The new horror sequel has been in theaters for a week now. You’ve either already seen it or read the discourse online. Critics panned it; audiences mostly moved on and vigorously defended it, as it broke all Scream franchise and February box office records. Gale Weathers would tell you, the only bad press is no press. I happened to prefer “Scream 7” over the previous two films for the single reason: the remaining two originals, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, were being sidelined in films Five and Six. That leads us to expectations: After 30 years of attracting fans from various generations, it’s inevitable that different fans want different things from “Scream.” For those of us who started watching these films in the 90’s, not because of killers or kills, but for the continuing Sidney & Gale horror drama, this one satisfies.
We begin again back in Woodsboro, where Stu Macher’s house has been turned into an Airbnb, complete with crime scene artifacts from both the original murders and the more recent ones. After ensuring we will never see that house again, a new killer quickly finds Sidney Prescott-Evans (Campbell), who has moved far away, has three kids, and a husband, living a quiet life running a coffee shop. Her worst fear arrives: a new killer targeting her family. 17-year-old daughter Tatum (Isabel May) understands her mom’s past is off limits, but Sidney’s refusal to discuss the past hasn’t prepared her daughter for what’s about to happen. “If anyone has the right to be insane, it’s your mom,” Tatum’s friends admit. The minute Sidney is attacked, infamous Gale Weathers (Cox) shows up both for support and a career comeback.
It’s also Campbell’s best performance in a franchise she usually seems to be halfheartedly pulling along.
Writer of the first, second, and fourth films, Kevin Williamson takes charge of the franchise in the director’s chair. Campbell is also a producer for the first time and more invested on- and off-screen than she’s ever been. It’s also Campbell’s best performance in a franchise she usually seems to be halfheartedly pulling along. Williamson and Campbell push things back toward Wes Craven’s original vision. Some of the same iconic songs are used here from the 1995 soundtrack, including Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” during a town curfew and the pitch-perfect “First Cool Hive” by Moby. It’s an abrupt change from what Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were doing, with a focus on gore and on drawing in younger audiences.
“Scream 7” is far from perfect; its simple longevity and reliance on arcs and decisions from previous films deplete many creative options. Williamson spends more of his energy on nostalgia. This script gives Gale Weathers all the good lines, and her arrival in this story was a shared cinematic moment, with audiences clapping and cheering around the globe. While there are multiple mentions of Sidney’s absence in “New York” between the characters, including Gale’s lingering nerve damage, it becomes very clear that Sidney & Gale back on screen together are what really makes these films while. Sure, the killer/killers reveal is a total let down here, as it’s been for the past four installments. However, if the killer reveal is your reason for buying a ticket or interest in the “Scream” films, you have missed the point entirely. We all have different expectations for what “Scream” films could and or should be and it’s also understandable for those on board with Five and Six, to be upset that Seven takes a hard left turn back toward the 90’s.
Final Thought
Perhaps the most divisive of all the films, yet for fans invested more in Sidney & Gale than gore or killer reveals, it’s a satisfying entry.