‘Scream 7’ Review
Stars: Neve Campbell, Isabel May, Joel McHale, Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, Matthew Lillard, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, McKenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Mark Consuelos | Written by Kevin Williamson, Guy Busick, James Vanderbilt | Directed by Kevin Williamson
Neve Campbell returns to the Scream franchise, following a retooling after the deeply disappointing studio decision to sack Scream VI star Melissa Barrera, after she spoke out about Gaza. Leaving that regrettable controversy aside, this is by some way the weakest entry in the series, though it just about ticks enough boxes to get the job done.
Scream 7 opens with a time-honoured opening prologue, in which two fans of the Stab franchise (the in-universe movies based on what happened to Sydney) visit the house from Scream 2 and speculate on rumours that original killer Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) might still be alive, before both getting horribly murdered by a lurking Ghostface. Cut to present day Pine Grove, Indiana, where Sydney (Campbell) is living a happy small town life, married to local cop Mark Evans (Joel McHale), raising their teenage daughter Tatum (Isabel May) and running a coffee shop.
However, Sydney’s peaceful life is quickly upended when a Ghostface hits town and kills two of Tatum’s friends, before making a taunting phonecall telling Sydney that her daughter will be next. Sydney is doubly shocked when a video call reveals the killer to be Stu, apparently back from the dead, but what’s really going on?
Callbacks, references and doing things like bringing back old characters have always been a staple of the Scream franchise, and in that respect, Scream 7 is business as usual. However, given that the new film is co-written and directed by the original movie’s screenwriter, Kevin Williamson, it’s surprising just how little of the Scream magic is there this time round.
A big part of that is the relative lack of laughs. The Scream movies have always had a jet-black streak of humour running through them, and that is largely absent this time round. Even the handful of attempts at comic relief – mostly courtesy of Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding as Mindy and Chad, returning characters from Scream VI – fall largely flat.
In fairness, Williamson maintains a decent degree of suspense and at least one of the kills is inventive, though it doesn’t seem like the same degree of thought has gone into the rest of them. In addition, there are constant elements that get introduced and then quickly dropped, whether it’s plot devices like Sydney’s safe room or characters that appear and seem promising but then get very little screen time.
Scream 7 also deserves credit for at least trying something new for the franchise by introducing the idea of deepfakes. It’s just a shame that there isn’t much of a payoff, even if it is nice to see certain familiar faces again.
On the plus side, the performances are solid, and it’s good to see Campbell in the lead and interacting with Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers again. Similarly, May is fine as Tatum, though she doesn’t quite have the movie star charisma to carry a future instalment on her own.
Elsewhere, there’s strong support from Joel McHale and a host of other character actors who all end up as would-be suspects, such as Tim Simons as Tatum’s hyper-critical drama teacher or Asa Germann as Lucas, a friend of Tatum’s who’s obsessed with the Woodsboro murders.
Ultimately, Scream 7 falls short of the high standards of the previous Scream movies, lacking the jet-black humour and feeling a little perfunctory in terms of the kills. However, Williamson’s direction and the likeable cast are just about enough to get the job done, even if the end result is relatively forgettable.
*** 3/5
Scream 7 is in cinemas now.
