Scream 7 Review
The Scream franchise has always been known for its self-aware, razor-sharp commentary on horror tropes, deft mix of thrills and dark humour and, of course, its ultimate villain, Ghostface. But for a while, it seemed like the series was coming to an abrupt halt after Scream Queen Neve Campbell didn’t return for Scream 6, whilst Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, for different reasons, decided not to forego any future entries. Step forward, series creator Kevin Williamson, to steady the ship and lure Campbell back for what is now Scream 7. Has Ghostface rediscovered its mojo, or is it time for the franchise to die?
On paper, it seemed like a fresh angle: Sydney (Campbell) is still grappling with the personal traumas of surviving the multiple Ghostface attacks and killing, has taken to the suburbs of fictional town Pine Grove in Indiana, living with her husband, police chief Mark (Joel McHale), daughter Tatum (Isabel May) and owns a local coffee shop. But soon she learns of a fire at the old Macher house and that Ghostface is back, on its way to her new hometown to wreak more carnage and death on her and her family.
Classic Scream plotting, right? Well, yes, but that is part of the problem: there is nothing new here. Laden with all-too-familiar elements, Scream 7 feels like a rehash of much of what has gone before, and the execution of what we do get feels flat and cumbersome. It struggles to find any real footing, wandering between half-baked attempts at emotional depth, the impact of generational trauma and hugely predictable. Indeed, it also has easily the worst killer reveal of the franchise, and while we won’t go into that much more, it’s fair to say it will land with a deafening thud all around.
Williamson sold Campbell on the concept of her passing on her trauma to her daughter, named after Rose McGowan’s character in the original film, and how this can affect both parties: Sydney refuses to discuss her past in detail with Tatum, causing an ever-increasing rift between mother and daughter and doing more damage to their relationship – and their relationships with everyone else – than Sydney realises.
But everything Williamson and co-writer Guy Busick (who co-wrote parts 5 and 6) feels surface level, never reaching the emotional heights they hoped for, or hitting the depths as well as David Gordon Green and co did with Jamie Lee Curtis in 2018’s Halloween legacy sequel. They are playful with their leanings into nostalgia obsessions in Hollywood and meta-humour, and that’s where some sparks ignite, despite being ultimately let down elsewhere.
Indeed, Williamson’s direction is a major disappointment, too, inconsistent and totally misshapen and making any investment in the story near impossible, lacking the spark and spirit of Radio Silence or, dare we say it, Wes Craven. Marking only his second directing gig, it shows, with pacing uneven, set pieces bloody but uninspired and never really feels like he has command of the ship.
Many of the characters feel perfunctory, especially the returning Mason Gooding and Jasmine Savoy Brown as Chad and Mindy Meeks-Brown, both such a bolt of energy in the previous films, but now demoted to nostalgia-sequel-plot-explainers. Strangely, though, both are still the best bits of the film. The newcomers, aside from May, who is solid, are all horribly underdeveloped, motivations thin, and arcs trite and wholly inconceivable. Thank goodness, then, for Campbell, who, as ever, holds everything together (just) with her unique charisma and power. We’d of course sit through another bloodfest centred around her, but only if she was served as well as she does the film.
The biggest elephant in the room, sadly, is the returns of Matthew Lillard, Scott Foley, David Arquette and other blasts from the past. Much was made of their supposed comebacks – with all being dead, of course – and let’s just say their resurrections are criminal, in purpose and execution.
In the end, Scream 7 is a reminder that no matter how much a new franchise entry promises something unique, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of jumping the shark (or knife). Campbell is its shining light once more, but despite its intentions, it’s maybe best to let sleeping Ghostfaces lie.
★★
In cinemas February 26th / Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, Joel McHale, McKenna Grace / Dir: Kevin Williamson / Paramount Pictures / 18
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