Scream VI made a lot of money, and seemed to be a hit with fans and critics alike (it's "certified fresh" with 76% on Rotten Tomatoes). Even so, the latest instalment in the long-running horror franchise didn't work for everyone (me included).
Several aspects of the movie came in for criticism, but arguably the most lambasted moment came towards the end when Chad (Mason Gooding) was stabbed repeatedly by two Ghostfaces, before being shown to have survived what would undoubtedly have been a fatal attack.
Some suspension of disbelief is always going to be required for this kind of movie, of course, but at a certain point it just becomes completely ridiculous - and according to co-director James Vanderbilt and co-writer Tyler Gillett, the scene was originally going to be even more nonsensical.
“So we like to stab Chad. I feel like as a group we sort of need to own that,” Vanderbilt jokes during the movie's audio commentary (via Bloody Disgusting). “I just remember through the editing process people going, ‘He can’t live,’ to the point where we digitally removed stabs.”
“We VFX-ed a bunch of stabs,” interjects Gillett. “I think it was 14 stabs in the original, and now it’s down to like seven. Guy and I had discussions early whether or not he would survive that; not practically, but just narratively. I remember us talking about that at the end, like who comes back, who’s there. I love that we all agreed that this one should make you feel happy.”
The "Core Four" will return for another face-off with a new Ghostface at some point. Will Chad survive being choked out with his own entrails and decapitated in this one? Why not!
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. In Scream VI, Melissa Barrera ("Sam Carpenter"), Jasmin Savoy Brown ("Mindy Meeks-Martin"), Mason Gooding ("Chad Meeks-Martin"), Jenna Ortega ("Tara Carpenter"), Hayden Panettiere ("Kirby Reed"), and Courtney Cox ("Gale Weathers") return to their roles in the franchise alongside Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra and Samara Weaving.
Scream VI is now available to stream and on DVD and Blu-ray.