“Scream 7” Delivers a Fun, Yet Weaker Story

For the past three decades, the “Scream” franchise has been entertaining audiences with its fun meta-commentary and good scares. To lead up to “Scream 7,” I’ve been revisiting the 30 year old franchise and you can find my updated ranking of the series at the end of this review! Now, while the 7th installment can be fun and entertaining at times, it can also feel a little bit weak and formulaic as well.

When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter becomes the next target. 

Determined to protect her family, she must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

Since I’m a fan of both the “Scream” franchise and the horror genre in particular, I was really looking forward to “Scream 7” and curious to see how they would continue the series after slowly giving it a soft reboot with the 2022 and 2023 sequels. Now, while the first half of this sequel is quite tense (especially the opening sequence), the second half feels a little weak and rushed.

The opening scene is actually one of the best openings of the franchise. The opening features a young couple staying at an Airbnb that’s also the iconic Stu Macher house and the entire scene alone delivers some very intense moments that perfectly captures the classic “Scream” vibe.

While the opening scene is awesome, a good chunk of it is actually in the trailers so the excitement of seeing the opening kind of went away, despite it being a great opening. One thing that’s slightly different is that this scene (which features the Macher house being burnt down) feels a bit disjointed with the overall story and is barely mentioned throughout the rest of the sequel.

Since she’s pretty much the face of the franchise, it’s good to see Neve Campbell return as Sidney, which is a major highlight of the movie. Her performance as a very protective mother and “final girl” icon is a strong return to form for the series. The relationship between Sidney and her daughter, Tatum, provides a fresh emotional core to the story

and it also explores Sidney’s past trauma through the lens of parenting.

Besides the tense and entertaining opening scene, “Scream 7” also delivers a few other moments that do stand out, such as a tense Ghostface moment with one of Tatum’s friends after a school play rehearsal and a slightly gory moment that involves a beer tap.

Throughout the movie, we do get to see some faces from Sidney’s past that could have worked really well and it just didn’t feel nearly as exciting as it should have been. I won’t spoil how these faces from her past do come back but it definitely could’ve been handled a little better. Even the last 20 minutes or so felt rushed and lacked some suspense, which is rare for the franchise.

“Scream 7” is a nostalgic, divisive entry to the series that can be entertaining at times, but also has a formulaic feel to it. With an awesome opening and a sort of weak, rushed story, this could be another “Scream” sequel that may divide fans.

And, now that I have concluded my “Scream” revisit and checked out “Scream 7,” here is my updated ranking of the entire series from worst to best: 7. Scream 3; 6. Scream 7; 5. Scream 4; 4. Scream VI; 3. Scream 5; 2. Scream 2; 1. Scream (1996) (can’t beat the original).

Cast: Neve Campbell (Sidney Evans); Courtney Cox (Gale Weathers); Isabel May (Tatum Evans); Jasmin Savoy Brown (Midny Meeks-Martin); Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks-Martin); Anna Camp (Jessica Bowden); Joel McHale (Mark Evans); Celeste O’Connor (Chloe Parker); McKenna Grace (Hannah Thurman); Sam Rechner (Ben Brown); Asa Germann (Lucas Bowden); Ethan Embry (Marco).

Writer/director: Guy Busick (writer) (Final Destination: Bloodlines; Abigail; Scream 5 and 6); Kevin Williamson (director; co-writer)

MPA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore and language  (runtime 114 minutes)

Make sure to keep on checking my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews page on Facebook for some interesting trivia bits about the films that I check out and to see what else I have planned on the review front! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJrghaPJ0RY

• This is the first film in the series directed by Kevin Williamson, who wrote Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 4 (2011).

• Both Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023) mention Sidney Prescott has a husband named Mark, who was widely presumed to be Det. Mark Kincaid, played by Patrick Dempsey in Scream 3 (2000). Scream 2022 and Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett also confirmed this was their intention in interviews. Dempsey stated in a Today interview he was in discussions to return for the seventh film and was waiting for the script, but in January 2025, it was announced that Sidney's husband would be a new character, Mark Evans, played by Joel McHale. Dempsey told Variety that scheduling conflicts and the California wildfires near his Malibu home prevented him from returning.

• Roger Jackson will return for the 'Ghostface' voice, making him involved with all seven films.

• The house originally used as the Macher residence from Scream (1996) and Scream (2022) can in fact be booked for an overnight stay, event or tour. Spring Hill Estate Mansion, aka the Macher House, is located in Tomales, California.

• Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023), chose not to return for the seventh film as they wanted to take a break from the franchise. Instead, their Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026), a sequel to their own Ready or Not (2019), was planned for release a month after Scream 7. Series writer and creator Kevin Williamson then suggested his friend Christopher Landon as a suitable replacement. Landon had actually worked on Scream (1996) as an intern and was officially set to take over, but dropped out after receiving death threats over Melissa Barrera's firing, which he maintained was not his decision. Williamson himself then took over the reigns on a request by Neve Campbell.