Scream VI 4K UHD Review

Core Four Up Top

It was eleven years between Scream 3 and Scream 4. Then another eleven until Scream (2022). Those wait times made sense – it gave time for the horror genre to adjust to Scream’s often potent meta-based self-awareness and to prey on the various changes that keep the slasher film in motion. Scream VI, only a year removed from its predecessor, just didn’t have the time.

Scream VI tries. A lot, actually, and it’s stuffed with details that allow for a unique, well considered approach to a sequel. There’s a move to New York, a change in location that unfortunately means little. Scream VI never feels like a “New York movie,” and that’s superfluous set dressing for the formula. In one of the meta humor gags, a character watched Jason Takes Manhattan, a Friday the 13th sequel set in NYC that also did little with the locale.

Scream VI never feels like a “New York movie”

Neve Campbell chose not to return for the first time in the series, publicly asking for better wages in what now seems like a preemptive shot for the current writer/actor strike. With her absence, Scream VI makes the lasting trauma of her character spread across multiple people, all suffering the same anxiety, paranoia, and fear as they debate the likely killer.

If there’s any significant alteration to the formula, that’s Scream VI’s investment in the idea of true crime sucking the life from genre filmmaking. Documentaries, podcasts, and books take the brutality usually reserved for the screen, but reveal as much in reality. The sensory value is different, but this works in Scream VI’s favor, imagining that cultural shift and bizarre intrigue people feel toward murder from the viewpoint of victims.

Previous Scream movies used the mask to terrify the heroes, but Scream VI is different for how many share this identical bond. For Sam and Tara (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, respectively), it’s the internet fueling conspiracies about their involvement, with internet sleuths working under assumptions already planted in their minds.

Scream VI then comes down to the killer’s identity, the franchise’s norm, but that reveal lacks wit, and if anything seems forced. The grating performances and overlong speech lacks the nuance typical of this series. That goes for most of Scream VI, signaling a hope that either it’s time for the genre to refresh before trying again or this is the send-off.

Video

Vibrant (yet darkened) source material helps keep Scream VI intense and visually appealing. Splashes of color invigorate flesh tones and the city environment, with a softened warmth over much of the palette. That’s satisfying.

A digital source, Scream VI looks sharp, precise, and consistent. A mild grain filter doesn’t hamper the encode at all. Detail thrives, the texture excellent whether the camera is in close or farther away. New York’s countless landmarks all show spectacular resolution.

Stunning shadows and black levels back almost every frame in Scream VI. It’s dense, powerful, and weighted, then stellar in contrast too. Those city lights on streets or from aerial views pop generously.

Audio

Atmos services Scream VI well, pushing to enliven the city atmosphere through ambiance. Sirens and horns can be heard even when indoors, while at parties/bars, the music stretches to fill every speaker. It’s full, and every channel sees use. Attack scenes prep themselves with aural foreplay, with sounds jumping from a rear to keep characters and viewers appropriately unnerved. Thunder roars in the heights as storms pass the scene.

Music also contributes to the low-end, adding a slight rumble and range. A few shotgun blasts hit decently, but there are better offerings with deeper bite.

Extras

Paramount goes UHD-only for this release, so all bonuses reside on the 4K disc. That includes seven featurettes, generally generic and focused on individual scenes. There’s also a commentary track, and that includes co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett joined by co-writer Guy Busick, executive producer Chad Villella, and producer James Vanderbilt

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 38 full resolution uncompressed 4K screen shots grabbed directly from the UHD: