The first teaser trailer for Scream VI has arrived, giving audiences their first glimpse at Ghostface's next murder spree, which will take place against the backdrop of the Big Apple. When the original Scream hit theaters in 1996, it was praised for single-handedly revitalizing the slasher genre, skewering the tropes that had been beaten into the ground over the prior two decades while also offering an engaging (and bloody) whodunnit. With that in mind, it's only fitting that the latest entry would continue to remedy the shortcomings of the past, as Scream VI seems poised to deliver the epic New York-centric slasher film the Friday the 13th franchise couldn't.
Of course, Scream VI will not be the first sequel in a major slasher franchise to take place in New York City. 1989 saw the release of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, the final film in the Friday franchise to be distributed by Paramount Pictures before New Line Cinema took the reins in 1993. While one would be led to believe that Jason Takes Manhattan is set primarily in the City That Never Sleeps, the reality of the situation is that the film is notorious for not delivering on the promise of its subtitle. In turn, Scream VI has the potential to be everything Friday the 13th Part VIII should have been -- and so much more. After all, the filmmakers themselves certainly seem aware that comparisons are inevitable, given the Jason Voorhees Easter egg in Scream VI's teaser.
Jason Takes Manhattan Couldn't Deliver on Its Premise
Jason Takes Manhattan had quite possibly the most misleading advertising campaign in the history of horror. The Friday the 13th sequel's wonderfully subversive teaser trailer, eye-catching posters and even its title sold audiences on the idea of a film about series antagonist Jason Voorhees wreaking havoc in New York and laying waste to its denizens. As critics at the time pointed out, there was also great potential for satire by juxtaposing Jason's somewhat campy brand of horror with some of the all-too-real issues that plagued New York in the 1980s.
All of that was far from the case, unfortunately. In the end, Friday the 13th Part VIII's title and marketing campaign wrote checks the movie itself literally could not cash. The film's lean budget of $5 million made it impossible to shoot a lot of it in New York. As such, only a small fraction of Jason Takes Manhattan actually takes place in Manhattan. The vast majority of the film revolves around Jason terrorizing a group of teenagers on a boat bound from Crystal Lake to New York, with some scenes set in New York itself tacked on at the end.
Apart from some fleeting moments of morbid hilarity, Jason Takes Manhattan is about as run-of-the-mill as a Friday the 13th movie can be. That's not inherently a bad thing, but considering how the film was marketed, fans were likely expecting something very different. At the end of the day, Jason Takes Manhattan may not be the worst film in the Friday the 13th franchise, but it's almost certainly the most disappointing.
Scream VI Can Make New York Scary Again
Scream VI, meanwhile, looks like it will actually be able to make the most of its New York setting. Scream VI's synopsis indicates that it will take place in the Big Apple from the off. Moreover, judging by the film's teaser trailer and poster, it won't lean into the glitz and glamour of the city -- as Jason Takes Manhattan tried to do with its marketing -- but rather the uncaring nature of the concrete jungle. Ghostface stalking his targets through a crowded subway car full of other costumed individuals who are none the wiser is a haunting visual that feels like it's moving the franchise forward while staying true to its roots by hearkening back to Scream 2's iconic opening scene. On that note, the Scream franchise has already proven its ability to adapt to a metropolitan setting, given the Hollywood-set Scream 3.
It also seems safe to say that Scream VI is in good hands. With 2022's Scream (henceforth referred to as Scream 5), writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick proved to be worthy successors to Kevin Williamson -- and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett more than proved to be worthy successors to the late, great Wes Craven. On top of that, Scream VI features the return of stars Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, all of whom were an absolute treat in Scream 5. Finally, the film's budget really shouldn't hold back its premise. While Scream VI's budget hasn't been publicly revealed yet, its predecessor's budget was already twice that of Jason Takes Manhattan when adjusted for inflation. Given Scream 5's success, it only stands to reason that the studio would give the filmmakers even more money to play with this time around.
Simply put, all signs point towards Scream VI not only continuing its own franchise's unbroken streak of good movies (yes, Scream 3 is good) but also showing the Friday the 13th franchise how it's done in terms of making a New York-set slasher film. It's a bit ironic, considering the fact that Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives -- arguably the best film in the Friday franchise -- helped to inspire Scream in the first place. But seeing as how Scream VI is being distributed by Paramount, it seems things have come full circle, and the studio can finally fulfill its promise of a slasher villain taking New York by storm (even if it's not the one they thought it'd be).