With a little over 30 years and now seven movies, “Scream” was back in theaters on Friday Feb 27. This film was directed and co-written by Kevin Williamson, writer of the first two movies in the franchise. “Scream 7” does everything the series is known for. It makes fun of classic slasher movie cliches, and then proceeds to use them. However, “Scream 7” adds a large helping of another cliche: nostalgia.
Once again, the movie centers on Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the main protagonist and ”final girl” of the “Scream” franchise since the first movie, and her family. Like any “Scream” movie, who is under the Ghostface mask this time, what their motives are and the actual number of killers remains a mystery until the end. There’s even the big question of whether Stu Macher (Mathew Lillard), one of the original two Ghostfaces, is actually alive. The only thing that is known is that there’s a new Ghostface (or Ghostfaces, as in plural) and they’re back to terrorize Sidney and specifically her teenage daughter, Tatum (Isabel May).
Right off the bat, the movie had me hyped and really aware of how heavy they were leaning into the nostalgia aspect. It starts with a random couple staying in the original house of Stu Macher, the climax of the first “Scream.” The events in all of the “Scream” movies inspired an in-universe film series hilariously named “Stab,” so the house was converted into an Airbnb-like horror movie attraction. It’s filled with basically everything that could make the couple and the audience feel nostalgia for the first movie. Even though they made the location pretty laughable, the tension is still exquisite. I would say some of the best moments and jumpscares are in the opening.
After the opening, the movie slows down, of course, to build up Sidney and Tatum and their dynamic, and to actually build the mystery of the new killer. Other than a couple of the kills throughout, I would say the rest of the movie is pretty bland. The cinematography wasn’t anything game-changing, same with the music, but I think both still did an acceptable job keeping the audience on the edge of their seat. There are a couple of cool shots where Ghostface quietly appears behind the characters, and only the audience knows, so you just prepare for the jumpscare. No one in the cast really stood out to me for a captivating performance. I would say Sidney (Neve Campbell) had the best performance. Still, she felt very stiff for most of the movie; it took Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), another longtime member of the “Scream” franchise, for Neve Campbell to really find her footing again. However, the movie spends so much time building up Tatum and her friend group, who, in classic “Scream” fashion, are some of the likeliest suspects, only to redirect and make Sidney the focus once again. The ending was really disappointing and just flat-out laughable. Every bit of suspense and terror just goes straight out the window at the end.
The “Scream” movies are known for this perfect balance between being creative and cliché. So when “Scream 7” did a couple cliches of modern slasher movies, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, cool! They’re making fun of modern slasher movies!’ Then they did several more slasher cliches that I don’t feel really landed. At that point, I was starting to wonder if they were falling for those cliches purposefully, or if they were just accidentally doing it, which is much worse. It’s also hard to tell because they were clearly aware of some of their decisions. They actually made fun of how heavy-handed the nostalgia was several times.
Even with some questionable creative decisions, “Scream 7” did everything I expected from a “Scream” movie. It was an entertaining mix of suspense, good kills and surprisingly comedic moments. “Scream 7” definitely isn’t a masterpiece, but it did its job well.
“Scream 7:” ★★★☆☆
