This week on Friday Night Frightfest, we’re slicing into the modern “requel” era of the most self-aware franchise in horror history. With Scream 7 currently on the horizon for 2026, we’re looking back at the two films that successfully passed the torch from the Woodsboro legacy to the “Core Four.” We’re comparing the 25th-anniversary homecoming of Scream (2022) with the big-city brutality of Scream VI (2023).

Scream (2022)
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (collectively known as Radio Silence), this fifth installment serves as a “requel”—a movie that functions as both a sequel and a soft reboot. Set 25 years after the original murders, a new Ghostface emerges in Woodsboro, targeting a group of teens with links to the town’s bloody past. The film introduces the Carpenter sisters, Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega), while bringing back the “Legacy Trio” (Sidney, Gale, and Dewey) to help them survive. It masterfully skewers the trend of “elevated horror” and toxic fandom, all while delivering some of the most emotional blows in the entire series.

Scream VI (2023)
Leaving Woodsboro behind for the first time in the main timeline, the survivors of the 2022 massacre move to New York City to start a fresh chapter at college. However, Ghostface follows them to the Big Apple. This entry ups the ante with more aggressive, ruthless chase sequences—including a nail-biting encounter in a bodega and a terrifying subway ride on Halloween night. With a shrine dedicated to every past Ghostface and the return of Scream 4 survivor Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), Scream VI is a fast-paced, urban slasher that challenges the rules of the franchise by proving that even the main characters are no longer safe.

Before you see the new Scream 7 this weekend, join u s for this episode as we discuss which film did a better job of balancing nostalgia with new blood? And who is the ultimate modern final girl?

Spoilers start around 5:45.