Ghostface is more terrifying than ever and on a rampage in the Big Apple in Scream VI. No one is safe and everyone is a suspect in the smash hit thriller from Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group that has earned more than $167 million worldwide, and the movie is now available on Digital platforms and Paramount+.
In the movie, the four survivors from the most recent Woodsboro Ghostface killings have moved to New York City for a fresh start. Just as they begin to feel a sense of normalcy, they receive that infamous call from a Ghostface who is more brutal and relentless than ever and will stop at nothing to hunt them down.
Last week, we caught up with one of the Cour Four, Jasmin Savoy Brown, to discuss her role in the iconic horror franchise. As the fast-talking Mindy, she's front and centre in many of the meta moments fans love so much, and gets one of her biggest moments to date in this instalment when her character comes face-to-mask with Ghostface on the subway.
During this spoilery conversation, the actress talks to us about everything from that to Mindy's epic monologue and where she'd like to see the Scream franchise go next. Savoy Brown also talks about the representation her character brings to the table and why she loves messing with her co-stars on set.
Finally, she looks back at playing the villainous Phin Mason/Tinkerer in the critically acclaimed PlayStation 5 launch title Spider-Man: Miles Morales!
You can check out our interview with the Scream VI star in the player below.
You get that fantastic monologue where Mindy reels off her theories and how the group needs to deal with what’s happening - what do you enjoy most about sinking your teeth into dialogue like that?
Oh my God, it’s so fun. I looked forward to that in this movie. There was one in 5, but I was like, ‘Please give me another one!’ It was my favourite day on set. It was the only thing we did all day and, both times, I said to the guys, ‘We’re going to be out of here really fast. I’m prepared and know how to give a monologue!’ It’s true as we were in and out and everyone was saying, ‘Thank you, we can actually go and have dinner!’ I feel like a big hero. It’s good for my ego is what I’m saying [Laughs].
When you look back at past horror leads, it must be fun to play a character who knows that splitting up is a dumb idea when a killer is on the loose.
[Laughs] Yeah, [it’s fun]. It’s an interesting take on the genre and I’m glad I get to be that person.
Mindy went through so much in the previous film, when you got the call to return, what about her place in the Core Four were you most excited to explore?
Oh, I mean, the first thing I was excited about was just to reconnect with my family. I love these people so much. I would do anything to spend time with them. Outside of work, we have multiple text chains and Mason and I are going to hang out this week; I’ve introduced him to my nephew who goes to UCLA and they’re getting close. I love them all. Something I was excited to delve into with Mindy in the second film…I was just excited to get to know her more and to get to see her in a new setting a little bit later in life in college. I asked, ‘Who is she going to be in her queerness? Who is she going to be in her Blackness and every piece of herself?’ It was fun to see her in a relationship and I would have liked to see a bit more of that selfishly, but seeing her with someone was really cute. Any chance I get to step into Mindy’s shoes is just great for me.
We have to talk about that scene in the subway, of course: what was it like being surrounded by all those Ghostfaces for what proves to be a very tense sequence in the film?
It was spooky, for sure! The Ghostfaces didn’t even scare me the most. What scared me the most was the tethered people from us. There was a group of them with the scissors and, ugh, it was so creepy. It was really fun to shoot that. Everyone on set and all of the background actors were really giving and sweet. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the bloopers, I haven’t yet, but I was doing some improv with the people next to me and that was fun. None of that made it into the movie, but it was a really fun day.
And to talk spoilers, things don’t go well for Mindy, so how did you feel about that and what was it like shooting those scenes when Ghostface attacks?
Well, it’s really exhausting to shoot because you’re, for hours, just getting stabbed and being in so much pain. Weirdly, a silent scream takes a lot of energy. More than anything, it was physically exhausting. There’s something about when Ghostface walks on set and when they yell action and he comes up to you in a scene…you don’t know that it’s fake! Your body doesn’t know the difference. It was so scary when he grabbed my face, but it was one of my favourite days to shoot. When I read it in the script, I said, ‘No, you didn’t!’ I was worried that was Mindy’s moment to go, but then I was just jealous I didn’t get to be in the third act! I wanted to play and hang out with everybody [Laughs].
Mindy does survive, so have you given any thought to where you’d like to take the character next? I know a lot of fans would like to see Sam become an anti-hero Ghostface…
That would be interesting and fun. I like the idea that these four really are family and really are just making it together. It would be interesting, but it would also make me sad if any of them turned and ended up being the killer. I would like to continue and see Mindy continue on her discovery of her queerness and figuring out who she is and her journey with her siblings. I really consider Sam and Tara her siblings now. I’d like to see more of who each of them become, either in the same environment later, or in a different environment. I’d be down for anything.
Your character has become so incredibly important to a lot of people as she is openly queer and rightly proud of it; what has that level of representation in an iconic horror franchise like this mean to you?
It’s such an honour. I really haven’t thought about it too much as I think it would overwhelm me a little bit and I’d feel all this pressure. I don’t want to feel pressure [Laughs]. I’m just grateful for the way fans have received Mindy and how they’ve received me. I’ve gotten so much love and kindness and support, and I’m really proud to make people proud. I hope there’s another one and I can continue to do that.
This story is set in New York, but if you could have taken the action to any of those familiar landmarks for a showdown with Ghostface, what would you have chosen?
I mean, running through Broadway would have been fun. Backstage at a show while there’s a show on. The Statue of Liberty would have been interesting, running down the stairs, perhaps [Laughs]. Maybe a big Central Park scene. A big old chase scene through Central Park would have been interesting, especially on Halloween. Those would be fun. I’m picturing Ghostface in a nunnery where everyone is wearing capes and it’s like, ‘Is it Ghostface or a nice old woman? I don’t know until they turn around!’
On another note, I loved your work as The Tinkerer in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. How do you look back at that journey and getting to play a Marvel supervillain?
I look back with fondness. I’m not a gamer, so I didn’t really understand the impact until now when people are still kind enough to say that they appreciated the game. I haven’t even seen it! I think they have all the cutscenes together online, right? I should watch them. It was so much fun and working with that crew was great. I wish I could do another one. It’s bringing me back. It was [fun].
In terms of protecting the secrets of a movie like this, do you encounter a lot of secrecy on set like not getting the whole script or do they trust you all at this point?
At this point, I’m trusted! With the fifth one, and my first one, we didn’t get the third act. Only the killers knew who they were. The rest of us had no idea and that was fun. This time around, the Core Four got the script all the way through, but not everybody else did. It’s nice to be on the inside now and to be trusted. We just have to keep ourselves from blabbering. I want to tell people, ‘God, the twist is so cool!’ I have to keep my mouth shut. The final twist really f***ed me up [Laughs].
You and Mason Gooding really get to continue that fun brother/sister dynamic in this film, but what about continuing that did you most enjoy?
We have a lot of fun. We both have a lot of ideas, so it’s fun to mess around on set. I really love f***ing with these guys. The dinner scene where it’s all of us having dinner around the table…I did so much improv just to get weird reactions out of everybody and loosen them up. It’s fun because in doing that, we always discover things and I especially love doing that with Mason because sometimes he’ll break character and be like, ‘What did you just so?’ I’m really proud of that!
Scream VI is now available on Digital platforms and Paramount+ and arrives on 4K Ultra HD SteelBook, on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on July 11!