Scream 7 info:
Director: Kevin Williamson
Writer: Kevin Williamson, Gary Busick, and James Vanderbilt
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and Isabel May
Intro
Hello and welcome to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. Like I mentioned last week, March is a busy month, and we are only starting to get into it. We’ve finally had a reprieve from the weather… at least where I live. But the important thing this week is it’s officially Oscar week! This Sunday (the 15th) is the Academy Awards and the NCAA selection show for March Madness, both on the same night. Very exciting time indeed.
Along with the nicer weather also comes rain. What better way to spend a rainy day than at the movie theater? That’s exactly what I did the other day, and I finally got in to see “Scream 7” although tickets were still scarce. Definitely lots to discuss here and there will definitely be lots of spoilers. If you don’t want to know the details of what happens, go to my homepage and check out some other stuff I have in store. Come back here when you are done to finish reading this one.
Scream 7 recap
So, “Scream 7” picks up after a short time jump from “Scream VI”. About three years have passed, and Sidney Prescott (Campbell) is now Sidney Evans. She is married to Mark (Joel McHale) and has a teenage daughter named Tatum (May). She now lives in Pine Grove and runs a coffee shop. Trying to be as normal as possible, she and Tatum are constantly at odds because of Sidney’s past. This plays a role throughout most of the film.
Things kick off once again as a new Ghostface killer shows up at the old Stu Macher house and kills a couple of people, then burns the house down. This leads the drama… and Gale Weathers (Cox) back to Sidney at her new home. But this time, the killer seems more interested in Tatum. This is going to follow a similar pattern to the other films in the franchise. We have a cast of characters, and several of them could be the murderer. We are left with several subtle hints along the way, and most of them will turn out to be false.
Even though it wasn’t really him, it was fun to see Matthew Lillard reprise his role as Stu for “Scream 7”. It made for a nice red herring throughout. Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding also return for a third time as the Meeks-Martin twins… although they are not used very well this time around. Honestly, I think I was most excited about seeing Ethan Embry show up as the mental hospital worker. I haven’t seen him in a bit, and it was fun… even though he turned out to be one of the three Ghostface killers this time around.
Ultimately, all of Tatum’s friends are taken out one by one. Her dad is almost killed, and it all leads up to a dramatic faceoff with the final two murderers and Sidney/Tatum. The reveal that Jessica (Anna Camp) was the main killer was shocking to me, and the reasoning was a kind of stupid motive. Either way, the Evans girls work together to kill them both, and now they can start over again, this time with a more open mind to each other.
My thoughts on Scream 7
Fun fact: “Scream 7” was directed by Kevin Williamson, who not only helped write this one, but was the lone screenwriter on three of the first four films in the franchise. So, I was excited to see this 6th sequel. If you remember, I’m a fan of the Scream franchise as a whole. You can read my list from October 28, 2024, where I rank my favorite slasher films. You can also check out a different list from October 16, 2023, where I ranked all the Scream movies from 1 through 6.
So, I was excited to check this one out for sure. I even attempted to get tickets to opening day and struck out because I waited too long. Unfortunately, the best way to sum up “Scream 7” is that they tried too hard. Having Neve Campbell come back after missing part 5 was a good start, but I don’t think it’s working anymore. I feel like they were starting down a good path with 5 and 6 by bringing in a new cast and having Jenna Ortega take the lead. But when that fell through, they went back to the well to rehash the same story again.
Once again, even in this film, they had the start of a new group and then proceeded to kill them all off. My second issue was with bringing back Cox’s Gale Weathers. Her role this time was pretty much useless, and the Meeks-Martin twins were completely underused. When they were all in the bar, they could have played such huge roles, but instead basically did nothing. Finally, is anyone here buying Joel McHale as a police officer? He’s great as a comedian, but personally, I thought he didn’t pull off the whole uniformed cop vibe. It would have played better if he had a different job or not mentioned it at all, but they had a family friend who was the police chief or something.
The overall vibe of “Scream 7” just screamed nostalgia. I love Lillard, but having an AI Stu Macher was sort of on the nose with what a lot of studios are doing nowadays. Too many of them are starting to write AI into their stories because it allows them to take the plot anywhere they want. I love a good sequel, and I love bringing back old cast, but only when it makes sense to do so.
Now, I don’t want to trash on it too much. There were a few things I liked about it. Not having any clue who the killers were was a great way to remind people of the first Scream movie. Hiding hints all over the place about who it could be, only to continuously see those people get murdered, was a great way to keep us on our toes. I honestly didn’t figure out who they were until they removed their masks. Seeing Ethan Embry as one of them was neat because he had such a small role earlier in the film. It also made some of the pieces fall into place nicely. But the other reveal was even more surprising.
Now, for one more piece of the not good. As shocking as it was to see Jessica (Anna Camp) be the other killer, it made no sense. Her explanation was terrible, and to have zero remorse for her son’s death was just as bad. I mean, if that doesn’t tell you how quickly they threw this ending together, I don’t know what does. Overall, it was fun to see Ghostface on the big screen again, but as I said, they tried too hard to put something together without putting more thought into it. Because of that, I can only give this a 5 out of 10.
Watch or wait?
This is a tricky one here. If you are a fan of the franchise, then you absolutely will want to go see “Scream 7” on the big screen surrounded by other Scream fans. I had a few fun moments being there with others as certain things happened on the screen. If you’re not sure, then maybe waiting is the correct move for you. Ok, so that’s it for me this week, but now it’s your turn. Have you watched “Scream 7” yet? If so, what are your thoughts? Is it one of the better ones, or do you have just as many issues with it as I do? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and I will be back next week for another mindless movie review of some sort.
