Burn it all down.
Burn it all down.
Directed by Kevin Williamson, Scream 7 lands three decades after the genre‑revitalizing meta slasher he and Wes Craven created, and it draws from its legacy without being constrained by it. This chapter leans into a sharper emotional core, examining what happens when the final girl grows up and becomes a parent. The chaos is rooted in Sidney Prescott’s evolution and the careful, protective life she’s attempted to build for her family. It’s a sequel that blends nostalgia with a sense of maturity, nodding to the series’ familiar rhythms while still carving out its own identity. Even the callbacks are done with intention, setting up a narrative that’s just as character‑driven as it is savage.
Scream 7 brings Sidney (Neve Campbell) back into the spotlight as Sidney Evans, now living a quieter life with her husband Mark (Joel McHale) and their teenage daughter Tatum (Isabel May), only for a new Ghostface to shatter her sense of safety. The family dynamic adds a welcome layer of urgency, giving the story an intimate edge as Sidney faces the terrifying possibility that her daughter could become the next target. This entry feels more ambitious than recent installments, weaving multiple characters and subplots together while still capturing the unmistakable Wes energy that defined the original. The film remains self‑aware throughout, though a few creative choices could have used some refinement. Its meta streak leans directly into the nostalgia‑filled era, nodding to the legacy‑sequel wave that surged after Halloween (2018). This time, the subversion doesn’t come from deconstructing horror tropes but from breaking its own rules. It also comments on the challenge of balancing old leads with new blood, acknowledging that franchises need fresh characters to evolve while still honouring the beloved OGs.
The first and second acts are strong, driven by quick pacing and an opening sequence that feels familiar yet refreshed. Scream 7 explores themes of toxic nostalgia, AI and deepfakes, a timely direction that feels relevant. There’s a lot of potential in these ideas, even if they don’t always tie together neatly in the third act. The opening scene sets the tone for a more dangerous and nuanced iteration of Ghostface, and while it leans into the theory that Stu could still be alive, it doesn’t connect to the rest of the film as seamlessly as some of the other cold openings. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy in this latest chapter, which supplies enough tension, personality, and ambition to keep the property’s pulse beating.
Neve Campbell’s return is the film’s greatest asset, and she slips back into Sidney with a force that instantly reminds you why she has defined this franchise for thirty years. Her performance shows progression for the character, as she stays guarded and instinctively pulls inward when the attacks begin, yet slowly opens up emotionally by the end. The bond between Sidney and Tatum has an easy, natural warmth that never feels overstated, and while Sidney rarely seems in danger, as she’s a force to be reckoned with, the presence of her family introduces a vulnerability that genuinely raises the stakes. Campbell brings a fierce intensity to the role, offering several moments that feel unmistakably “Sidney,” and Kevin Williamson’s rewrites of her character give her room to be both the iconic final girl and a mother whose depth makes her more compelling than ever.
Courteney Cox, who also serves as an executive producer alongside Neve Campbell, reminds us why she remains such an essential presence in this now billion-dollar franchise. Her role is smaller this time, but she delivers her best entrance yet and makes every moment count, especially in her scenes with Sidney where their dynamic shifts from lingering tension to a uniquely resilient friendship shaped by decades of shared trauma and history. The film acknowledges the physical aftermath of her violent encounter in Scream VI, anchoring her performance in a way that feels honest while still allowing her that fearless spark she has always carried. One moment that feels noticeably absent is a phone call from an AI‑generated Dewey, which could have been a gut‑punch and a powerful beat for Gale; a missed opportunity. Although she is underused in the finale and could have given the second killer more to do, every time she appears, it reinforces why Gale remains such a vital part of the franchise. Seeing her survive and take out at least one killer adds a satisfying payoff to her limited screen time.
Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown bring welcome continuity as the twins, offering what might be their strongest showing yet and adding spark and humour to their parts. The cameos are also a highlight, with David Arquette, Laurie Metcalf, and Scott Foley returning for fun nods to the past, and Matthew Lillard’s reprisal of Stu landing as a surreal subplot that ties neatly into the film’s themes of nostalgia and AI. While these calls are a gift to die‑hard Stu fans, they do slightly pull focus from the new cast and the actual killers.
The younger ensemble is impressively stacked, with Isabel May taking the lead as Tatum Evans. She turns in an engaging performance, especially during her tense chase through the empty streets of Pine Grove. May brings far more than the usual angsty‑teen archetype, displaying a quiet strength and clarity that deepen the film’s stakes. Her connection with Sidney becomes the film’s thematic centrepiece, lending their scenes a sincerity and weight that rank among the best character work the series has offered in years.
The fresh faces all bring something unique to the table, even if many of them end up underutilized. The theatre and tavern set pieces give the teens some striking moments, but without more time to flesh out their characters, they don’t pop the way the friend groups did in Scream 4 and 5. A more classic Scream‑style introduction, like a party sequence, might have helped define their personalities before the chaos hit. Of the newcomers, McKenna Grace, the biggest star of the bunch, stands out as Hannah, even though she receives the Cici Cooper–Sarah Darling–Wes Hicks treatment and exits early. Her death scene—suspended in wires, backlit in harsh spotlight, her body hanging in silhouette—is a brutal and beautifully staged moment. Lucas (Asa Germann) is given a bit more room to breathe, serving as a solid red herring whose true‑crime obsession puts him directly in Mindy Meeks’ crosshairs. Sam Rechner and Celeste O’Connor also do well with the limited material they’re given, bringing enough personality to make their encounters with Ghostface register with force.
