What actually happens
A catfishing that goes wrong for everybody
A year after the Woodsboro killings, Jason Carvey puts on a Ghostface costume and murders his professor, Laura Crane, after luring her in with a fake online identity. Jason and his roommate Greg Bruckner plan to murder the Carpenter sisters, Sam and Tara, and complete the "movie" that Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman started. Then Jason gets a phone call from a different Ghostface, who has already killed Greg and now stabs Jason to death.
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Everybody moves to New York to escape
The Carpenter sisters now live in New York City. Tara goes to Blackmore University, where the other survivors are the twins Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin. Also around are Tara's roommate Quinn Bailey, Anika Kayoko (Mindy's girlfriend) and Ethan Landry (Chad's roommate). Sam sees a therapist named Dr. Christopher Stone. Online, a conspiracy theory says she was the real mastermind of the Woodsboro killings, so strangers treat her like a villain. Quinn's father, Detective Wayne Bailey, calls Sam in for questioning because her ID turned up where Jason died, next to the mask Richie and Amber wore. Ghostface then calls Sam from Richie's number, attacks Tara, and kills several bystanders in a bodega. Ghostface leaves behind another mask at the bodega, from the 2011 Woodsboro killings.
Masks left like souvenirs
At the police station, the Carpenter sisters meet Kirby Reed, an FBI agent who survived the 2011 killings, and the reporter Gale Weathers, who tells them Sidney Prescott has gone into hiding. Ghostface murders Dr. Stone, steals Sam's file, and leaves a mask from the Hollywood killings. Mindy's theory is that the killer is playing by franchise rules, and one of those rules is that any character can die. Sam's boyfriend Danny watches from his window as Ghostface stabs Quinn in the sisters' apartment, and then Ghostface attacks the group and kills Anika, leaving a mask from Windsor College. Gale takes everyone to an old theater she came across, now empty, which someone has turned into a shrine to the Ghostface killers, with evidence from previous massacres displayed like movie props. Ghostface then calls Gale at home, brings up the death of Dewey Riley, kills her boyfriend and goes after her, and Sam and Tara arrive just in time to save her. She goes to the hospital.
The theater, with company
The group plans to lure Ghostface to the theater, with Kirby joining them there. Mindy and Ethan get separated from the others, and Ghostface stabs Mindy on a train. Inside the theater, Sam imagines her biological father, Billy Loomis, and takes the knife he used in the original murders. Then she realizes the doors are locked, and two Ghostfaces appear and stab Chad. This is the scene people dread most, and it happens near the end. Wayne and Kirby come in with their guns out, and Wayne shoots Kirby, which shows he is a third Ghostface and the one running everything. His accomplices turn out to be Ethan and Quinn, who faked her death so nobody would suspect her.
The ending, explained
Wayne is Richie's father and Ethan and Quinn are his siblings, and they want revenge on Sam for killing Richie. They were also behind the online smear campaign against her. Tara stabs Ethan in the mouth, and Sam shoots Quinn in the head and knocks Wayne unconscious. Sam then puts on her father's Ghostface costume, calls Wayne on the phone to taunt him, and stabs him to death. Ethan comes back, but Kirby finishes him by bringing down on his head the television that killed Stu Macher. Sam agrees to give Tara more room, and Tara agrees to see a therapist. Kirby and the Meeks-Martin twins go to the hospital. Sam looks at her father's mask, throws it away, and follows Tara and Danny into the city.
The post-credits ruling
There is a short post-credits scene in which Mindy reuses her franchise rules speech to point out that a movie can do without a post-credits scene.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Scream VI scary?
Scream VI is a 5 out of 10. The dread is low, and the fear comes from a lot of jump scares and plenty of stabbing.
How does Scream VI end?
Sam and Tara beat Wayne Bailey, Ethan Landry and Quinn Bailey, with help from Kirby, who finishes off Ethan. Sam stabs Wayne to death, and the sisters survive.
Does the dog die in Scream VI?
No dog dies in Scream VI.
Is there a post-credits scene in Scream VI?
Yes, but it is short. Mindy reuses her franchise rules speech to point out that a movie can do without a post-credits scene.
Who is Ghostface in Scream VI?
The main killers are three people: Detective Wayne Bailey, who is Richie's father, and Ethan Landry and Quinn Bailey, who are Richie's siblings. Richie was one of the Woodsboro killers, and they want revenge on Sam for killing him.
