Spoiler-Free Review of “Scream VI” in Theaters: New Sequel Takes a Killer Bite Out of the Big Apple

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

What’s your favorite scary movie?

Scream VI released in theaters on March 10th 2023. The sixth installment of my favorite franchise of all time brings us close to my home as Ghostface terrorizes New York City. The slasher horror film stars Melissa Barrera, Courtney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jenna Ortega, Samara Weaving and Hayden Panettiere.

The Carpenter sisters are trying to start over in New York City, but Ghostface begins targeting those closest to them in this new sequel to the requel.

Here is the trailer:

Scream VI brings us a solid entry to the franchise with inventive kills, fantastic twists, and a few chase scenes to die for. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Uses NYC in an effective way.

I was super excited that Scream was making its way to my state, but was slightly worried about how it would use this setting. Jason Takes Manhattan is one of my favorite slasher films, but Scream VI used NYC in a chilling and effective way, bringing us some edge-of-your-seat moments that were truly fantastic.

More please!

A cast to die for!

Sure, we were missing our star player, but this cast did such a wonderful job and I actually started to really care about these characters a lot more this time around.

Melissa Barrera was a SCREAM QUEEN and then some! Wow!

Our “legacy” characters really held their own as well and even stole the film at one point…

I don’t think I’ve cheered this much for a bunch of characters since Scream 2…and that had Queen SMG so that’s saying a lot!

The twists and reveals were also well-played and had me guessing! Loved them!

The Cons:

I don’t really have any…

This should come as no surprise since I adore this franchise, but after thinking about it, I really loved every aspect of this movie. There was enough nostalgia and Easter eggs to keep fans happy while still keeping things fresh and new.

So am I in or out?

I’m in 100 percent!

Already one of my favorite films of the franchise! Scream VI is bad-ass and beyond entertaining!

It’s safe to say I’ll be re-watching this one again and again!

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Scream VI in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

This competition is killer…

When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.

Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…

My young adult horror thriller is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Scream Hunt is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “Nine Perfect Strangers” on Hulu: Is Wellness truly worth it?

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“Wellness here I come!”

Nine Perfect Strangers is a new mini-series from David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Big Sky) based on the bestselling novel by Liane Moriarty. The show premiered on August 18th 2021, featuring three episodes available to stream now on Hulu (approximately 45-50 minutes in length). The remaining five episodes will air weekly. The show stars Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Samara Weaving, Luke Evans, Regina Hall, and Bobby Canavale.

Nine Perfect Strangers introduces us to nine people who have been invited to an exclusive wellness retreat with extreme measures. As they all come searching for “transformation” and a wellness of sorts, they quickly learn that they are signing up for a lot more with their eccentric guru, Masha (Kidman), who may be hiding a few secrets as well.

Here is the trailer:

Nine Perfect Strangers has an amazing cast and an interesting premise, but does it do enough to hold our attention? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

A cast to be excited about.

I’m always thrilled to see Nicole Kidman in pretty much anything, but wow this cast is truly fantastic. I am a huge fan of Samara Weaving and I love how she always immerses herself completely in whatever role comes her way. While I have mostly seen her in horror films, she has quite a bit of range and I almost didn’t recognize her at first because this character was so different.

Melissa McCarthy is so funny and while her films are usually hit or miss for me, I am finding her to be the best part of the show right now and she is helping balance out a lot of the heavy emotional parts.

The rest of the cast is very talented and I’m interested to explore each character more (including the staff at the Wellness retreat).

A plot that draws you in.

There is a lot left to be revealed here, but I already have so many questions and theories and that’s usually what happens whenever I watch a David E. Kelley show. There are a lot of secrets embedded within the walls of this wellness retreat and I want to know more about Nicole Kidman’s character and what her true motivation is.

The show is doing a good job at bringing me back for more and I’m excited to find out where it’s going to lead us.

The Cons:

Not my favorite role for Nicole Kidman.

Nicole Kidman is so talented, but I’m not really feeling this new role for her. Some of the other characters are a lot more interesting, but she does have a lot of mystery surrounding her own character.

I think my biggest issue is her Russian accent. I’m not really buying it and it’s throwing me off a little. I think her character is serving as more of a plot device right now, which is slightly disappointing but I’m hoping that we can explore some more layers soon.

Wavering in its identity.

After watching the first three episodes, I’m not really sure what this show wants to be. Is it an emotional drama? Is it a show about self-discovery? Is it a mystery? I’m not really sure and it’s starting to go off in many directions.

That being said, it’s still reeling me in enough with each episode to keep me coming back for more and I tend to always feel slightly unsure of David E. Kelley’s shows initially, but once all of the reveals begin to unravel, things get a lot more interesting.

I’m hoping that happens here too because I would hate to see this show get lost in the void especially since it has such an amazing cast.

So am I in or out?

I’m in about 75 percent…

I’m intrigued by this show and I think that it has a lot of potential. I’m already reading a lot of comparisons to The White Lotus (I still have to watch this) which makes the timing of this release seem slightly problematic.

That being said, I think that the cast is really wonderful and there is a great dynamic between all of the characters. There is a lot left to discover and I think the show has done enough to keep me invested. I’m confident that the reveals will be worth it, but I hope we start to learn more about the mystery behind everything in the next few episodes.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Nine Perfect Strangers in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

PLAY BY THE RULES…STAY ALIVE…

A harmless night of fun turns deadly for six college friends but the game has only just begun. Take a mystery thrill ride right from your own living room. Dash and Seek is out now! I hope you enjoy!

READ IF YOU DARE…

Dash and Seek is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “The Babysitter: Killer Queen” on Netflix: They’re Back

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“Join us and be the best version of yourself…”

The Babysitter: Killer Queen is the sequel to the brilliant horror comedy, The Babysitter, which starred Samara Weaving. The sequel was released on Netflix on September 10th 2020 and runs for an hour and forty-five minutes. It stars Judah Lewis, Emily Alyn Lind, Jenna Ortega, Bella Thorne, and Robbie Amell.

In the sequel, we catch up with Cole approximately two years after that fateful night when his babysitter and her demonic cult friends tried to have him sacrificed to the devil.

Here is the trailer:

The Babysitter: Killer Queen has a difficult job, as it is tasked with keeping up with the original film, which was just pure horror comedy fun. The sequel lacks the presence of Samara Weaving as its lead, which does give other supporting characters the chance to step into the spotlight. But does it measure up? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Our favorite characters return!

Well, we are missing one key character, but I have to say that it was a lot of fun to see our favorite demonic cult misfits return from the dead. Sonya is back with cookies, Allison explains the difference between “fuck-me pumps” and “fuck-you pumps,” John shows off his dance moves, and Max just wants to kill people and is actually really psyched to see Cole showing some improvements since he was last here.

The humor and chemistry between these characters is pure magic. More please!

Images courtesy of Netflix

Jenna Ortega steals the show.

If you’re like me, then you may be worried that the film is missing something without Samara Weaving, but luckily Jenna Ortega steps in perfectly as the character to root for. New girl, Phoebe, is bad-ass and then some. She really gave quite the performance and I have to say that I actually preferred her to Cole.

He could really learn a thing or two from her…and perhaps he will. I loved Jenna Ortega in You season 2 and I am looking forward to seeing her in Scream 5, but she definitely delivered in this film.

A satisfying ending.

There will be no spoilers in this review, but let’s just say that you will definitely want to stick around for the end. A lot is revealed and it actually helped turn the film around for me.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Too much set-up and way too long.

The first film ran for about 85 minutes, which was the perfect length. We got a little set-up in the beginning and then we were thrown into the heart of the movie rather quickly, which kept up the fun and pace. In the sequel, the movie really drags and is much too long. We get a lot of set-up about Cole’s life in the beginning which I could have personally done without.

Flashy over-the-top scenes.

Even though the kills were outrageous in the first film, they somehow felt more raw and believable. The kills and effects in this film were way over-the-top and just felt silly at times. The magic from the first film was absent in a lot of scenes, but there were some flickers of it here and there.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m about 50/50 on this one.

I absolutely adored the first film and I had high hopes for the sequel, but it felt like the same plot in a different setting for the majority of the movie. There wasn’t anything really original about the film, but it did have its charms. While not all of the humor landed, there were some parts that were genuinely funny and I loved the chemistry between the characters.

The ending helped make this film a lot more enjoyable, but not every film should get a sequel…

That being said, there are glimmers of fun and nostalgia in this film and I think that it is worthy of a watch if you are a fan of the first film.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Babysitter: Killer Queen in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

If you have time, I would love it if you would check out my book, Dash and Seek in the link below. Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

PLAY BY THE RULES…STAY ALIVE…

READ IF YOU DARE…

Dash and Seek is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!

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