It isn’t easy topping past attack and kill scenes in the Scream franchise, but that’s what directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett set out to do in a certain respect.

Scream VI sees the “Core Four,” Sam (Melissa Barrera), Tara (Jenna Ortega), Chad (Mason Gooding), and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy-Brown), in New York City instead of Woodsboro. As all Scream fans know, a new movie means new rules, but the Scream VI rules get an especially big twist courtesy of that big city location.

The Scream VI production notes put a heavy emphasis on the filmmakers’ goal of adding some action to the franchise and upping the intensity of the set pieces in the process. At one point, Barrera even says, “We were terrified shooting this because it’s more violent and feels more intense than last time. The writers definitely took it to another level.”
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Image via Paramount

But what exactly does taking it to another level mean? What specific past kills and attack scenes were Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett trying to top? I asked them just that during our non-spoiler interview in celebration of Scream VI’s March 10th release.

Bettinelli-Olpin jumped in to pinpoint one of Scream 2’s most unforgettable moments; “I feel like the Gale/Dewey sound booth, pizza, that whole shebang.” It’s a pretty extensive set piece that begins with Gale (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette) encountering Ghostface in a Windsor College lecture hall. Ghostface chases Gale through the halls until she locks herself in a room. She soon discovers the window in that room is soundproof because Dewey, and Ghostface, are on the other side in a recording studio. It’s a complex set piece that makes the most of its location and unique blend of action, tension, horror, and heartbreak.

Another Scream 2 scene with a wildly intense build? It’s the scene Gillett went for when answering the question:

“The police car, climbing over Ghostface. The stacking of obstacles one on top of another on top of another was, I think, the thing that we’ve always really thought defined the sequences in the Scream franchise, and New York was just a perfect — there’s so many ingredients to play with here.”

Image via Paramount

While I expected the duo to go for the more violent scenes of the franchise, perhaps the Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) opening in the original movie or even Olivia’s (Marielle Jaffe) death in Scream 4, they emphasized their appreciation for complex set pieces that become unforgettable via location and how one can build an extensive attack scene using it. Yes, there is some extreme violence and brutality in Scream VI, but the influence of moments like the police car and sound booth attacks are also very apparent and serve these new set pieces quite well.

You can catch it all for yourself when Scream VI hits theaters nationwide on March 10th! In the meantime, you can catch my full non-spoiler conversation with Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin at the top of this article and the non-spoiler half of my interview with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega below: