Scream 7

It’s crazy to think I am writing about the seventh Scream film. It was always a running gag in the films that Stab (the in-universe adaptation of Sydney Prescott’s experiences as a survivor of the many, many Ghostface attacks) was a series that would never end, and that it made it all the way up to its seventh film by the time the events of Scream 4 came around. For that reason, it’d be easy to reach for the low-hanging fruit and say that the Scream series has become the very thing it was parodying, given that development has now begun on an eighth film.

In its defense, however, it’s worth acknowledging that the Scream series is, in my opinion, the most consistent slasher franchise around.

The core four (get it?) Wes Craven films all had their moments, with the original film still standing as the measuring stick for which the rest of the series is compared. Scream 2 was a good sequel, and although Scream 3 wasn’t my cup of tea, they won me back with the endlessly watchable Scream 4.

Directors Radio Silence had large shoes to fill with the Scream (5), and I could even dig up some old posts I made voicing my skepticism of whether anyone could breathe life in the franchise. I never doubted that Scream had more left in the tank, in the same way I never doubt that someone could make a good film with Chucky, Jason, Michael, or any of our other slasher friends. Instead, I doubted if it would actually happen. So often with reboots, they lean too heavily on nostalgia and are too busy celebrating what once was to move a series forward to what it needs to become in-order to evolve. In that regard, I wouldn’t necessarily say Scream (2022) and Scream 6 reinvented the wheel for the series, but they found a way to do something new with the series – focusing on the Carpenter sisters and a new cast, while keeping in theme with the originals.

I haven’t gone back and watched them back, and I know there are some detractors to fiercely criticize the movies, but I personally enjoyed them and don’t feel the calling to check and see if I was wrong for doing so.

Of course, the last movie wasn’t without some controversy.

After a pay dispute, Neve Campbell stepped away from her role as Sydney Prescott, making Scream 6 the first film without the series’ mainstay final girl. It was an unfortunate thing, and I don’t have a strong opinion about it one way or the other. On one hand, the film without Neve Campbell went on to make thirty million more than the film before it with Campbell. On the other hand, this new film, with Neve Campbell back in the saddle, was a franchise record and made fifty million more than the film without her. I have no dog in the race, but I will say that I personally thought Sydney’s story had come to a satisfying end and, while, as a fan, I appreciated seeing her in the 2022 film, I was okay with them passing the torch (even if, behind the scenes, it wasn’t the best way for it to happen).

Ironically, after the sixth film, we were met with an unfortunate twist of fate. After a dispute of a completely different kind, Melissa Barrera was removed from her role as one of the leading actors in the franchise. Like with Neve Campbell, even though I’m not happy with how it all went down, from a moviegoer’s perspective, I felt like the story for the Carpenter sisters had reached a satisfying conclusion.

Now, with our seventh film, we find ourselves back with Neve Campbell at the lead, and, in a full-circle moment, the director of this film is Kevin Williamson – the writer of the original Scream film.

How they go about it is about like you would expect. After sitting out the last murder spree in New York, the killers have come to where Sydney eats, targeting her daughter Tatum, played by Isabel May. 

In Scream 5 and 6, the major overarching story focused on Sam’s inner darkness and whether she would continue the vicious cycle started by her father. At times, it was a little hokey – watching her hallucinate Billy whose de-aging admittedly left a lot to be desired, but I ultimately liked what it all added up to. This one’s overarching theme is the antithesis of that. Whereas those were about Sam trying to escape becoming the killer her father was, Scream 7 is more about Tatum being afraid she won’t be the survivor her mother was. At a glance, it’s a nice way of continuing where 6 left off.

Unfortunately, I can’t say that I enjoyed this new film.

I kept my expectations in check. Whereas I had seen the last two Scream movies in theaters (and Scream 4, some, fifteen years ago), I sat this one out. Partly because all the theaters in my area have shutdown and the closest one is a two-hour drive. I watched this one on Paramount Plus, months after release.

I don’t think the film is godawful by any stretch, but it really does add up to a whole, big box of nothing by the end. The eventual reveal in the whodunnit could be seen from a mile away and the cinematography feels store bought and low-budget. In retrospect, I think a lot of the criticisms I have for this film, like the way it looks, how the dialogue is written, and how it desperately leaches off nostalgia for the original films, could be applied to either of the previous movies – but, this one feels like the apex of that sentiment.

There is a line in Texas Chainsaw 3D that is frequently referenced with my friend’s circle as one of the corniest dialogues ever put in a slasher film. Basically, Alexandra Daddario’s character says, “Go get ’em, cuz!”, directing Leatherface to start Texas Chainsawing. This film has a line that is so corny, it may very well end up in the rotation.

Seeing Matthew Lillard back, in some form, as Stu, is a fun fan-service’y moment, but it’s such a goofball execution that it comes off so superfluous, unnecessary, and hollow. It’s simply there for nostalgia’s sake, likewise to every other cameo that happens in the film. They could have had a lot of fun with the concept, instead they committed a half-baked effort in presenting the possibility that is swatted away as swiftly as it was presented.

The film’s quality admittedly pays for the sins of its two immediate predecessors, because it goes for its story in places that have already been mined and mined well. Before I wrote this, I felt like it would have been a cliched, almost pretentious thing for me to say that Scream 7 feels like it has committed the cardinal sin of becoming the very thing it was trying to be a commentary for, but it is what it is. It feels like a generic slasher film, and, for any problems the series may have ever had, I never felt like the series had sunk to the depths of putting out a throwaway film.

Is there fun to be had? Some. I didn’t like the film, but I didn’t outright hate the film either. The opening “kill scene” was fun, and, early on, when Ghostface wreaks havoc on Sydney’s family, that scene is fun, but, really, that’s about all I really take from the film. It’s simply a film that feels like it doesn’t have anything really going for it. Everything it carries over from its predecessors feels half-hearted and workman-like, and the new things it brings to the table, what little there is, feel like they needed to be work shopped better. This is the film I thought we were going to get when they made Scream 6.

All we can hope for is that the inevitable Scream 8 is a better film and closes the book on (arguably) the greatest final girl with a worthy final chapter.