⭐⭐✨
I wanted to love this. I really did. The Scream franchise has such a special place in my heart and bringing Sidney Prescott back felt like a return to form. On paper, this should’ve been exactly what the franchise needed. But somewhere between the the wrongful firing of Melissa Barrera, the nostalgia bait and the messy execution, Scream 7 ends up feeling like a copy of a copy. It started to feel like *shivers* a Stab movie.
Synopsis:
Years after the original Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott has built a quiet life for herself in the quiet town of Pine Grove with her husband (Joel McHale) and their kids. This is until a new Ghostface killer emerges, targeting her 17 year old daughter, Tatum (Isabel May), and forcing Sidney back into the nightmare she thought she’d escaped. As the body count rises, old faces return, secrets unravel, and the past once again refuses to stay buried.
What works:
😱 Neve Campbell slipping back into Sidney feels right, almost like muscle memory for the franchise. She absolutely shines in the role.
😱 There are a few genuinely solid kills and moments of tension that remind you why Scream works when it works.
😱 The idea of shifting the focus to Sidney’s daughter is interesting and should have added emotional stakes.
What doesn’t work:
🔪The script is all over the place. Too many ideas, not enough cohesion.
🔪 It leans heavily on nostalgia without earning it, to the point where it feels more like fan service than storytelling. The worst offender is the AI/deepfake subplot. The film uses this technology as an excuse to drag legacy characters back into the story through digital cameos, which ends up feeling more like a gimmick than anything meaningful.
🔪 The mystery isn’t particularly compelling this time around, and the reveal lands with more confusion than shock.
🔪 A lot of the newer characters (especially Tatum’s friends) feel underdeveloped, making it hard to care who lives or dies.
🔪 Tonally, it can’t decide what it wants to be. Is it a sharp meta horror or straight-up slasher? So it ends up not fully succeeding at either
Final thoughts:
Scream 7 isn’t a total disaster. I suppose it’s watchable, occasionally fun, and clearly made with some love for the franchise. But it’s also the first time the series feels like it’s running out of things to say. Which is insane in a time where there’s so much to be said.
At this point, Ghostface might not be the only thing that needs retiring.
Chante JVR 
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