The third act is where Scream 7 loses some of its footing, particularly in the killer reveal and the way the motive is delivered. The stretch from the unmasking to the final fight moves so quickly that it doesn’t fully register. The reveal centers on Jessica Bowden (Anna Camp), Sidney’s neighbour, who becomes obsessed with the version of her from thirty years ago, a theory Mindy lays out earlier in the film. Jessica’s obsession began after she escaped an abusive marriage by murdering her husband, inspired by Sidney’s survivor story in Out of Darkness from Scream 4. Getting away with the crime only intensified her interest, and when Sidney withdrew from the public eye, Jessica unravelled, tracking her to Pine Grove in hopes of finding the fighter she had built up in her mind. Instead, she finds a woman living a quiet life, which sends her spiralling further. When Sidney sat out the events of Scream VI to protect her family, it made Jessica even more unstable. Her time at the nearby Fallbrook psychiatric hospital brought her into contact with Marco (Ethan Embry), a supervisor who becomes her partner in the Ghostface killings. Together, they plan to turn Tatum into “Sidney 2.0” by staging her mother’s murder in front of her, Maureen Prescott style.
The motive itself has strong potential and seems worthy enough for a new killing spree. It’s a welcome shift from the personal‑revenge angle that’s been used a few times, instead leaning into a parasocial obsession that feels relevant. Jessica isn’t a Stab fanatic; she’s obsessed with Sidney herself, convinced she knows her on a personal level despite having no real connection. It’s a fresh twist on the idea of unnatural closeness to a public figure, but the execution doesn’t fully land. Jessica and Marco don’t get enough screen time earlier in the film, so the reveal lacks the buildup that made other killers in this universe memorable. In fact, Jessica seems to have even less screen time than Debbie Salt in Scream 2. The bones of the motive are strong, but with more development, the killers could have hit harder.
Ghostface is treated almost like a presence of his own in Scream 7, drifting through scenes with an eerie, deliberate stillness that makes him feel genuinely unpredictable. The film showcases shots of him silently stalking through Pine Grove, slow, patient, almost gliding, which gives off a distinct Michael Myers energy that hasn’t been tapped into before. There’s a phantom‑like quality to the way he moves here, a creepiness that makes this version of Ghostface feel more haunting than ever.
The kill sequences in Scream 7 are some of the most bloody and thoughtfully staged the franchise has served. The deaths aren’t just gory for shock value; they’re genuinely inventive, with Ghostface using his environment in clever ways that give the violence some personality. The bar sequence, and beer tap kill in particular, is a standout, drawing rowdy reactions from the audience and easily ranking among the franchise’s best. The film builds on the action of Scream VI but pushes everything further, crafting fights that feel raw and drawn‑out. Even the home‑invasion set piece has a level of choreography to it that makes these action beats some of the most brutal and memorable yet.
The direction and cinematography feel deliberately shaped by someone who understands the brand’s DNA, and Kevin Williamson proves to be the ideal choice to guide this chapter. His approach carries a studied respect for the original film’s tone and structure, and while not every choice is flawless, the film genuinely feels like a return to the saga’s core spirit rather than just another modern slasher with Ghostface. Williamson brings a distinctive visual sensibility with unique camera angles, fluid transitions, and a confident command of tension that elevate the horror sequences. The curfew montage, set to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand” as the sun dips behind Pine Grove, is the closest the series has come to recapturing the look of 1996. While Scream 5 and this latest entry feel on par, Scream 7 surpasses it in the cinematography department with richer and more atmospheric compositions
Scream 7’s soundtrack and score deepen the sense of legacy. Marco Beltrami’s return is a major highlight, with those classic themes instantly pulling the film back into the tonal space of the initial trilogy. The needle drops are equally well‑chosen with tracks like “Nothing’s Going to Hurt You Baby” by Cigarettes After Sex and “Who’s Your Boyfriend” by Royel Otis, smoothly blending into the mood. Original songs, including Don Toliver’s “Creepin” and Ice Nine Kills and McKenna Grace’s “Twisting the Knife,” land perfectly over the closing credits, ending the film with a stylish, contemporary edge.
Overall, Scream 7 feels both satisfyingly familiar and confidently fresh, delivering great kills, sharp tension, and a visual style that stands among the strongest of the Scream series. Even with a third‑act reveal that doesn’t quite match the strength of what comes before, the film still plays as classic Scream fun – punchy, fast‑moving, and packed with enough action, mystery, and carnage to please slasher fans. What really drives the experience is Neve Campbell’s return, which brings the weight, history, and emotion that make this franchise feel like itself. It’s an undeniably entertaining chapter, and reaffirms why these slashers still resonate after thirty years.
