⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆ ☆
Directed by: Kevin Williamson
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox
Three decades into its run, the Scream franchise returns with its seventh chapter, Scream 7 — now directed by original series creator Kevin Williamson and bringing back Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott as she’s forced to confront Ghostface once again, this time with her daughter in the crosshairs. The movie also features a rotating cast of returning favorites and new faces, and makes use of AI deepfakes of past killers to fuel its plot.
But somehow, despite the weight of legacy and nostalgic callbacks, this installment still feels like a Scream movie that forgot what Scream actually is.
Neve Campbell remains the best reason to watch this. Sidney’s evolved into a mother and survivor whose presence still grounds the story — she’s still sharp, still fierce, and clearly the emotional core critics agree is indispensable.
Courteney Cox is back as Gale Weathers, though her role feels more like fan service than narrative necessity this time around. And while other familiar faces return alongside an ensemble of newer characters, many of the latter are so thinly written that you barely remember them beyond their deaths.
It’s raw materials with some strong pieces, but the performances don’t have enough story depth to elevate the film.
In theory, Scream 7 should feel like a celebration of everything the series has built over 30 years. It brings back classic figures. It pays homage to earlier films. It tries to lean into the legacy. In practice… it largely feels like a checklist.
The pacing drifts. The self-aware meta commentary that once defined the franchise takes a back seat to nostalgia and Easter eggs. And when Williamson tries to introduce modern horror commentary (AI deepfakes, obsession with legacy trauma), it rarely goes anywhere impactful and feels forced to push the narrative.
Worst of all, the Ghostface reveal — a cornerstone of Scream’s identity — lands flat. Incredibly flat. Instead of smart misdirection or layered misleads, we get a series of scenes that feel like filler between obligatory kills and a lot of forced references to past entries.
Ghostface’s body count is decent like other films in the franchise. That said, many of the kills rely heavily on CGI enhancements that drain tension rather than build it, and only a handful are genuinely memorable — for example, the one in the theatre stage sequence that actually delivers on suspense and staging. Outside of that and a few well-staged moments, most sequences feel generic rather than clever.
Here’s the hard truth: I wanted to like this more than I did.
I appreciate seeing Sidney again. I appreciate the attempt to weave the franchise’s long history into something new. And it’s not without fun moments or worthwhile nostalgia for longtime fans. But the movie consistently feels like a slasher masquerading as a Scream movie.
There’s no real sting of meta commentary. No fresh commentary on horror tropes. Just kills — many of them CGI-heavy and forgettable — stitched together with callbacks that never truly earn their place. Even plot beats that could have had weight feel like empty fan service.
I’d revisit Sidney’s performances here. Maybe a handful of moments land well in isolation. But as an entire Scream story? It doesn’t have the sharpness or cleverness I look for on a second watch.
Final Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆ ☆
Scream 7 has some ingredients that should work: legacy characters, a high body count, and a director trying to nod back to the series’ roots.
But too much here just exists instead of matters. The nostalgia feels like a crutch rather than a creative tool, the kills rarely stick, and the signature Ghostface mystery — the intellectual core of the franchise — is one of the weakest reveals yet.
For true diehard fans, there may be enough here to enjoy between the callbacks. For everyone else — especially anyone expecting classic Scream wit or meta-savvy horror commentary — this one feels like a low point. It’s a movie where I ask myself, what actually happened when the credits start to roll.
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