After three years, Ghostface is back in “Scream 7”. This film had a very turbulent pre-production, with Melissa Barrera getting fired over controversial tweets and Jenna Ortega leaving the film out of protest. Due to the casting changes, the film’s creative team had to come up with an entirely new storyline, which included the return of Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott as the lead. Because of the film’s trouble, fans are left wondering if the film is worthy of being a part of the franchise.
What the Film Does Well
The best thing about this movie is seeing Neve Campbell back as Sidney Prescott. In this film, we see her at a very different point in her life: a mother trying to connect with her teen daughter, Tatum Evans, played by Isabel May.
Tatum is the same age Sidney was when the original film took place back in 1996. With “Scream” being 30-years-old, it’s cool to see the characters at different points in their life over the course of the franchise.
Sidney’s arc in the film has a lot in common with Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode in “Halloween” (2018). Although it’s not a total one-to-one comparison, there are a few similarities for common horror movie watchers. Both are long-lasting characters in the horror genre where the events of the original film influence the motivation of the killer. They both have a daughter that becomes a centerpiece for the film’s story.
Another strong element is Kevin Williamson as the director, however it was strange that he didn’t also write the screenplay. Williamson wrote the screenplay for the first four films, as well as the films directed by Wes Craven.
Williamson is a talented director; there is really creative imagery, such as the visuals during Ghostface’s entrances that create a bit more spark than in past films. Since Ghostface’s outfit is a black robe with his iconic white mask, the characters and the audience only see the mask in the shadows, adding to the dread behind each Ghostface appearance.
In contrast to the other “Scream” movies, “Scream 7” just might be the most violent film in the franchise. The kills throughout the movie are very well done, with two kills that will definitely stand out to the audience. If you’re a fan of the “Scream” franchise for its violence and over-the-top kills, you won’t be disappointed with this film.
The film is entertaining from beginning to end and will keep audiences engaged. While the final answers and reveals didn’t fully deliver as other thrillers have, the journey overall is what audiences will enjoy the most.
What the Film Doesn’t Do So Well
Unfortunately, while there were interesting ideas and solid moments, the film overall left a lot to be desired. One of the most anticipated parts of a “Scream” film is the final reveal of who Ghostface is. With this movie, the final reveal doesn’t work at all.
The reveal of Ghostface was both predictable and so out of left field that it didn’t make any sense. Critics are calling it the worst Ghostface reveal of the franchise, and it’s likely that most “Scream” fans will share a similar sentiment leaving the theater. One can enjoy the film well enough for the ride, but will likely agree that the film completely falls apart with the final reveal of Ghostface.
The movie also makes it very unclear what the motivation of Ghostface was. Film critics such as Sean Chandler described the motivation as a “word salad”, meaning a mix of ingredients that ultimately did not work well together.
With the return of Campbell, Williamson, and Matthew Lillard as Stu, the movie was marketed as a nostalgia play in an attempt to win fans over. However, the way they used elements of nostalgia and brought back people from other “Scream” movies felt like a cheap way to get the audience interested, that just didn’t work.
The film’s shortcomings are similar to what Marvel Studios is doing with “Avengers: Doomsday”, by bringing back Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans. Their inclusion of old characters feels forced, and although they had a general idea of what they wanted to do, it wasn’t executed very well. By including these returning characters in the marketing and names on the poster, it sets high expectations of the characters’ involvement for the audience, leaving many fans disappointed.
Finally, the film often strains an enormous amount of credibility, where the only reason why certain events happen is because the movie needs them to progress the plot. Most of these problems are due to the film’s rewrites following casting changes, and the plot clearly makes such rewriting obvious.
For example, the film takes place in a small town (not Woodsboro), with police officers often making recurring appearances. However, when the police are needed the most, nobody shows up to help; if the cops had shown up, though, the movie would be over.
The ways in which characters come and go from the film also doesn’t add up, with Courtney Cox’s character from the original Scream, Gale Weathers, coming in about 30 minutes into the film and staying for 10 to 15 minutes of screen time before disappearing for a large chunk of the film. The film gives zero explanation as to where her character went, and makes it seem like she was added to the storyline at the last minute.
Small mistakes like these would have been fixable in another draft or two of the script, yet the script wasn’t as strong as it should’ve been because the producers were trying to release the movie as fast as possible.
My Score: 7.7/10 (C+)
While excitement wasn’t super high for “Scream 7”, this was still a big disappointment that could’ve and should’ve been so much better. It’s great to see Neve Campbell back in action and there’s some fun kills in the film as well, but the script and story as a whole wasn’t up to par with others in the franchise, and the way they brought back past characters unfortunately didn’t aid the film’s execution.
How Does Scoring Work?: For reviews, movies that scored a B- or above are worth seeing, but I wouldn’t recommend any films rated a C+ or below.
A+: Masterpiece!
A: Loved it!
A-: Great!
B+: Really Good
B: Good
B-: Mixed Positive
C+: Mixed Negative
C: Meh
C-: Bad
D+ to F: Terrible
