A seventh entry in the long running Scream franchise finally arrives after a very troubled production. Social media posts from leading cast member Melissa Barrera caused a storm and saw her dropped by production company Spyglass, then co-star Jenna Ortega quit the film in solidarity. The controversy meant the film’s script needed significant retooling, so feeling the film was no longer the same one he signed up for, director Christopher Langdon followed suit and also left the project.
So out of necessity, Spyglass turned to director Kevin Williamson, writer of the 1996 Wes Craven original while Neve Campbell was also brought back as Sidney Prescott, a character who was missing from the excellent Scream 6 due to a pay dispute.
OG cast member Courtney Cox also returns as reporter Gale Weathers, while Jasmin Savoy-Brown and Mason Gooding bridge the gap from old to new, by reprising their roles as siblings Mindy and Chad from episodes 5 & 6
The story this time follows Sidney, as she tries to build a new life in the quiet town of Pine Grove, Indiana. However, when daughter Tatum and her school friends become the target of a new ghost face killer, Sid is forced to confront the horrors of her past once again.
Williamson has clearly bet big on the nostalgia factor here by bringing back the character of Prescott, as well as shoe horning in several cameos from past films. The best of which is an entertaining appearance by the presumed dead Stu Macher played in brilliantly unhinged fashion by Matthew Lillard. Unfortunately, the script doesn’t have a good reason to bring him or the others back and their return feels like a cheap and rather desperate effort to make the film more appealing. Mindy and Chad, big players in the past two films and part of the now halved ‘Core four’, aren’t given anywhere near as much screen time here, and are reduced to Gale Weathers put-upon assistants. Isabel May who plays Sid’s daughter Tatum, named after her mother’s late best friend (a fact that is hammered home again and again in another attempt to generate nostalgic vibes) puts in some sterling work alongside Neve Campbell and the pair deliver the films most engaging scenes. The script however is not on their level and feels very much like it’s been hastily reworked to beat the deadline. There are some decent kills for gorehounds to savour, but the film lacks the wit of the preceding films.
When the Ghostface reveal eventually arrives, it’s by far the weakest of the series so far and ends the film on a really anticlimactic note.
The fact that the 7th entry in a long running horror franchise is bad, really shouldn’t be a surprise, but following on from the excellent Scream 6, this feels like a real let down. We can only speculate what shape Langdon’s Scream 7 with Barrera and Ortega may have taken, but it’s not too far fetched to expect it would’ve been better than this.
⭐️⭐️
Paul Steward
15/03/26
X @grittster