As the heavily anticipated release of the seventh installment of the 30-year franchise, “Scream 7” had high expectations to live up to, especially given all the heavy spoilers that the film hinted towards in the trailers.
From the return of Sidney Evans to the introduction of her daughter, Tatum, this movie took turns where least expected. The third act started at the end of one of the most gruesome killing sprees in the franchise, when Tatum Evans is running through the town trying to escape Ghostface. This sequence initially lacked Courtney Cox’s iconic Gale Weathers character, until she appears abruptly at the very end to support Sidney and Tatum.
In true Kevin Williamson fashion, there were multiple hints towards other OG slashers strewn throughout the film, with the town theater marquee displaying “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and the opening scene using both “Friday the 13th” and “The People Under the Stairs” as the horror trivia. This is the first of the franchise to have been both written and directed by Williamson, and to have Neve Campbell as an associate executive producer. The original four movies were written and created by Williamson, but were directed by Wes Craven.
Though this movie was heavily anticipated by fans, there was much controversy surrounding the cast and previous directors. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, directors of “Scream 5” and “Scream 6” respectively, decided to not direct due to controversies with the cast and political standpoints with Israel. Jenna Ortega backed out for the same reason, and because co-star Melissa Barrera was fired for her social media comments about the Israeli-Hamas conflicts. These two departures were a main reason that the storyline was changed to focus on Sidney Evans and her family, rather than continuing the focus on the Carpenter sisters in New York.
The film is stacked with the best ensemble casts since “Scream (2022).” The featured players of the film are returners Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox, with Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy returning from the more recent “Scream” movies. The film also features a lot of new faces. Popular Gen Z actors McKenna Grace (“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”), Asa German (“Gen V”), and Celeste O’Connor (“Madame Web”) as Tatum’s friends. Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”), Mark Consuelos (“Riverdale”), and Joel McHale (“Animal Control”) round out the adults.
Even though its cast is incredibly well-rounded, or perhaps because it is, the film has trouble working its named characters into the narrative. By the end of the film when the twist is revealed, audience members have somewhat forgotten who the characters involved are.
However, the newest addition to the “Scream” franchise has some of the best kills since the original. It delivers the most grotesque gore and will leave some of the more squeamish viewers feeling sick. Between a character getting stabbed through the temple and another having their intestines spill out on stage to another being impaled by a beer tap, there’s plenty of blood and guts to delight any horror fan. The new Ghostface killings in this film grew more and more creative, while some of the previous installments were a bit “by the books.”
Unfortunately, in the end, “Scream 7” ends up being a parody of itself. No more are the days of horror references — Savoy’s Mindy has a single scene going over the rules before being shut down — as the film moves on to social commentary. Its target: AI and deepfakes.
Although this provided an interesting opportunity to bring back some past faces through the use of deepfakes; its commentary does not go beyond anything superficial. It ends up being a MacGuffin that harks back to the use of the voice changer in “Scream 3” that mimics several characters’ voices.
Regardless, the film is still a fun whodunnit and is enjoyable. The film still echoes the aesthetic of the original and has a creative concept that allows it to stand out from the other installments, with a good amount of horror and gore.
