Scream 7 Review: Just Kill This Franchise Already

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In the latest Scream installment, Sidney Prescott faces her most chilling adversaries yet: her own estranged daughter and the dangers of artificial intelligence. However, Kevin Williamson’s return to the series feels uninspired and misses the point of what made the original Scream so groundbreaking. Instead of clever commentary, the film relies on tired horror clichés that the first movie brilliantly satirized. Ultimately, Scream 7 will likely disappoint fans of the franchise and horror as a whole.

Okay, as a huge Scream fan, I was really hoping Scream 7 would be something special. The script, co-written by Williamson and Busick, hinted at exploring some interesting ideas – like how we’re obsessed with true crime and how that might fuel more violence, and even what all this AI stuff means for us. But honestly, it just…didn’t go there. It felt like the movie was trying to address these big issues, but ended up getting tangled in them instead. There were way too many characters to keep track of, and it spent a weird amount of time trying to justify the previous film. Plus, the killers were obvious from the start, and the whole thing just dragged. Seriously, it was so slow! It’s gotten to the point where I think even Ghostface needs to put this franchise out of its misery – it deserves a really good scare… permanently.

Scream 7 Is The Exact Kind of Slop Wes Craven Would’ve Railed Against

After seven films where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has repeatedly lost loved ones to a masked killer, it’s fair to say her life is unbelievably unlucky. However, the new movie, Scream 7, takes itself far too seriously. Sidney tries to escape her past by moving to the idyllic small town of Pine Grove, which feels almost too perfect. She even opens a coffee shop called “A Little Latte,” complete with a chalkboard menu written in cute lettering.

Sid is surprisingly well-adjusted, which is unexpected given his background, and he’s married to a police officer, as you might expect. Mark (played by Joel McHale) isn’t a particularly compelling character, but McHale brings his signature sarcastic charm to the role, much like he did in Community. Sid and Mark have three children: twin babies who are never shown on screen, and a seventeen-year-old daughter named Tatum (Isabel May), who is named after the Tatum from the original film (played by Rose McGowan).

Tatum has a boyfriend, Ben, who shares unsettling similarities with her mother’s past relationship, though he seems like a good person. She’s involved in the school play, and the main conflict with her mother stems from Tatum’s unwillingness to discuss a traumatic past involving numerous stalkers. The writers repeatedly emphasize this disagreement, and the constant, minor arguments become frustratingly repetitive.

Not much happens in Scream 7 until Sidney receives a call from someone pretending to be Stu Macher, a killer from the original movie who was thought to be dead. The video calls she receives, showing a scarred face, are surprisingly realistic, leading Sidney to believe she’s being targeted by someone with advanced deepfake technology.

Following a stressful confrontation with Ghostface at Sidney and Mark’s house, Gale Weathers arrives to investigate who is behind the new killings. She’s joined by Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin, returning from the previous two Scream movies as her interns – a somewhat weak attempt to connect the films. It’s important to note that Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega are not in this installment; Barrera was let go after expressing support for Palestine, and Ortega chose to leave the project in support of her.

Regardless of how they arrived at this point, Scream 7 introduces a new group of characters—a mix of returning faces and newcomers—but they all feel underdeveloped and aren’t given enough depth. This even extends to Sidney, who now seems defined solely by her past trauma. It’s incredibly frustrating to see characters constantly burden Sidney with guilt for simply surviving or being a mother, and the sheer insensitivity of it makes you question if the writer even cares about her anymore.

While Scream 7 features more brutal kills than previous installments, these moments lack genuine suspense. Director Christopher Williamson hasn’t directed a film since 1999’s Teaching Mrs. Tingle, and his direction here feels flat, uninspired, and surprisingly static. Instead of offering anything fresh or innovative, Scream 7 relies heavily on nostalgia and self-referential humor, but it feels forced and stale – like an old, crumbling supply of something that once had an impact.

It’s time for the Scream franchise to end. Continuing to make sequels might actually hurt the series financially and creatively. Scream 7 feels like exactly the type of mindless horror film that Wes Craven actively tried to subvert with his work. The character of Sidney, and the entire Scream series, deserves to rest. And frankly, so do the fans.

Scream 7 releases in theaters on February 27th, 2026.

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2026-02-26 17:21