SCREAM VII REVIEW
“A deliberate throwback that’s often formulaic, but still quite satisfying.”
For whatever reason, I decided not to do any sort of rewatch of the previous six “Scream” movies ahead of this new one, even if Scream 7 seemed like something that might tie up some of the loose ends from the earliest movies through the most recent ones. Kevin Williamson’s return to the franchise for the first time in 15 years, not only as a screenwriter but also directing his first installment, made me think I probably should do a franchise refresher, but I didn’t.
Part of it is that I truly believe that every movie (like every comic book) is somebody’s first, and even when you’ve achieved the 7th movie in a franchise, you need to make sure that someone who has never seen a single “Scream” movie will understand what’s going on. The only other thing I’ll add as a preamble is that I have mostly enjoyed all previous movies in the franchise, even the “difficult” Scream III, but I especially liked how Scream VI brought Ghostface to my hometown of NYC. Thankfully, I didn’t need that rewatch, since I remembered enough.
Anyway, Williamson is back, as is Neve Campbell’s Sydney Prescott, now Evans, living in Pine Grove with her police chief hubbie Mark (Joel McHale) and their 17-year-old daughter Tatum (Isabel May). Before Sydney and her family start being plagued once again by the Ghostface killer, we’re treated to another one those fun openings, involving two young people who are renting out the original Stu Macher, which is now a “monster house” listed on Air BnB. If you’ve seen any of the movies, you’ll probably realize they’ll be Ghostface’s first victims. After Sydney’s family start being threatened, Courtney Cox’s Gail Weathers eventually shows up with twins Mindy and Chad (Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding) from the last two movies as her interns, as she’s looking for her next big story.
Honestly, there’s no reason to say too much about any of the other teen characters, essentially Tatum’s friends. We do learn a bit about some of them, although we’re always assuming that they’re either the killer(s) or Ghostface fodder, and you’ll just have to watch the movie to find out which. I see no reason to spoil any of that or any of the connections to the very first Scream 30 years ago.
But this is mostly about Sydney and Tatum, and Neve Campbell proves herself to be in fine form as an actor, despite it being so long since we’ve seen her headlining any movie. Cox is also good, but she disappears for a good portion of the movie, and there are other characters who are wasted, like Timothy Simons’ drama teacher, who you totally want to see more of – maybe in Scream 8? Some may wonder how much of Radio Silence’s original story scrapped story remained, as they are credited., since all of them receive credit despite not actually writing or directing – since they’ve already done press for their next movie, we may never find out.
For someone who has only directed one movie, Williamson does an impressive job hitting all the important marks involved with making a Scream movie, combining tension with action, gore, as well as laughs. In his case, he clearly learned a lot from working with the great Wes Craven on those first few “Scream” movies, incorporating many noticeable elements from those movies, including a few deliberately revived needle drops. Scream 7 never skimps on the gore with brutal kills that make it obvious that no one is safe. As much as the film is meant as a throwback to earlier movies, Williamson is also able to incorporate modern technology that didn’t exist thirty years ago in quite a clever way.
As always, there’s the obligatory killer reveal, and as with almost every movie since the first one, people will either accept that reveal or spend far too much brain power questioning it. In my opinion, it is what it is, and it’s part of the franchise’s formula, though what comes after that reveal definitely makes it all worthwhile. Ultimately, with Scream 7, Kevin Williamson has successfully taken what was a deliberately formulaic throwback and made a satisfying installment.
Rating: 7.5/10
Scream VII opens in roughly 9 to 10 hours.