After landing in theaters on March 10, the latest installment of Wes Craven’s Scream movie franchise is now on streaming. We gave Scream VI a full 2 hours of our time to tell you where you can watch it and — perhaps more importantly — if it’s worth your time.
Spoiler Alert:
Before you read further, we assume you’ve seen all or most Screams 1 through 5. If you haven’t, just be warned that there are some (major) spoilers regarding the earlier movies. But don’t worry, there are NOT any major spoilers about Scream VI.
Do you need to watch Scream 5 before watching Scream VI?
You don’t absolutely need to watch Scream (as the 5th movie is officially titled) before watching Scream VI, because you could probably still enjoy it enough as a slasher. However, we strongly recommend watching it, because there are a lot of callbacks to it throughout the movie. (So much so, that you’ll have a fairly good idea about what happened in “Scream 5” just from watching “Scream 6”.)
Another reason to watch it first is that the movie’s main characters (and their backstories) are introduced in the previous film. And one of the franchise’s regular characters is also killed off.
Who is in Scream VI?
Three characters appeared in all of the first 5 films: Sidney, Gale, and Dewey. They were like the Holy Trinity of Ghostface Slayers. However, only one of them returns for Scream VI.
Neve Campbell chose not to reprise her role, making this the first Scream movie without Sidney Prescott. But we figure she’ll be back one day — maybe for Scream X. Dewey, due to his heroism and an unfortunately timed text message, was mortally unable to return.
Therefore, Courtney Cox became the only person to appear on-screen in all six Scream movies. (Roger L. Jackson has voiced Ghostface in all six films.)
Also returning, are the “Core 4” characters from the last movie — sisters Sam and Tara and twins Chad and Mindy. A couple of others return as well, but if you haven’t seen the movie poster, we won’t spoil the surprise.
Other notable actors include Dermot Mulroney, Josh Segarra, and Henry Czerny. And in a stroke of genius casting, there’s also Samara Weaving, who starred as the titular character in the horror black comedy The Babysitter and its sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen. We’ll give you one guess as to her role in the latest Scream movie.
Is Scream VI worth watching?
Paying homage to its roots while updating to reflect the current zeitgeist (as all Screams do), the movie starts with a pretty blonde answering the phone. But instead of a babysitter in a kitchen, she’s a college prof in a bar — trying to connect with her Tinder date. And anyone who’s seen a Scream movie knows where this hookup is heading.
After an opening scene that adds some new twists, we discover that similar to Scream 2, our heroines have moved away to college. And this time they’re in NYC, à la Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan — but this movie’s actually good.
There’s still the film buff who explains sequels and prequels and requels, laying out the rules of the “franchise”, where films are only made to boost an IP and even the main characters are expendable.
No one is safe. Legacy characters? Cannon fodder at this point. Usually brought back only to be killed off in some cheap bid for nostalgia.
It just needs to be bigger, badder, and the opposite of last time. And that certainly comes true here. The gore factor is definitely cranked up a notch, so if Scream 3 is your favorite in the franchise, this may not be for you. It’s not Hostel, but it’s a bloody far cry from Scary Movie.
So, should you watch it?
If you enjoyed Scream “5”, the answer is undoubtedly yes. If you like slashers in general, the answer is also yes. And if you’re even asking this question, the answer is most likely still yes.
Where to stream Scream VI
For now, you can only stream Scream VI on Paramount+.
It is not available to rent yet, but you can buy it for around $20 at the usual places: Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Redbox, Vudu, and more.
Where to watch all Scream movies online
Scream (1996)
Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson essentially revived the horror movie genre in 1996 with Scream. It openly mocked the genre’s clichés, but embraced them just as hard, injecting life into a tired and dying genre that had become a straight-to-video boneyard.
After hauling in $173 million at the box office on a $15 million budget, the movie has since found a place on many Best of lists, including Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments and Empire’s 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.
You can stream the original Scream on:
- DirectTV STREAM
- STARZ
It’s also available for rent for around $4 on plenty of platforms, like Apple TV, Amazon, Redbox, Vudu, and more.
Scream 2 (1997)
Sidney, Gale, and Dewey were back just a year later! And the first Stab movie is already in theaters. Also back — of course — is the next iteration of Ghostface, who follows Sidney to college in Ohio.
Faced with production problems and plot leaks, Scream 2 still did nearly as well at the box office, taking in just $680k less than the first one. It’s the highest-rated sequel in the series on Rotten Tomatoes, and many consider it the best film in the franchise.
The impressive cast is like a Who’s Who? of the 90s, with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Heather Graham, Joshua Jackson, Omar Epps, Tori Spelling, and Rebecca Gayheart. Liev Schreiber also returns, along with Timothy Olyphant and Jada Pinkett Smith, a quarter-century before The Slap Heard Around the World.
You can stream Scream 2 on:
- Paramount+
- Hoopla (with ads)
- Pluto TV (with ads)
It’s also available for rent for around $3 to $4 on platforms like the Microsoft Store, Apple TV, Amazon, Redbox, Vudu, and more.
Scream 3 (2000)
Three years after the events of the previous film, Scream 3 has Sidney living far away from Woodsboro, hoping to never see Ghostface again. But of course, she gets called back into action. As do Gale and Dewy. But this time they’re in Hollywood, where they’re filming Stab 3, the latest installment of the meta film series that’s a constant throughout the real-life franchise.
Hot on the heels of the Columbine Massacre, this installment leans more heavily on comedic elements than violence and horror, an approach that Scream VI definitely does not take. This makes Scream 3, in our opinion, the weakest film in the series.
You can stream Scream 3 on:
- Paramount+
- Hoopla (with ads)
- Pluto TV (with ads)
It’s also available for rent for around $3 to $4 on platforms like the Microsoft Store, Apple TV, Amazon, Redbox, Vudu, and more.
Scream 4 (2011)
Officially stylized as SCRE4M, the 4th in the series was better than the previous film, but it still felt like the cow was running out of milk. The 3 mainstay characters — Sidney, Gale, and Dewey — are back, and it’s the 15th anniversary of the Woodsboro murders.
On tour to promote her self-help book, Sidney swings through Woodsboro for a reunion with old friends. And there’s no way Ghostface is going to miss it!
You can stream Scream 4 on:
- DirectTV STREAM
- STARZ
It’s also available for rent for around $4 on plenty of platforms, like Apple TV, Amazon, Redbox, Vudu, and more.
Scream (2022)
With another 11-year gap between Scream movies, the 5th installment indicated it was rebooting the franchise by titling itself simply Scream. However, it wasn’t a complete scorched-earth reboot as Sidney, Gale, and Dewey were all present and accounted for. But it did introduce new, younger heroines for Sidney to pass the torch to.
You can stream Scream exclusively on:
- Paramount+
It’s also available for rent for around $3 to $4 on platforms like the Microsoft Store, Apple TV, Amazon, Flix Fling, Redbox, Vudu, and more.
Scream VI (2023)
We’ve already given the rundown on what Scream VI is about and where you can stream it, but we’re adding it here for those of you who prefer to jump to the end.
You can stream Scream VI exclusively on:
- Paramount+
It is not available to rent yet, but you can buy it for around $20 at the usual places: Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Redbox, Vudu, and more.
