“Scream 7” puts a nice bow on the franchise that spanned over 30 years. 

In 1996, the world was introduced to one of the most iconic slasher villains of all time, Ghostface. In the first “Scream” film, Ghostface was not one, but two different people: Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich, and Stu Macher, played by Matthew Lillard. In Scream one through four, Ghostface is a different person, somehow connected to the franchise’s main protagonist and resident “good girl” Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell. 

Scream five, officially titled simply “Scream,”  took a different approach, following not only the last three survivors of the original killers, but also introducing a new cast of characters. Ghostface returns to Woodsboro to terrorize those who are somehow connected to the town’s past killings, drawing the final three survivors to fight once again. 

Twins Mindy, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Chad Meeks, played by Mason Gooding, are the niece and nephew of Randy Meeks, who is in the original cast of characters in “Scream” but is killed by Ghostface in “Scream 2.” Also introduced is Sam Carpenter, played by Melissa Barrera, who we find out is the daughter of one of the original Ghostface killers, Billy Loomis. 

While “Scream 5” is a requel, or reboot/sequel, it does not explore all the original characters’ endings. “Scream 7” is hopefully the last attempt to squeeze anything out of the franchise and bring it to a close. 

This latest installment knows where it’s coming from and really hones in on the nostalgia, whether through certain shots that are direct remakes from the first film, to the killer being the same person as in the first, or even Sidney’s daughter being the main character. 

Nostalgia is really the only thing “Scream 7” has going for it. If this film were a new slasher film, it would not land well with audiences. 

Sidney, now married with three kids, lives in a quiet town where the only thing she has to worry about is boys sneaking in her teenage daughter, Tatum’s, window and people obsessed with true crime podcasts asking about the worst moments of her life.

Tatum, played by Isabel May, starts asking questions about her mother’s past and if the Stab movies, this universe’s equivalent to the Scream franchise, are at all similar to what her mother went through. Reluctant to talk about it, Sidney shuts down any conversation and a gap forms between the two. 

Just because Sidney doesn’t want to talk about her past, though, doesn’t mean it won’t come back to haunt her. 

Stu, revealing he is alive, FaceTimes Sidney in front of Tatum’s high school and threatens to kill her. Sidney rushes to Tatum’s side and discovers Ghostface spared her, but kills another, bringing the kill tally up to three within the first 30 minutes of the film. 

In every previous “Scream” film, Ghostface’s “thing” is to call people with a voice changer right before killing them. In “Scream 7,” Stu instead FaceTimes Sidney before trying to kill Tatum. One of the main plot points is figuring out if Stu, who everyone believed to be dead, is actually alive or AI-generated. 

As always, the killer is never who you expect, but this time the reveal is incredibly underwhelming. 

After the mother-daughter duo takes down and shoots the unmasked killer in the head, which you always have to do to ensure they are dead, Sidney asks if Tatum is ok, to which Tatum responds, “Yeah, I’m Sidney fucking Prescott’s daughter.” Asking “are you ok” after most of your daughter’s friends have been brutally murdered, her dad being on the brink of death after bleeding out for hours and your daughter herself almost dying is honestly a little crazy. 

While there are many things this film could have done better with, overall, it is (hopefully) a gory closing to a 30-year franchise.

Categories: Arts & Entertainment