I remember watching the “Scream 7” trailer at the cinema last month; it promised a new Ghostface killer willing to burn the past to the ground, one who would no longer hide behind a mask. It promised tension, blood, and another fun yet equally poignant installment in one of the most consistent horror franchises of all time.
I really wish that was the movie they made.
1996’s “Scream” is a horror classic that pulled off the miraculous balancing act of subverting slasher tropes while also brilliantly indulging in them — having its cake and eating it too. It followed high schooler Sidney Prescott as her town of Woodsboro, California, was terrorized by a masked killer known as Ghostface. Each subsequent sequel brought in a new cast and a new killer, each with their own rules and motivations.
The “Scream” series is unique among its slasher peers in that the fanbase generally considers it to contain no outright bad installments. I agree with this notion, and it therefore brings me no pleasure to say that “Scream 7” officially ends this generational run.
The seeds were planted from the start. After franchise star Melissa Barrera was controversially dropped from the film due to social media posts deemed antisemitic, co-lead Jenna Ortega soon followed, citing scheduling conflicts with the series “Wednesday.”
Director Christopher Landon consequently backed out amid death threats and the loss of the film’s anchors, and many fans continued protesting Barrera’s firing as the final product hit theaters last week.
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The revamped “Scream 7,” now with an overhauled story and original “Scream” screenwriter Kevin Williamson in the director’s seat, turns the focus back to Sidney after her absence in “Scream VI.” Once again, we find her starting over with a new home and a new life, and — once again — a new Ghostface killer emerges to disturb the peace.
When you break the seal and reboot a franchise with new leads, you open the series up to the possibility of infinite longevity and the baggage that carries. Therefore, I wasn’t too concerned about how “Scream 7” might uphold the sanctity of the series — I just wanted a good time at the movies. Unfortunately, we couldn’t even get that.
After an admittedly fun opening in which a young couple moves into a rentable, tourist trap replication of the house from the original movie and comes face to face with the new killer, the film moves into the most tepid first act we’ve seen from this franchise. Sidney needs to move on and open up more, a new cast of high schoolers whose only purpose is to be victims later: these are all beats the audience has seen before.
It shouldn’t be too much to hope for a “Scream” movie to at least deliver solid scares, but even those were largely underwhelming. The film consistently reached for the same grab bag of tricks: the lights turn off, Ghostface is there, then he’s not there, then — guess what — he’s there again. I suppose these tricks work if you’ve never seen a horror movie before, but we’re talking about “Scream 7.”
As is always the case with these films, the killer reveal was quite fun. Despite this installment’s phoned-in horror sequences, a handful of scenes manage to thrill. And yet, “too little too late” doesn’t quite cover it; if this franchise wants to continue, it needs to fundamentally evolve how these kinds of films operate.
I’d love to see another “Scream” that fits this bill, and maybe someday we’ll get it. Unfortunately, this revamped sidequest of a “Scream 7” will always remain the first installment that truly offers nothing audiences haven’t seen before. Maybe next time they’ll finally, truly, burn it all down.