent he’s ever been. After seeing the movie, we can vouch for this fact. There is no holding back from the absolute bloodbath that is taking over New York. A greater setting, greater action, and more nail-biting suspense firmly plant “Scream” as one of the best requels in the world of horror. From who Ghostface is to why Sam may be an antihero, let’s get into “Scream 6”.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Scream 6’?
Unlike typical “Scream” fashion, our opening sequence moves from a home to a crowded restaurant. Already we’re upset that the new character and “Ready or Not” star Samara Weaving as Laura will be the first kill. Laura is waiting on a date who is late because he can’t find his way to the restaurant that he himself picked. Through chat, he asks if he can call her, and she agrees. Shockingly, when she picks up, we don’t hear Ghostface but a normal person. We find out that she is a professor of film studies who specializes in 2000s slashers (woman, you need to run). The date requests Laura to step out and confirm the color of the restaurant because, conveniently, it has no name.
Although anyone would be able to spot it, considering all the ‘decorative’ skulls all over it, Laura steps out and confirms that her initial guess of red is right. Through conversation, he gets her to an alleyway near the restaurant, and in a spine-chilling sequence, his voice transitions to Ghostface’s as he brutally stabs her a dozen times, only to reveal his face! Jason, our new Ghostface, wants to finish Richie’s movie from “Scream” 2022 with his friend Greg. They’re both Laura’s students. Jason reaches home unhinged and gets a phone call from his roommate Greg, who is supposed to be home. Greg is using Jason’s “voice,” and a picture is painted of Jason and Greg’s plans. Jason only wanted to “practice,” so he killed their professor. Greg suggests they play a game of ‘hot or cold’ so Jason can find him in the house. Something eerie is going on in the scene; it doesn’t seem like Greg is joking anymore, and then Jason is ‘burning’ when he touches the fridge door. He opens it, and there lies his now-decapitated friend Greg. Oh, Jason, you always need to look behind you because there is Ghostface hacking him up before he knows it. There you have it, folks—three kills in the first 15 minutes of the movie. It can only get worse (or better?) from here.
A little bit about Sam: she’s going to therapy because of everything that’s happened to her, but her big turmoil is that she felt good when she put a blade through Richie’s head; it just felt right to her, you know? She’s sleeping with the ‘cute boy’ across the street that nobody knows about, but everyone can guess—new member number 1. Then we have Sam and Tara’s roommate Quinn and Chad’s roommate Ethan, new members 2 and 3. Finally, we have Annika, who is Mindy’s girlfriend (new member 4). Just like in “Scream 2,” the kids are in college. Quinn’s dad is with the NYPD, and she mentions a brother who died in a car accident. Chad and Tara obviously have the hots for each other, but Tara has been busy trying to live a ‘normal’ life, steering away from all things Woodsboro and Ghostface. Sam and Tara are in a bit of a rut because Tara doesn’t want to face the trauma, and Sam won’t let go of the past. Additionally, there is a conspiracy theory that says Sam is actually the mastermind behind all the killings because she is Billy Loomis’ daughter. People are throwing cans of cherry coke at her in the streets of New York, and she is enraged and sour about it.
After finding out about Jason and Greg’s deaths, Sam decides it’s time to leave New York. Tara is not happy about this at all because she wants to be in college and enjoy a regular life, get a good job, and go to frat parties. Their plan is interrupted when Quinn’s father (the detective) calls Sam over to the station as a suspect because, along with a mask that belonged to Richie, according to DNA reports, Sam’s ID was found at the crime scene (hmm, curious). On their way to the police station, Sam and Tara are terrorized by Ghostface, who even follows them into a convenience store, stabbing innocent people with no qualms and even stealing a gun from the store owner. Sam and Tara escape narrowly when the police arrive. In the middle of their questioning, the FBI arrives, and it is none other than agent Kirby Reed (round of applause, everybody).
The poor, fearful psychiatrist dies so the killer can steal Sam’s files, and then we get the three rules of the sequence of a requel. Of course, it is Mindy who explains it all. Rule number 1: Everything is bigger. Rule number 2: Subvert expectations; nothing is going to repeat itself. Expect the unexpected, and rule number 3: everyone is expendable. Anybody is a suspect, and anybody can be added to the body count. Things escalate quickly from here: Sam becomes the prime suspect in the murders, and the killer leaves behind masks from previous killers in reverse order. Quinn and Annika are killed in the next brutal, bone-chilling cat-and-mouse sequence. Gale, who was punched previously by Tara for writing a story about everything that happened last time, returns with a truce and offers any help she can give. The detective has now lost his daughter, so he will do anything to catch the killer. Gale has found the killer’s lair, which is a shrine to all the Ghostface killings. It has drawings and weapons and all things imaginable that relate to Ghostface. This is where the old masks were coming from that were being placed at all the crime scenes. Gale is almost brutally murdered, but she manages to barely stay alive, and that is the last straw for Sam. She decides it is time to sacrifice herself because that is the only thing that will save them all from Ghostface.
