While trying to escape a masked killer on the streets of New York City might seem intriguing, “Scream 6” has too much in common with the  other five movie plots of the “Scream” franchise. With a new setting and some new characters, the movie was not a complete disappointment, but it did not fully live up to the hype. 

Released in theaters March 10, “Scream 6” continues with the same characters from the previous movie: Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and their group of friends. While life seems normal for them again following their move to New York City, their past comes back to haunt them in the form of another masked serial killer, Ghostface.  

While the majority of original “Scream” movies take place in the small town of Woodsboro, a change was needed after five similar small town killers. The solution: get Ghostface to take on the streets of the city that never sleeps. While the change of scenery was good, the environment was not as prominent as it could have been. Notable places like Times Square could have been used to progress the plot in a new and exciting way, but most of the time it seemed like they were still in a small town, such as the college Tara and her friends went to. Instead of using places like Columbia or NYU, Tara went to a fictional Blackmore University, which did not contribute much to the plot. 

However, one thing directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett kept the same was the iconic first death scene where the fact that Ghostface is back is revealed. A movie is not a “Scream” movie without that one character who is randomly killed without any real motive, and for “Scream 6,” the first death made viewers wonder if this Ghostface is wildly different from the others. Within the first few minutes of the movie, viewers are left wondering ‘could this person be Ghostface?’ and ‘what could their motive possibly be?’ 

Many characters of “Scream 6” will leave viewers on the fence between hating some and loving others. With Tara’s friends Chad, Mindy Mindy-Meeks (Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Gale, you cannot help but hate them. Their characters never change, they just use different wording.

Unlike all of Tara’s friends, characters like Kirby Reeds (Hayden Panettiere), who we thought was dead after “Scream 4,” are not as tiresome. Viewers get to find out more about Kirby and now know what actually happened to her after her encounter with Ghostface in 2011. And with all her blunt remarks to Gale, the audience can not help but love her. 

This movie has a lot of  issues, but it is still worth a watch. But to answer the  franchise’s infamous movie quote: “What is your favorite scary movie?” — sadly, not this one. “Scream 6” does not quite live up to the original “Scream” movie, but it is better than some of its predecessors, but anything is better than “Scream 4.” Although it might not be worth spending the money in theaters, it is still a good at-home watch for fans of scary movies.