So, we come to “Scream 7.” For those mega fans of the genre, the seventh instalment of this ever-loved franchise has been highly anticipated. “Scream V” and “Scream VI” were both met with relatively high praise. However, we knew we were in for a change with this next chapter.
For starters, both Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera exited their roles as sisters Sam and Tara. It’s certainly a shift for the franchise, given that they had become its faces for the past two films. But it also presents a chance for a reset and an opportunity to try something new. Neve Campbell, meanwhile, reprises her role as Sidney Prescott after a brief hiatus, along with Kevin Williamson as writer. There have also been countless rumours surrounding the return of other beloved characters, such as Matthew Lillard. Many believed he would reprise his role as Stu Macher, one of the original Ghostface killers alongside Billy Loomis, despite having been seemingly stabbed and then crushed by a television in the ’90s original (and that’s a pretty easy-going death, in the grand scheme of things).
Either way, despite its all too familiar formula, we never quite know what to expect with each new installment. The “Scream” franchise always finds a way to keep us on edge. I had suspicions going in, but I wasn’t fully prepared for how different “Scream 7” feels compared to its predecessors.
A strong opening sequence
The film begins, however, in true “Scream” style, with its familiar opening sequence. It is here that we first encounter Ghostface through the ominous phone call. At the same time, we learn what the film’s ‘ammunition’ will be—the conventions it intends to mock and poke fun at.
This time, we see a couple pulling up in their car. They’re listening to a true crime podcast outside Stu Macher’s House. Macher’s house has been transformed into a kind of murder-house hotel, restored and staged with items from the original killings. While one half of the couple is delighted by the morbid novelty of it all, the other is less enthused. She finds the whole experience unsettling and a bit creepy. And she’s not far off the mark—we all know how it ends. Ghostface swiftly turns up to end the party (what a buzzkill, honestly).
It’s a strong start. The film gives a clever nod to true crime obsessives and the commodification of violence, and one that gives long term fans a warm, fuzzy feeling upon returning to Woodsboro and the place where it all started. However, this is largely where its traditional ‘formulaic structure’ ends. The franchise then moves in a new direction in an attempt to reinvent itself.
The return of the ‘final girl’
Let’s begin by addressing the biggest change to the series: the return of ‘final girl’ Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). Campbell left the franchise after “Scream 5” due to a pay dispute, but here she returns with a bang. This time, the story revolves primarily around Sidney, now Sidney Evans, a married mother of three. Like its predecessor ,”Scream VI,” “Scream 7’” moves away from Woodsboro (boo). It instead focuses on Sidney’s life in a small Indiana town and, in particular, on her 17-year-old daughter Tatum (Isabel May), named after Sidney’s murdered best friend.
This is the first time since “Scream 4” that the franchise focuses on Sidney, bringing the series full circle by returning to its original final girl. After years of shifting focus to a new generation, the franchise reestablishes itself in the character who defined it. It gives the narrative a sense of completion as well as renewal. It’s great to have her back and to see that she’s managed to move on and build some semblance of a ‘normal’ life (though, as one of Tatum’s friends notes, how she is not in a psych ward is beyond me). However, it’s clear that Sidney still carries the weight of her past trauma. This affects her relationship with her daughter, from whom she has seemingly kept much of her early life hidden.
Tatum is, in many ways, a younger version of Sidney, pre-Ghostface, and is, in herself, the perfect final girl. She is naturally beautiful, slightly timid, and often feels as though she doesn’t quite fit in. This sense of displacement is heightened by the fact that she lives in the shadow of her mother, measured against a history she only partially understands. Sidney has done her best to shield Tatum from the past. However, she hasn’t prepared her for the inevitable: the return of Ghostface.
A twist on the classic ‘who dunnit’ Ghostface
It must be difficult for the “Scream” team to generate genuinely fresh ideas for the franchise. They likely knew that audiences would immediately suspect the return of original characters such as Stu Macher, given the previous two films leaned so heavily into his accomplice, Billy Loomis. Rather than sidestep that expectation, however, the film leans into it. It deliberately plays on what viewers are primed to suspect and using that assumption as bait.
