Scream 6 Trailer Breakdown: There's A New Kind Of Ghostface Killer In Town

In New York City, nobody can hear you scream ... or, at least, that's the idea behind "Scream 6." We're certainly not in Woodsboro anymore, as the newest installment of the classic horror franchise takes the action from one coast to the other. As seen in the full-length trailer for the upcoming slasher sequel, the surviving young heroes from 2022's (somewhat unimaginatively-titled) "Scream" are back once again, seemingly at a safe enough remove from the horrific killings perpetrated by the murderer(s) last time out. Instead, their past appears to have come back to haunt them in very literal fashion, giving viewers the novelty of seeing the Ghostface costume out and about among the streets, bodegas, and subways of New York City as they hunt their next unfortunate victim.

As you'd expect with any franchise that's lasted this long, the footage comes loaded with all sorts of neat Easter eggs, references, and teases for what's to come. Though Wes Craven is sadly gone, his legacy remains alive and well through what looks like one of the most gnarly and brutal additions to the series yet. Regardless of new faces, returning ones, or blasts from the past, there's not a single person who feels safe here ... and that's exactly how the horror director who started it all would've liked it. Check out our intensive breakdown of the "Scream 6" footage below!

Here's a scenario that'll hit much too close to home for anyone who's ever lived in or even visited the Big Apple. It's a late weekday night and you're waiting patiently to check out of your local grocery store. Suddenly, two clearly terrified girls burst into the building and go right to the counter to scream unintelligible things at the store manager. Obviously, at your wit's end and with absolutely no patience left, you turn around with all the passive/aggressive attitude you can possibly muster and whine about how, "There's a line here, girls."

Honestly, how could anyone not be obsessed with this incredible line reading, which is far and away the highlight of the entire trailer? Yes, yes, the harrowing set piece that follows is important too, where Ghostface bursts into the store, stabs that poor goateed man right in the gut, and proceeds to hunt his prey (Melissa Barrera's Sam Carpenter and Jenna Ortega's sister Tara) with a shotgun in the claustrophobia-inducing aisles of a typical city convenience store. But the first rule of any movie set in New York City is as simple as this: get the local flavor right. So on that note, annoyed goatee guy is a very good sign that "Scream 6" directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are doing justice to all of the city's wonderful idiosyncrasies.

As entertaining as 2022's "Scream" was, a few detractors were never fully won over by the reveal that Sam Carpenter was Billy Loomis' (Skeet Ulrich) daughter. Admittedly, the twist made a certain amount of sense to keep the Ghostface killings in-family, as it were, and "Scream 6" appears to be following that thread to its logical conclusion. Here, we see Sam confessing that, "There's a darkness inside of me," no doubt referring to her blood-soaked family history and the specter of Ghostface that's now haunting her every step — no matter how far from home she goes. "It followed me here," she continues, as her narration is juxtaposed with images of an abandoned (and bloody) Ghostface mask and Ghostface making their way to the front door of someone's house. "And it's going to keep coming for us." Sounds like a predicament that would require some expert help, right? Well, funny you should say that...

There probably isn't a "Scream" fan out there who was happy to hear that Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott wouldn't be part of the action for the first time in franchise history in "Scream 6." While the behind-the-scenes reasons point towards a continued disappointing trend for women in film, the in-universe explanation would seem to be a little easier to justify. These new post-Craven movies are now about the younger generation of characters and continuing to shoehorn Sidney into the story might end up doing more harm than good.

But that's not to say that no previous franchise veterans ought to show up and impart their knowledge upon our new heroes, right? Cue one of the fan-favorite side characters to ever appear in the series: Hayden Panettiere's Kirby Reed. Introduced in the brilliant "Scream 4," Kirby quickly became a highlight of the film — though the last time we saw her, she was a bloody mess at the hands of that film's secret killer. Time has clearly done wonders, however, as Kirby indeed lives and is back to team up with Sam, Tara, a returning Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, and the rest of the cast. "We share a certain history," Kirby says in the understatement of the century. How and why does she willingly return to the world of Ghostface? We'll undoubtedly find out soon enough.

Well, that's one way to make this sequel stand apart from the rest. After a glimpse of Ghostface's famous question ("What's your favorite scary movie?") graffitied on some random alleyway, we get to the real centerpiece of the trailer. Led by Gale and Kirby, our new group of protagonists (including Jasmin Savoy Brown's Mindy and her brother Chad, played by Mason Gooding) stumble upon an alarming sight: a shrine created by some obsessive individual in honor of Ghostfaces of franchise past.

No less than nine robed mannequins are proudly on display at the front of the creepy room, which matches up perfectly with all the killers who've suited up throughout the previous five movies, but look closely and you can spy all sorts of fun little details. There's Billy Loomis' bloodied white undershirt, Stu Macher's (Matthew Lillard) red bathrobe, and Tatum Riley's (Rose McGowan) schoolgirl outfit, all from the original 1996 movie. That flannel shirt sure seems like it used to belong to Jill, the teen killer from "Scream 4" played by Emma Roberts. And you can even glimpse other deep cuts, like the fax machine from "Scream 3" and even that weird stage prop that poor Derek Feldman (Jerry O'Connell) was tied to in the climax of "Scream 2."

How did someone get their hands on all these items, which surely would've been in police custody all these years? Hmm...

What "Scream" movie would feel complete without that familiar phone call from an unknown number, that carefully modulated Ghostface voice taunting their victim, and a surprise attack from behind by the masked assailant (or, as is more often the case than not, assailants)? This time, Gale Weathers is the unfortunate individual on the other end of this phone call and even a handgun isn't enough to dispatch the threat of this particular killer, who boasts that, "There's never been one like me, Gale. I'm something different." In a franchise defined by the perpetually clumsy antics of whoever happens to be behind the villain's mask, "Scream 6" seems dead-set on throwing a curveball at audiences with perhaps the most proficient killer we've seen yet. Combine that with the new setting of this sequel and it truly feels like we're in for something brand new and game-changing this time around.

The preview ends with a frenzied montage of blink-and-miss-it details before arriving at the now-familiar sight of Ghostface hiding out incognito among other costume-wearing travelers (likely during Halloween) on the same New York subway car that our heroes are currently on. We see some sort of Ghostface-themed movie projector showing lots of creepy black-and-white images, Sam covered in blood and wielding a gun as she taunts her would-be killer, and a glimpse of new additions Tony Revolori, Samara Weaving (reuniting with her "Ready or Not" directors), and Henry Czerny. All of this then builds to the frightening subway set piece, which is already a scary enough setting on its own under the most normal of circumstances, much less with masked murderers on the prowl.

"Scream 6" definitely isn't messing around. We'll have to wait and see who escapes the carnage unscathed when the sequel comes to theaters on March 10, 2023.