Now, “Deep Red” was a 1975 giallo, which is a horror subgenre that’s a close cousin of the North American slasher. You get killer POV, brutal kills, and usually a mystery to solve. Who is the murderer and how can he be stopped? Sometimes there is a supernatural element, but usually, they don’t go too crazy in that area, preferring to stick with normal people as their killers. Argento has been known to get pretty wild with these movies with some witch stuff and even misshapen human assassins, but overall, they’re usually not unkillable bogeymen or zombie slayers in hockey masks.
Now that “Scream VI” has been around for a while, let’s talk about why Ortega’s suggestion of “Deep Red” as a good double feature title for “Scream VI” is spot on. Spoilers ahead for both movies, naturally, so proceed at your own risk if you haven’t seen either.
First of all, there are two killers in “Deep Red” and they are a mother and a son. The mother is doing most of the killing and the son was so traumatized as a child that he has been in and out of psych wards ever since. But he’s in it too, and once you watch “Scream VI” you know this is a family affair too, just a little twisted. He is a father and his children this time.
That could simply be a nod to “Scream II” since this is the sequel to the new round of “Scream” movies and it probably is, but that doesn’t make Argento’s twisted, twisted giallo any less fitting than the second. . part of a double bill.
The only thing missing from “Scream VI” is a super creepy mechanical doll, but maybe there’s room for that in the inevitable “Scream VII.”