There’s a moment in the uncommonly good slasher sequel Scream VI when Hayden Panettiere’s returning fan favourite character says she died for four minutes after being stabbed in 2011’s fourth instalment. That film, now viewed as a rather under-appreciated entry, killed the franchise for far longer, positioned as the start of a new trilogy but instead stopping the series for over a decade, its wounding box office proving far harder to heal.
But easy access to the series via streaming and an increased appetite for the horror genre led to a hyped resurrection and last year’s simply titled Scream became a surprise hit, re-engaging the OG 90s kids while also inspiring a legion of new bloodthirsty fans. As a legacy sequel it was only half-successful, juggling the old and the new with shaky hands, but it was good enough in a landscape where that’s more than enough, and cautious intrigue awaited wherever the franchise might go next.
