I’m a diehard Scream fan and, yes, I can be very precious about my favorite film franchise. But, there’s no denying the fact that things need to evolve in order to justify the continuation of a series, and that’s exactly what directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and the rest of the team do with Scream VI.

The new movie takes place soon after the events of Scream 2022. After surviving Amber (Mikey Madison) and Richie’s (Jack Quaid) bloodbath, Sam (Melissa Barrera), Tara (Jenna Ortega), Chad (Mason Gooding), and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) opt to leave Woodsboro and build a new life in New York City. But, as we all well know, there’s no escaping Ghostface and, sure enough, the killer turns up in the Big Apple to derail the Core Four’s attempt to get a fresh start and move forward.

With Scream VI hitting theaters nationwide on Friday, March 10th, I got the chance to catch up with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett for a non-spoiler interview to tease what to expect from the new film. During our chat, I asked the duo for the fan response to Scream 5 that influenced Scream VI the most. Bettinelli-Olpin began, “I think us and [writers] Guy [Busick] and Jamie [Vanderbilt], we approach it as fans and like, what would we want to see? And so, in a way, it's a reaction to our own reaction, which is also a fan reaction.”

So what became their top priority for Scream VI after making/watching Scream 5 as fans first and foremost? Gillett replied, “To surprise ourselves.” He continued:

“I think it was such a surprise to have Scream come back, to be involved in it, and I think we just knew that for as warm and comforting and as homage-y as the last one was, we had to take a really hard left turn for the next one, just to keep ourselves interested, right? To keep ourselves engaged and surprised. That's always been the compass; what is thrilling and fun and exciting to us? And hopefully people love the same thing.

Having seen the film, I can confirm that compass pointed Gillett, Bettinelli-Olpin, and co. in the right direction. Scream VI certainly respects the pillars of the franchise, but the new installment has its own unique feel for a number of reasons, two big ones being the viciousness and sky-high emotion of the attack/kill sequences, and also the complexity that Barrera’s character brings to the world.

You can experience Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin’s “hard left turn” in Scream VI in theaters this weekend, and you can watch my full non-spoiler conversation with the directing duo in the video at the top of this article. You can also check out the non-spoiler half of my interview with Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding below: