Scream 7 arrives in theaters with a lot of bad mojo behind it. While gearing up for the film, Melissa Barrera, who starred in the previous two installments, was dismissed over statements on social media regarding Gaza. Jenna Ortega, who also appeared in Scream 5 and 6 (the former is simply titled Scream because nothing is easy) subsequently left, citing scheduling difficulties. And director Christopher Landon also left due to blowback over Barrera’s dismissal, despite him having nothing to do with her firing.
What we ended up with is Kevin Williamson, who scripted the first, second, and fourth installments of the franchise, returning to writing duties, as well as directing for the first time since 1999’s critically maligned misfire Killing Mrs. Tingle. And Neve Campbell, who declined to return for Scream 6 after a pay dispute with the producers, is also back as Sidney Prescott, the main survivor and final girl for most of the series.
And all of that would be external to Scream 7, if Williamson didn’t make it central to the plot. It’s unfortunate because there are thrills to be had throughout the sevenquel, and it’s easily the most emotionally charged entry in the series – you might even find a tear or two hitting your eye at points. But the most bizarre, distracting choice in the film is that they make the central crux of Sidney’s journey why she wasn’t in the sixth movie. Mind you, they don’t mention why Berrara’s Sam or Ortega’s Tara aren’t in the seventh movie… So why point a neon sign at it at all?
To get to the plot, as it were, you could probably guess this one even if I didn’t tell you… Sidney is living a relatively quiet life with her daughter, Tatum (Isabel May) and husband, Mark (Joel McHale), a police officer. I say relatively quiet because thanks to multiple Stab movies and books, including one written by Sidney herself, the whole world is obsessed with the Ghostface murders. And wouldn’t you know it they pop up again to interrupt Sidney’s small town life – with a huge, honking twist that I won’t spoil here.
And what follows is a grand guignol, one of the bloodiest and most deadly entries in the series so far as this new Ghostface tears his – or her – way through Pine Grove, Indiana, killing an increasing number of disposable characters who will have you racing to IMDb to find out where you know them from. (The answer is Gen V, Madame Web, and “she plays the younger versions of every major female franchise character.)
One of the issues there is that this latest Scream eschews the visual ingenuity of the set pieces in the series. There’s a nice shot or two, and one kill is particularly gruesomely funny; but Williamson doesn’t seem to be the right director for the material. He’s certainly not a master of horror and tension like Wes Craven, but he also doesn’t have the creativity of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, aka Radio Silence, who directed the prior two installments. Instead, he focuses on close angles and jerky camera movements that neglect the physical comedy of the movies… Unlike Jason or Michael Myers, Ghostface is always a human, and gets knocked about in various ridiculous ways. Except here, where he’s the sort of unstoppable killer we’ve seen in umpteen franchises before.
In fact, this gets into the second weak point of Scream 7: it’s not particularly funny. There are moments of humor, particularly coming from Courtney Cox, who returns as intrepid reporter Gale Weathers, and Jasmin Savoy-Brown and Mason Gooding, who do return from the previous two movies as Mindy Meeks-Martin and Chad Meeks-Martin, now working as film crew for Gale. It’s also another reminder that after two movies, the new core four of Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad were just hitting their stride, with Sam in particular left on a fascinating cliffhanger. Instead, we’ve got Savoy-Brown and Gooding goofing around and laying out the requisite rules… It’s fun to have them, but it could have been even funner.
To continue to push in this direction, the self-referential humor is what made Scream the franchise it is. Sure they’ve run through all the horror tropes – Mindy’s “rules” are really one rule and it’s barely a rule at all at this point – but Scream 7 brings it around from self-aware horror to just another legacy sequel like the Halloween series… Enough time is spent talking about “trauma” that Jamie Lee-Curtis will probably sue them for copyright infringement.
There is an attempt to update what Scream 7 is referencing, but it’s unfortunately half-hearted. The first act of the movie very limply takes on obsession with true crime podcasts, but never really completes the thought or has anything incisive to say. On the other hand, the movie gets a shot in the arm with the insertion of an AI sub-plot – you can feel things revving up as soon as it kicks in – but again, the movie doesn’t have much to say about AI, so much as “it exists.” For a series that also charted the progression of phone technology in unique and delightful ways, merely referencing emerging tech isn’t enough. The one concession to the AI debate is a character noting it’s the death of art, which could have been a sharp alley to turn down. But it’s not followed up on. And not to go external again, but undercut by the fact that Scream 7 has partnered with Meta’s AI to insert fans into scenes from the movie. You can’t have it both ways!
And frankly, most of what Scream 7 is referencing isn’t horror tropes; it’s previous Scream movies. That’s part and parcel for a series that has always looped back into its own mythology. But here it takes the form of wincingly obvious repeated lines, and even aping shots that come direct from previous movies. Scream 7 also features the most easily guessable villain reveal in seven movies, which is unfortunate for a series that usually throws in at least one bizarre curveball.
What’s good about the movie, though, is Campbell and May. The mother/daughter relationship hits the notes you expect, but both actresses have a clear bond and it’s there that you’ll get your heartstrings tugged. May calls to mind a younger Jennifer Lawrence, though perhaps without the goofiness; while Campbell has aged successfully into her mama bear status. The tensest scene in the movie hinges on their relationship, as Sidney is forced to coach her daughter in fighting Ghostface remotely, and it works because you care about these two characters, and they care about each other.
Also good? Scream 7 has been open about Matthew Lillard returning, and trailers have teased the popular fan theory that his murderous teen Stu Macher might be alive after the events of the original movie. While I won’t spoil how he shows up here, suffice to say that Lillard is an absolute — sorry — scream in the film… He brings the off-kilter humor and aggressive energy this series used to bring, but does so sparingly in the latest entry.
So does Scream 7 successfully work past its bad vibes? Not completely. There are some highs, and it is good to have Campbell back in her iconic role. But it never quite justifies its existence beyond: here’s more of that guy in the Ghostface mask, terrorizing the same woman, once again, for the sixth out of seventh time.
I’ll always like scary movies, Sidney, but Scream used to be so much more. Here’s hoping in the inevitable eighth installment, they can ditch leaning into legacy, and figure out something more to say. Otherwise it might be time to gut this franchise like a fish.
Scream 7 hits theaters on February 27, 2026.
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