After a tumultuous pre-production saw a revolving door of directors coming and going and Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega exit the franchise after having steadily built on their characters since their introduction in 2022’s legacy sequel Scream, the future of the seventh installment hung in the balance, leaving fans wondering what would happen now that so many changes had happened with the people involved both in front of and behind the camera.
As it turned out, Scream 7 would build its hype on having Neve Campbell return for a more extensive reprise of her role as ultimate final girl Sidney, ruminations of how Matthew Lillard may return and in what capacity, and the idea that the seventh film would serve as a fitting sendoff to the franchise now that the obligatory legacy trilogy threshold was reached.
In addition to Campbell’s return, the other trump card seemed to be having Kevin Williamson back to not only write, but also direct.
But there is a reason why Williamson only has one other directing credit to his name, namely 1999 flop Teaching Mrs. Tingle, as he is a decidedly better writer than director.
More Scooby-Doo than Scream, the seventh installment in the franchise superficially glosses over the formula that ensured the original quartet of Wes Craven-helmed films at least have a distinct through line, stiffly going through the motions as it becomes a caricature of itself in a manner that is more mindless than meta.
Courteney Cox’ Gale feels sidelined and is predominantly utilized to tell a lackluster story of Sidney being haunted by her past once more, offering no substantial character development of either of the franchise’s original characters, and twins Mindy (JAsmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) feel woefully tacked on in a deeply lazy attempt to keep the latest installment tied in with its 2022 and 2023 predecessors, when in reality Scream 7 is regrettably nothing more than an underwhelming salvage maneuver after the production company ruined any chance of an even remotely meaningful conclusion to this new trilogy that no one had asked for in the first place.
In addition to not using its legacy characters in a satisfying manner, the filmmakers rely heavily on the audience’s existing fondness for Sidney, Gale and the Meeks-Martin twins to keep audiences engaged, relegating the new Scream 7 characters to the pitfalls of unengaging stock characters with no discernible personalities, resulting in the seventh film becoming exactly the kind of unimaginative dreck the franchise originally poked fun at in previous installments.
The kills also leave a lot to be desired thanks to an over-stylized approach, making them feel oddly sterile compared to the visceral nature of many of the kills previously seen in the franchise, a quality that was achieved by the fact that a kill was usually underpinned by the audience caring for the characters and being engaged by the narrative, something Scream 7 is sorely lacking.
Craven created some of the most celebrated horror films of the 20th century, and the filmmaker is deservedly fondly remembered as one of the true masters of horror, and what made his films stalwarts of the genre was his unique mind that conjured up interesting ideas and characters that you want to spend time with, even when they made your skin crawl.
Scream 7 captures none of the wit Craven’s original idea was imbued with, instead making a bland impression where every character and archetype is but a sad husk of what once was, giving the latest and, supposedly, final installment in the franchise the distinct flair of a hastily thrown together cash grab.
As fans will be well aware, the franchise within the franchise is called Stab, and Scream 7 comes full circle in the least flattering way possible by removing itself from what made Scream great, instead becoming the ultimate low point by unironically being more like another dull Stab sequel that cynically exploits something decidedly more complex in order to churn out the wrong kind of cheap schlock.
Verdict: 4 out of 10.
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Produced by William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein
Screenplay by Kevin Williamson, Guy Busick
Story by James Vanderbilt, Guy Busick
Based on Characters Created by Kevin Williamson
Directed by Kevin Williamson
Starring Neve Campbell, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding,
Anna Camp, David Arquette, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace,
Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons,
Matthew Lillard, Joel McHale, and Courteney Cox
