The latest in the slasher franchise Scream will be unveiled in movie theatres on March 10 and the references to other horror movies look set to be plentiful.
Scream VI promises to deliver just as many eerie, heart-stopping moments as the survivors from Woodsboro leave for New York where they come face to face with a new killer.
The first in the horror franchise starred Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette and featured in-jokes and references to other horror films, but it looks as if Scream VI will also pay homage to its predecessors, according to the trailer.
It’s been 27 years since Neve appeared as Sidney Prescott in the original movie which had plenty of gory and chilling scenes for horror fanatics and which led the way in suspense, keeping audiences entertained from start to finish. Scream set the Ghostface phenomenon in motion, becoming a popular Halloween costume for the masses. The tense trailer, which is only one minute long, is set on the packed New York subway where the characters are dressed for what looks like Halloween festivities. There is a nod to the humanoid Babadook from the Australian film of the same name. The notorious Pinhead from Hellraiser makes a gruesome appearance alongside werewolves, Jason from Friday The 13th and the terrifying Kayako from The Grudge.
The original much-lauded movie is peppered with self-awareness and nods to other horror movies. Tatum Riley namedrops a director called Wes Carpenter which is an amalgamation of the legendary John Carpenter and the late Wes Craven.
In the killer’s trivia game, he poses two questions in relation to the killers in Halloween from 1979 and Friday The 13th which was a hit in 1980. This is one of several references to the franchise. And just as Laurie Strode screamed for her parents in Halloween II from 1981, Casey also yelled for her mom and dad, but they didn’t hear her. When Casey’s parents return home, her father tells her mother to go down to the Mackenzies’ home, which is a line from Halloween. The Halloween references don’t stop there as the original flick from 1978 is the movie of choice at Stuart’s party.
Fans on Reddit and TikTok have praised the Scream VI trailer for its ghostliness, and they are keen to spot their favourite horror characters from movies past. The compact official teaser which is spine-chilling, terrifying and tense offers a few clues without spoiling too much. With Scream VI moving from a small-town setting to the bright lights of New York, the slasher stakes are high, the cat and mouse games are more dangerous and there are endless possibilities for the storyline to play out.
