There is no “Scream V,” but now we have “Scream VI.” In case you’ve lost track (or lost interest), the latest self-aware slasher flick is the sequel to a “re-quel,” last year’s modestly successful “Scream.” That entry helpfully included characters who, referring to the franchise-within-the-franchise “Stab” and its successors, in effect told the audience that it was a combination of reboot and sequel (cf. What was once cleverly self-referential now comes across as nostalgia for ’90s comfort food, like the fried ice cream at Chi-Chi’s. The 1996 franchise-starter, written by “Dawson’s Creek” creator Kevin Williamson , fondly mocked the slasher-movie clichés beloved by Gen X audiences who had grown up watching “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” on cable TV. Two generations later, however, Mr. Williamson’s meta-cinematic framing is everywhere and the tang of originality is long gone. “Scream VI” feels like a photocopy of a photocopy.

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