Scream VI is a 2023 American slasher film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

The film stars Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Roger L. Jackson, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Hayden Panettiere, and Courteney Cox, all reprising their roles from previous installments, with Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving joining the ensemble cast.

Neve Campbell did not reprise her role as Sidney Prescott due to a pay dispute, making this the only Scream film not to feature her.

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the fresh setting for the franchise, the increased violence, and the performances of the cast.

One year after the Woodsboro killings orchestrated by Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman,[a] Blackmore University professor Laura Crane is catfished and murdered by her student Jason Carvey wearing a Ghostface costume for giving him a bad grade on a paper.

Jason plots with his roommate Greg to kill sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter to finish the "movie" that Richie and Amber wanted to make.

Sam attends therapy with Dr. Christopher Stone and has become a public pariah because of an online conspiracy theory that she was the true mastermind of the recent killings.

Quinn's father, Detective Wayne Bailey, calls Sam in for questioning as her ID was found at the scene of Jason's murder, along with a Ghostface mask worn by Richie and Amber.

[d] Gale takes the group to an abandoned theater she found while investigating, which has been set up as a shrine to the Ghostface killers, featuring many items of evidence related to previous massacres now displayed like film props.

The Carpenter sisters ultimately gain the upper hand and fight them off, with Tara stabbing Ethan and Sam killing Quinn while briefly rendering Wayne unconscious.

As Kirby and the Meeks twins are taken to the hospital, Sam stares at her father's Ghostface mask before discarding it and following Tara and Danny into the city.

[12] In January 2022, Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, and Tyler Gillett expressed interest in making future films in the series.

Olpin and Gillett of Radio Silence would return to direct while James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick would write the script once again.

[20] In May 2022, it was announced that Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Jenna Ortega would all return for the sixth film.

[23] Also in June, it was announced that Dermot Mulroney had joined the cast, playing a police officer,[24] and Cox officially confirmed her involvement with the film.

The actress made a statement about how her contract and salary negotiations had stalled with Paramount Pictures: "As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream.

"[34] Jasmin Savoy Brown and Melissa Barrera – as well as former Scream co-stars Emma Roberts, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, and Jamie Kennedy – also expressed their support for Campbell's decision and praised her contributions to the series.

[45] Hayden Panettiere posed for a set photo on August 6, along with Jasmin Savoy Brown, that was picked up by various media outlets given her return to the franchise.

[53] American singer Demi Lovato released "Still Alive" on March 3, 2023, by Island Records as the lead single of the film's soundtrack.

[54][55] Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park released a solo song as part of the Scream VI soundtrack, "In My Head", on March 10, featuring Kailee Morgue.

[65][66] The marketing campaign also included the launch of a website that allowed American users to receive personalized phone calls from Ghostface,[67] Scream-themed meals in different Chain pop-up dinners and an immersive walk-through featuring props and reconstructed sets from the franchise in California;[68] the walk-throughs included appearances by directors and producers Radio Silence Productions, along with actors Mason Gooding, Dermot Mulroney and Tony Revolori.

[76] Chicago Sun-Times's Richard Roeper gave the film three out of four stars, writing "Nevertheless, off we go on another aggressively gruesome, wickedly funny and at times cleverly staged Scream-fest that cheerfully defies logic while hitting all the right notes we've come to expect from the franchise."

[86] Owen Gleiberman, writing for Variety, gave the film a positive review despite finding it "too long", noting that it "is a pretty good thriller [...] [and] a gory homicidal shell game that's clever in all the right ways, staged and shot more forcefully than the previous film, eager to take advantage of its more sprawling but enclosed cosmopolitan setting".

[88] Simon Thompson from The Playlist gave the film an A and described Panettiere as "the active ingredient here, the bolt from the blue, and she revels in the role, delivering a real treat for die-hard fans".

[89] Bleeding Cool writer Aedan Juvet described the sixth entry as a "perfect" genre film, praising Panettiere's return to the franchise.

[90] In a review rated four out of five stars, Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent called the film "bloody, satisfying and ridiculously fun" and similarly praised the performance of Panettiere, who "plays the role with a sly wit".

[91] Olly Richards, reviewing the film for Empire, gave it three out of five stars, opining that it was "still far more inventive and entertaining than most horror franchises of a similar vintage", yet "one of the sillier series entries in terms of plot, but still scary enough and funny enough to leave you hoping Ghostface might yet kill again".

[92] Jeffrey Anderson, writing for Common Sense Media, wrote "While this slasher sequel is bogged down by complicated lore and is far more brutal than it is actually scary, the strong characters and an effective mystery come together to make it a cut above.

"[93] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave it a mixed review, believing the film to be a satisfying addition to the franchise by blending nostalgia with a fresh take, but concluded that it was "not exactly cutting-edge anymore".

[101] Production had been slowed by the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes; plans were pushed back again on November 21, when Barrera was fired from the film for social media posts in support of Palestine during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war which were interpreted as antisemitic by producers.