This story contains very mild spoilers for “Scream 7,” as well as other installments in the “Scream” franchise.
The 1996 film “Scream” is a stellar, biting horror-comedy satirizing the slasher genre. Naturally, its success spawned a franchise, which has, for the most part, maintained the original film’s strong voice in its discussion of various topics; for instance, “Scream 2” applied the first film’s sense of humor to horror sequels, and “Scream 3” tackled trilogies. Yet, several sequels later, “Scream 7” marks the franchise’s lowest point, having morphed into the type of uninspired slasher that preceding movies teased.
“Scream 7,” written and directed by “Scream” writer Kevin Williamson, focuses on the return of the undoubtedly highly traumatized ‘final girl’ from the first four installments: Sidney Prescott, portrayed by Neve Campbell. Having been free from the wrath of Ghostface, the franchise’s masked boogeyman, for several years, Sidney has made a life for herself in a small town. She has a husband and a 17-year-old daughter Tatum. Their life is idyllic … until it isn’t.
One day, Sidney receives a call from the familiar voice of Ghostface, who begins to terrorize her and Tatum. After this incident, the movie attempts to follow the “Scream” formula: establish a group of suspects, usually the main character’s friends and boyfriend; include moments and dialogue containing commentary on horror movies; and then, eventually, reveal the killer(s), in a moment meant to be simultaneously satisfying and revelatory, yet also obvious.
It fails, however, in almost every aspect.
The ensemble cast of characters is usually the strongest element of a “Scream” movie. While the young actors perform well, most characters do not get more than a few brief scenes before they are killed off, which manages to drain deaths of all emotional impact. So much of the ensemble is killed off that the whodunit element that characterizes the series is completely removed, as viewers only have a few possible suspects to guess between by the end.
This lack of mystery transforms what is typically one of the best moments of prior movies in the franchise, the final killer reveal, into an utter letdown, as the unmasking of the first, scarcely-seen killer prompts the audience to think, “Who?” and the second killer’s murky motive would make even the most attentive viewer ask, “What?”
This film’s misguided meandering through the plot beats of each previous movie is half-hearted. It takes no risks, not even visually; its shots are as generic as its story. Where past films offered unique interpretations of the original’s formula, “Scream 7” slavishly adheres to it, resulting in an insipid story that has nothing original to say about horror movies. When it does try to squeeze in meta-commentary, it comes in the form of brief dialogue that seems included to simply check a box.
Such a large proportion of the movie hinges on nostalgia — from Sidney’s comeback, to an almost word-for-word recreation of a scene from the original film, to the mysterious return of several actors whose characters were killed off in earlier movies — that it feels less like the production of the film was motivated by a real desire to substantially comment on horror and more like it was motivated by a desire to make some cold, hard cash. “Scream 7” has no reason to exist other than to milk money out of the 30-year-old franchise, and both diehard fans and casual viewers will be disappointed.
One of the most iconic scenes from the original “Scream” is its opening, where Drew Barrymore’s Casey is terrorized and killed by Ghostface. Tense and scary opening kills have become a staple of the franchise, and “Scream 7” does not deviate from this (though “tense and scary” is a bit of a stretch). In the film’s prelude, Ghostface stalks and kills a young couple who have rented the iconic Macher house — the setting of the climactic third act of the original “Scream” — as an Airbnb. After both are dead, Ghostface burns down the house — a fitting introduction for a film that seems satisfied with taking the franchise’s roots and twisting them until they become unrecognizable.
