Scream 7 - Movie Review

The Movie: Scream 7

The Director: Kevin Williamson

The Cast: Neve Campbell, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, David Arquette, Roger L. Jackson, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Ethan Embry, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons, Matthew Lillard, Joel McHale, Courteney Cox

The Story: 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.

The Rating: 6 / 10

The Review:

Some movies exist simply to keep a franchise alive and for the nostalgia play of revisiting characters that we have grown to care about over the years. This, the seventh installment of the Scream franchise, is exactly one of those movies. Unfortunately, it isn't much more than that although, for me, it was...I'll say, acceptable. It's not a terrible movie and it also doesn't stand out in any way and will probably be mostly forgotten except as part of a Blu-ray collectors box set that I'm sure will come out at some point.

The story is about as predictable and formulaic is any of the entries in the series have ever been with all the same mysteries, reveals, plot twists, and comedic moments that we've come to expect although, at this point, it's just tired. Should the filmmakers and the studios keep making these movies? From a fan and creative perspective, it's probably long overdue to retire this franchise although, from a business perspective, parts six and seven have been the most successful to date and we all know that's really what the most important thing is when studio heads make their decisions.

So yeah, Paramount will throw another pile of money at Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and anyone else they can get to come back for as long as each movie stays in the black and there's a good chance of that continuing because the horror genre has become a money printing machine over the last several years. In case you're wondering, I'm typing out this review several months after watching the movie and I honestly can't remember a whole lot about what happens.

The opening sequence is memorable because it goes hard and heavy on the nostalgia play by actually revisiting the original "Scream house" as it's been turned into a themed rental home for fans of the in universe Stabbed series and all the lore behind it. It's kind of fun and does a decent job of pulling the audience back into that universe so yeah, that's kind of cool. We also get a mix of what I'll call legacy characters like Sidney and Gale to go along with new ones who were introduced in the last movie like Mindy and Chad the brother and sister duo who are played by Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding respectively.

I'm not sure how much else I need to say about the movie, by now I feel like you get the idea of what to expect if you haven't already seen it for yourself. Is it worth watching? For fans of the franchise, I would say yes, I enjoyed seeing the characters in that world again even if the story didn't really do much for me. It's available on Paramount+ or you can rent it or buy it on various home formats as well if you feel the need.

Thank you for reading this review, I'm slowly working on catching up with movies that have been in my drafts over the last year. Managing some health challenges made keeping up with my hobbies a much more difficult task although I'm happy to be in a better place now and my love of movies is a big part of that. Take care, everyone!