Opening with what appears to be Stu contacting Sidney via a FaceTime call, certainly an upgrade from the analogue phone calls of the past (and somewhat far less threatening), it immediately throws us off the scent. Stu was believed to have died back in “Scream.” The question then becomes not simply who is behind Ghostface, but what we are actually hearing and seeing. Is Stu back from the dead, an example of the classic slasher villain like Michael Myers, who, despite being human, seems impossible to kill (seriously, he must be about 104 by now)? Or is this an AI reconstruction, deliberately designed to manipulate both Sidney and the audience?
From there, the mystery deepens. Reunited with familiar faces such as Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), Sidney again steps into the role she never fully escaped. She works to uncover who is beneath the mask and determine whether the past has literally come back to life.
Lack of intrigue and character development
Given that Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox are both involved in the production of “Scream 7,” and considering the circumstances surrounding Campbell’s previous departure, it’s only fitting that the focus rests primarily on Sidney, Gale, and Tatum as the established core female trio. It’s a move that feels very reminiscent of “Halloween Ends” that similarly sees three generations of female survivors left standing against Michael Myers.
However, while I enjoyed the return of Sidney, the heavy focus on Sidney and Tatum comes at the expense of the other characters. Many feel two-dimensional and ultimately exist as props to be quickly killed off by Ghostface. One of the things I’ve always loved about “Scream” is its ability to create a strong sense of place—a community of old and new characters to love and root for. Amidst the chaos, there has always been time to build rapport, to watch characters react to the murders, and to speculate, joke, and theorise about who might be next. Sadly, that element of audience engagement was noticeably lacking here.
Whilst the franchise has understandably moved away from recycling the same old formula, abandoning it entirely removes some of the meta charm that has long defined it. I really felt the absence of a ‘Randy’ figure, originally played by Jamie Kennedy in “Scream 1,” who traditionally lays out the rules and speculates about the killer’s identity. There is a subtle nod to this with the return of Randy’s nephew and niece, Chad and Mindy (Mason Gooding, Jasmine Savoy Brown). However, Mindy’s attempts to get into the ‘rules’ are quickly shut down. It’s a clear signal to audiences that this is a reinvention of the franchise.
Instead, we’re thrust straight into the action, with deaths that feel somewhat lacklustre because we’ve barely had time to know the victims or speculate about their involvement. Without that groundwork, the secondary characters feel redundant rather than intriguing.
“Umm… who is that?”
The seeming return of Stu Macher should surely generate excitement for the audience, particularly for die hard fans such as myself. But this too falls a little flat. Sidney and Gale’s investigation into Stu’s whereabouts is brief to say the least. Meanwhile, the underdeveloped supporting cast leaves little room for genuine speculation about whether others might be hiding behind the mask. A few camera pans and suspicious glances toward some of Tatum’s friends attempt to plant doubt, but the suspicion isn’t sustained long enough to feel convincing. Additionally, there is very little intrigue surrounding the identity of the killer.
There’s a moment that leads us to suspect Tatum’s boyfriend, Ben (Sam Rechner), playing on classic slasher tradition, when Tatum discovers his laptop displaying an AI-generated version of Stu Macher’s face, supposedly as a test to see if it’s even possible. It’s an intriguing idea. But given how quickly this plot line is abandoned, there isn’t much time for it to sustain any real intrigue. Much of the film feels rushed and hastily assembled. The characters are so disposable and underwritten that their deaths barely register.
Appreciating ‘Scream 7’s’ Break from Convention
By the time we reach the final reveal, Sidney is lured to a house filled with AI recreations of all the previous killers, a modern inversion, in some ways, of the shrine concept from “Scream 5.” Using AI as commentary on cheap imitation and the regurgitation of legacy horror is a genuinely strong idea, cleverly turning the franchise’s own nostalgia back on itself. But again, the execution feels hurried. And when Ghostace is finally unmasked, it’s the first time I’ve found myself turning to someone and genuinely asking, ‘umm…who is that?’
So, was “Scream 7” the strongest installment yet? Not by far. But did I still get sucked in and enjoy it? Absolutely. There’s no denying that at times it felt a bit lacklustre, missing some of the key elements and nostalgic touches that made the earlier films so memorable. The last third of the movie really fell apart for me. Still, I appreciate its effort to break from conventions and try something different, taking risks rather than rehashing prior films. Sure, it’s no masterpiece, but it’s still a “Scream” worth sticking around for.
