I Watched Scream 7 and I’m Not Sure Why I Keep Coming Back

Scream 7 feels like a reunion with old friends - familiar and occasionally fun - but it rarely surprises and just feels way too tired.

Good Points

• Neve Campbell

• Moments of history and legacy

• Few decent well staged kills

Bad Points

• Predictable and safe in almost every beat

• Meta-humor feels exhausted rather than sharp

• Most of the characters are dull

• Attempts at modern elements feel desperate

• Very routine

• The finale

Seven films in, and I’m still showing up.

I don’t know what that says about me - maybe I’m loyal, or maybe I have bad taste, but it mostly delivered what I expected - nothing too thrilling, just some polite franchise work that feels way past its sell by date.

Neve Campbell carries the film.

I have to hand it to her, as she still owns Sidney, and Campbell is what kept Scream 7 from completely failing and being actually somewhat watchable for me, and the movie works best and finds a pulse when she’s on screen, even when when it all feels too tired or safe, while moments with other returning cast members also carry a subtle resonance that for fans of the franchise, might raise a smile.

It just feels a all bit tired now

But, a franchise that thrived on once having a sly, sharp wit about it, seems to have somewhat become a bit of a parody of itself, as here, jokes about nostalgia or “horror rules” feels tiresome, and lacks the mischievous bite it once had.

It’s still aware of itself, but it all lands in a very limp fashion.

I will say some of the kills are good though, but even the well-executed horror beats rarely made me care too much, though some scenes were fine and staged pretty well - Ghostface being Ghostface, and the thrill is there for a second, then gone.

The younger cast are also a bit dull, where most of the time, I was just waiting for the next scene to land, and while that’s fine for a franchise that trades in ritualized horror, but it made large portions feel like filler with little surprise - just a realization of you know what is coming and it’s just going to be the same tiresome thing.

The Direction is also too safe

Kevin Williamson returns behind the camera, which sound meaningful but in execution, it’s cautious, as scenes unfold exactly as expected, and I did wish for more unpredictability.

Granted, you don’t expect much from a slasher, especially a 7th one in a franchise, but maybe something new or surprising?

We also get some moments where the past intersects with the present - conversations between Sidney and Gale, references to history - which are good, but those moments contrast fairly sharply with the new characters’ predictable arcs.

The killer reveal is underwhelming.

It’s probably my least favorite reveal out of all the movies, which is saying something, with the usual neat explanation, carrying on in its polite structure, although I think I had stopped caring way before then.

Without Sidney and Gale, I would have hated it, as most of the decent moments are when those two share the screen, and I think that’s the glue holding this thing together, just.

Without that, Scream 7 would just be polite, procedural nonsense of what we have seen way too many times before.

And in a way, it is also that.

Final Verdict

Scream 7 is already getting very mixed reviews, and if you are a fan of the franchise, I would say go and watch it and make your own mind up, just go in with very low expectations, as it’s a movie that rarely surprises and even though it has a few decent kills, it just all feels very tired.

But I suspect we will get a Scream 8.

Yawn (But will I give in and see it? Probably)