Scream’s Melissa Barrera Teases The Sixth Movie’s Gore

Melissa Barrera in Scream
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

The horror genre has been thriving for a number of years now, resulting in massive box office numbers and some of the best horror movies returning to theaters. The fifth Scream movie was no exception in this regard, with Paramount quickly ordering a new sequel. Scream 6 will follow the two sets of surviving siblings as they move to New York City, including Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter. She recently teased the upcoming sequel’s gore, and sign me up.

The fifth Scream movie introduced fans to a slew of new Woodsboro characters, and also featured the return of the beloved trio of heroes: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox. But Scream 6 is only expected to feature the latter actor, and instead give even more focus to the new cast. Melissa Barrera recently spoke to Collider about the highly anticipated slasher, and explained just how bloody Ghostface’s next rampage will be. She explained how the directors amped up the gore, saying:

There was a saying on set because Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett] were always asking for more blood and more sweat. They always just wanted more. ‘More blood spritz’ was the saying because they would just always want more. With the last Scream, they were tip-toeing and trying to be very respectful of what the franchise had been, up until that point, and keeping their inner gory dreams at bay. But with this one, they were like, ‘We're going all out.’ It's potentially a hundred times gorier.

I mean, how awesome is that? While the fifth Scream movie featured a few kills early in the movie, the real conflict happened at the party at Stu Macher's house. It sounds like things are going to get way more bloody this time around, as the cast attempts to move on from Woodsboro in NYC. And it sounds like the gore was amped up because of the directors feeling more comfortable working within Wes Craven's beloved franchise. 

Melissa Barrera's comments to Collider about Scream 6 specifically reference the directors behind the camera for the last two installments of the movie. That's none other than filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who had previously made a splash in the horror genre with their acclaimed dark slasher Ready or Not. Their take on horror and comedy perfectly suited the Scream franchise, and it sounds like they're swinging hard for the mysterious sixth installment. 

The pressure is on for Scream 6, which will mark the first installment of the franchise without Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott. She dropped out of the project due to a pay dispute, with Melissa Barrera and other actors putting their support behind the actress. And with David Arquette's Dewey killed off in the fifth movie, that means Courteney Cox will be the sole OG in the new movie. Although it will also feature the return of Scream 4's Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed.

The next Scream movie is currently expected to arrive in theaters on March 10th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your trips to the theater in the New Year. We'll just have to wait and see how many sequels come from the slasher property.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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