‘Scream 6’ Ending Explained – Does The Core Four Survive Ghostface?
Of course, nobody agrees with this plan, but they decide it is time to trap Ghostface and get him once and for all. They are told to take public transportation by the detective. They decide to go by the NY subway on Halloween day, so there are a lot of Ghostface masks across the subway (appreciate the ready or not callback). Mindy and Ethan (Mindy’s prime suspect) are unable to get onto the first train. Mindy gets stabbed but is rescued by the paramedics at the station, while the rest head to the killer’s lair. Kirby makes the plan and secures the doors of the killer’s lair, where Sam would lure in Ghostface. Danny gets left behind because he’s not from “Woodsboro.” Now it’s Chad, Kirby, Tara, and Sam inside, but only Kirby has a weapon considering she’s the only one with a badge. Sam doesn’t like the idea and grabs her father’s blade as she begins to see his hallucinations again.
Kirby disappears, and Sam gets a call from the detective telling her that Kirby is not in the FBI anymore because she became obsessed with the Ghostface killings and became mentally unstable. Sam realizes that Kirby is the killer and rushes to get Tara. Chad and Tara get lovey-dovey because they think they’re safe, and as they’re kissing, their dreams are shattered by Ghostface stabbing Tara in the shoulder blade. Chad tries to fight off Ghostface, and Sam arrives just in time to save them. It is revealed that there are two Ghostface killers, and they brutally stab away at Chad as Tara and Sam watch on in horror. Finally, it is Sam and Tara who are trapped between the two Ghostface killers with bricks for weapons. But before any of them can do anything, Kirby appears with a gun. One of them had knocked her out before. The detective, Quinn’s dad arrives, too (we’re not sure how he opened the two doors, but we’ll let it pass) and asks Kirby to step away from the girls. Kirby begins to speak suspiciously about the detective before Ghostface comes running toward him. A shot is heard, and it is Kirby on the floor.
The Big Reveal
The big monologue that nobody is looking forward to is here. It was the detective and his two children, Ethan and Quinn, the whole time. Quinn’s death was faked to throw the group off of the detective and her scent, and well, Ethan was pretty obviously a suspect. The three of them were Richie’s family. Richie, whom Sam killed. Detective Kirsch and his children wanted revenge for Richie’s death. They wanted to show the whole world Sam’s “true colors.” Now that the rest are done, they want Sam to wear Billy’s mask so that they can frame her as the killer that she really is. It was Quinn who started the rumor about Sam being the real killer. Quinn lunges at the girls, Tara smashes her face with the brick, and Quinn spits out many of her teeth. Kirby manages to wake up and shoot at the detective before he can do anything to Sam and Tara, but Ethan manages to stab her in the same place she was stabbed by Charlie Walker. They start to run and find an escape.
The only way out is the first floor, and as they make a run for it, Tara slips off the railing. Ethan is waiting for her to fall as Sam holds on to her, and Quinn has reached the first floor from the other side to get Sam. Tara asks Sam to let go of her, gesturing to the knife at her belt. Sam does what she says. She quickly hands over the knife to her and drops her. Tara poetically shoves the knife down Ethan’s throat, telling him to ‘die a virgin’ (oo! that one cut deep) as Sam shoots Quinn in the head. The detective has now lost all his children and stands in front of Sam. Sam runs out of bullets and lunges at the detective, throwing them both off the railing and onto the ground. When he comes to, Sam is nowhere to be seen. He gets a call then from Sam’s phone, but it is Ghostface’s voice on the other end. Sam appears wearing her father’s mask and cloak, brutally stabbing him all over the body, but before she can land the final blow, Tara appears.
Sam stops herself and claims she’s better than her ‘murderer’ father, but Tara tilts her head amusingly, suggesting she finish the deed, and Sam jabs the knife right into his eye, killing him instantly. Sam and Tara sit at the stage bonding when, in typical “Scream” fashion, Ethan returns from the dead only to have his skull crushed under a TV (Stu, we remember you) by Kirby, who again is standing straight after being stabbed and shot. Danny brings in the cops, and everything looks good for the Carpenter sisters. After they arrive outside, Tara breaks down thinking of Chad, but he, too, has survived and is brought out by the paramedics. The film ends with Sam looking down at her father’s mask, struggling to separate herself from the darkness within her.
Post-Credit Scene – What To Expect In ‘Scream 7’?
The post-credit scene in “Scream” fashion is a dig at movie makers (we know which superhero franchise this is about) for using post-credit scenes as marketing gimmicks. Of course, it had to be Mindy who said the words. “Scream 7” could take a darker turn with the way things are going with Sam. She could become the next Ghostface, an antihero who struggles to let go of her past. Maybe, like the deception of the opening scene of this film, we could see things from Ghostface’s perspective this time around. Possibilities are endless, and so we look forward to yet another “Scream” film.
