Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a quiet life for herself in Pine Grove, running a coffee shop and raising three children with her husband, police chief Mark Evans (Joel McHale). With the two youngest staying with Mark’s parents, it’s teenage Tatum (Isabel May)—named for Sidney’s late friend—who takes centre stage. Timid and struggling to live in the shadow of her fierce mother’s legacy, Tatum’s sincere attempts to understand Sidney are met with deflection, putting a strain on their relationship. Sidney is overprotective, believing that shielding her daughter from the truth will keep her safe. But her worst fears are realised when a new Ghostface returns and begins targeting Tatum and her friends.
We barely get a chance to know Tatum’s boyfriend, Ben (Sam Rechner), or her friends, Hannah (Mckenna Grace), Chloe (Celeste O’Connor), and Lucas (Asa Germann), before Ghostface has his fun with them. Of the group, Lucas is arguably the most defined as a weird kid who is obsessed with the Woodsboro murders. He also happens to live next door to Sidney with his mother, Jessica (Anna Camp), though she isn’t very well fleshed out either. It’s refreshing, then, when twins Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) burst onto the scene, interning for Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) who is trying to rebrand herself as a crime reporter. Although the twins are somewhat underutilised, they are already established and are some of the strongest characters in the previous films. The cold open was also so well done that a stronger connection is felt with Michelle Randolph’s Madison than any of Tatum’s inner circle.
Kevin Williamson, who was the original Scream writer, returns to pen this new instalment with Guy Busick, though their good ideas are lacking in execution. Williamson does a fine job as the film’s director, though this might displease those who aren’t a fan of his 1999 film Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Scream 7 includes some of the most brutal and creative kills in the entire franchise, not shying away from blood and guys. Scream—and the horror genre in general—is known for its evolving commentary on advancing technology, so it makes sense that Scream 7 would tackle AI. The way it’s used makes complete sense, but its effectiveness is questionable because it’s mostly used for fan service during its shallow critique of AI, while taking Sidney and Gale on a wild goose chase. At the same time, its inclusion is tricky because, quite frankly, it’s just boring.
The film dives into themes of parasocial obsession, particularly in the way people feel a sense of ownership and entitlement over public figures, thus seeing them as entertainment. The killer pushes Sidney back into her final girl role against her will. Sidney still wanting to control her story and refusing to let anyone else tell it has been a strong theme throughout the entire franchise and still remains a strength here. There are plenty of callbacks to the previous films, but not all feel organic. The same can be said for certain character decisions which feel stupid, such as Sidney understandably having a panic room, but then not staying in it for even a full minute. There’s a handful of idiotic scenes that work to serve a greater purpose, but the journey there feels overly contrived. The killer reveal was also underdeveloped despite intriguing motives.
It’s impossible not to acknowledge that Scream 7 was meant to be a continuation of Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega) Carpenter’s characters, but it was scrapped when Barrera’s contract wasn’t renewed following her online support of Palestine. After Campbell wasn’t in Scream 6 (because she wanted a higher salary), another film focusing on her felt boring after the explosive new cast and story we had just gotten to love, but all of Scream 7‘s strengths actually point to Sidney. This is aided all the more as Campbell delivers one of her strongest performances. We get to see Sidney confront her legacy through her relationship with her teenage daughter, in addition to how her inability to trust others causes tension with those around her.
Scream 7 manages to feel stale after the electric previous entries, which expertly introduced and balanced its old and new cast members alongside a fascinating story—aspects that are shaky here. Williamson told Variety he’s got “a lot of ideas” for Scream 8, so let’s hope he spends more time ironing them out and isn’t hindered by major concept rewrites like this script was following a change of cast and director (Christopher Landon was previously attached). While Scream 7 still offers plenty of fun, it’s hard to feel like it isn’t providing meta-commentary on how much legacy sequels can suck when you’re this far in. Scream 7 actually isn’t too bad of a film overall, and will probably grow on fans over the years, but it’s possibly the weakest in the franchise.
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