The eighties were the time of slasher movies, spawning many sequels that could rival the number of comedies that were also coming out around the same time. Considering the formulaic nature of these horror franchises which made enough money to warrant more and more installments, by the time you get to the seventh one, they tried to change up the formula to varying degrees of success, whether it is Wes Craven’s New Nightmare or Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. In the case of Scream 7, it feels more tiresome than subversive, which is a shame considering that the Scream series always felt like an exception.
Following the surprisingly good last two installments that served as a sequel/reboot (or “requel” that was coined in 2022’s Scream), Scream 7 had a notorious production history. Starting with Melissa Barrera – star of the two predecessors – being fired due to pro-Palestinian social media posts, to her co-star Jenna Ortega choosing to leave afterwards and eventually Happy Death Day’s Christopher Landon, who originally signed on to direct, leaving feeling like he was never going to make the Scream film he wanted. Putting aside all the controversy, the retooled Scream 7 marks the return of the man who started it all with that script that he wrote and originally titled Scary Movie, Kevin Williamson steps in to direct.
Although her absence was never felt in Scream VI, which prove that the franchise can move on without the constant focus of legacy characters, Neve Campbell returns as the series’ OG final girl Sidney Prescott, who tries to move on from her past filled with family trauma and death. Having built a new life where she has her own family, despite an uneasy relationship with her teenage daughter Tatum (Isabel May), Sidney becomes the target of yet another Ghostface.
Bringing back Kevin Williamson is an interesting proposition as when you look at the first two Scream films directed by the late, great Wes Craven – both remain the highpoint of the franchise – they balance the terror of a slasher flick with a self-aware wit that satirizes the genre, as well as the repetitive nature of sequels. While all the previous Scream movies, good or bad, try to stay current about where the horror genre was going through multiple stages while touching upon our relationship with legacy and social media, Scream 7 that Williamson co-wrote with Guy Busick, from a story by James Vanderbilt and Busick, really has nothing to say, even with the brief mention about the dangers of deep fake in the digital age.
When our heroes try to dissect this new Ghostface’s motivation, it is revealed that the killer is not inspired by horror movies, but by Sidney herself and her status as the final girl, and that alone sums up what Scream 7 is about. Despite the potential of exploring a different side to Sidney who has to juggle parenthood and marriage while being pursued by a killer, the film just feels like an excuse to bring back all the old favorites for the sake of empty fan service, such as Courtney Cox who has nothing to do as Gale Weathers. So much of the script feels like it is built from fan theories, including the return of one character who we all thought was dead, which ends up being a frustrating attempt to have your cake and eat it.
Even with the presence of the twins Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding), it is surprising how very little of the series’ signature humor features and you can point this criticism towards Williamson himself. Having only directed one film prior, which is 1999’s Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Williamson just lacks a strong directorial voice as he throws a not-so-interesting cast of youngsters into set-pieces that have plenty of gore, but zero invention. As much as Williamson references John Carpenter’s Halloween as a major inspiration for the original Scream and is even televised during that film’s climax, Scream 7 repeats a key scene from Carpenter’s film of a young girl screaming for help while being pursued in an empty neighborhood. What looks like the series is coming full circle, this is confirmation that there is nothing new.
