In the latest instalment of the Scream franchise, Sidney Prescott-Evans (Neve Campbell) has built a new life with her husband Mark (Joel McHale) and daughter Tatum (Isabel May). While it has been some time since her last Ghostface encounter, Sidney knows that she is never truly out of the woods. Before long, a new killer makes themselves known and this time he’s targeting Tatum. Sidney must once again face her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.
After a lot of behind the scenes shake ups, Kevin Williamson is not only back in the writing seat, he is also in the director’s seat for the first time. Many people thought that this, combined with Campbell’s triumphant return as everyone’s favorite Final Girl, would be enough for fans to tune back in after the departure of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega’s Sam and Tara who helmed the last two films. Having Sidney back front and centre was surely a treat though I cannot say that I didn’t miss Barrera or Ortega as I thought they fit in well. The film itself wasn’t the strongest of the franchise, but I still had a good enough time with it.
It really did seem as though Sidney had never left. Campbell fit back into Sidney’s trauma effortlessly and this time the stakes were raised even higher because of who Ghostface is now targeting. Seeing Sidney as a mother and watching her complicated relationship with Tatum unfold was interesting. May did a formidable job; it was like she was always meant to be there. I also liked the dynamic between Sidney and Mark; domestic Sidney was someone I never knew I needed. Courteney Cox resumed her role as Gale Weathers. Her entrance was absolutely iconic, as if we could expect anything less, though I didn’t think she was featured as much as she should have been. The same can be said about Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding who portray Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin. I appreciated that they were a tie in from the previous two films, but they were severely underused.
Unfortunately not many of the new characters worked. Tatum’s friends Hannah (Mckenna Grace), Lucas (Asa Germann), Chloe (Celeste O’Connor) and Ben (Sam Rechner) seemed like caricatures rather than fully fleshed out human beings. Each started with so much promise though the audience never gets to really know them. The addition of Anna Camp was a good one though she had maybe about ten minutes screen time which was a disappointment. At least we had the so-called legacy cast to fall back on: Matthew Lillard, David Arquette and Scott Foley are all back in some shape or form and I enjoyed seeing them again.
It wouldn’t be a proper Scream film without some blood, gore and good old jump scares. This one had many! The opening sequence was very well done and I particularly enjoyed the scene that took place in the bar too. However, I do think that while there was a high body count that there were still a few moments where nothing of importance happened. I’m used to these films being fast paced and never a dull moment. Also, I’ll admit that while I did not see the final reveal coming, I did think that it left a lot to be desired.
Overall Scream 7 is worth checking out for Neve Campbell’s return alone. That being said, whether or not this instalment was truly necessary remains to be seen. Part of what makes these films so enjoyable is how self aware they are. I love how they don’t mind poking fun at themselves, but I can’t help wondering how many times the same formula will continue to work before it gets played out.
Rating: ♥️♥️♥️
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