PLOT: When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the town where Sidney Prescott has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter becomes the next target.
REVIEW: I absolutely love the Scream franchise. I watch every entry at least once a year and it has elements that have shaped what I love about cinema. Sidney Prescott is the greatest final girl of all time, and Ghostface is such an interesting bad guy with an iconic look. I genuinely can’t think of any other series that has consistently brought such a high entertainment value and incredible theatrical experience. And with Kevin Williamson coming back to the franchise (his first creative involvement since the 4th film) it’s easy to get even more excited about this new entry. But does Scream 7 live up to the great films that came before?
I can’t say I was completely on board with most of the goings on in Scream 7. While there are some elements that are presented well, I found so much to be completely lacking in substance. The story follows Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) as Ghostface emerges yet again and goes after her family. We’re introduced to Sidney’s husband Mark (Joel McHale) and daughter Tatum (Isabel May), and a bunch of other people whose names I can hardly remember because no one is developed in any way. Even the opening kill, which is usually connected with the group of characters we follow the rest of the movie, is just there for spectacle. What happened to giving us people we can root for?
Everything rests on Sidney’s shoulders, and thankfully, Neve Campbell is more than up to the task. She’s still fantastic in the role and brings that final girl energy that we all know and love. I liked the story of her having to teach Tatum how to be strong like her, having shielded her for most of her life. And it was great to see how competent they made her husband, Mark (even if I wish it were Patrick Dempsey in the role). I just wish there was literally any other person outside of them and a few returning characters that actually felt like real people. Gale, Mindy, and Chad are treated well and stand out amongst the much more bland characters around them.
I was shocked by how bad the writing was, whether in the dialogue or in the decision-making on display. This is a Scream movie: you can’t have characters investigating a strange noise at this point. And half the people must be deaf because there are people being murdered in the room next to them, and they’re completely oblivious to it. Scream is supposed to be smart and subvert expectations, yet this constantly just feels like a generic slasher trying to mimic the Wes Craven entries, without actually understanding what makes it great.
One thing that I did enjoy about the film is that Ghostface is violent as all hell. This features his highest body count, and he’s truly going for some gore. I just wish they had gone more practical with the kills. Even the ones that are, have CGI enhancements that completely take the wind out of their sails. There’s also one where Ghostface kills someone by accident that just felt lame. And how many damn tables or chairs is this guy going to go through? It got comical to a point.
While we obviously can’t get into it, there are few things more important to a Scream film than it’s twist/killer reveal. And this may just be the weakest the series has ever seen. No, scratch that: this is easily the weakest and I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. It feels like they’re doing something a bit different and then it all devolves into one of the sillier killer monologues yet. They took anything that would have been unique and just washed it down the drain for something that really didn’t make a lot of sense. It’s also really dumb how they bring back legacy characters and it all feels like a gigantic waste of time.
Outside of Ghostface himself being a lethal force and his dialogue with Sidney being a true highlight, there’s very little to latch onto here. Most of the new characters are simple set dressing or fodder for kills. I get that this is a slasher but no one even feels dimensional and they hardly get any characterization. With the worst final act in Scream history, I feel like it’s definitely time to put this franchise to bed. Please, our girl Sidney just needs a break.
Scream 7 releases to theaters on February 27th, 2026.
