Scream 7 (2026)

Full review: https://movieswetextedabout.com/scream-7-movie-review-the-disheartening-reality-of-a-sagas-first-true-failure/

Rating: D+

"Scream 7 reveals itself as a disappointing sequel in a saga that has never failed so evidently, demonstrating a glaring creative exhaustion. It’s an exercise in nostalgia that, by trying to criticize the dependency on the past through AI, ends up becoming a victim of its own lack of vision and originality. When the mask falls and the motives are revealed, what remains is only the image of a franchise that seems to be fighting against its own obsolescence without knowing how to truly reinvent itself. Without its ability to satirize the real world and shock through genuine creativity, this seventh chapter gets lost in its own references, forgetting that for a story to stay alive, it’s not enough to just replicate the echoes of what came before."

By far the worst in the series and shockingly lazy, though I guess some of the kills were at least okay. But everything else was trash, I get that Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox (both served as executive producers) were there for the paycheck, and that's fine but you can see it on screen. Also, the inclusion of Mindy and Chad was utterly pointless and they looked like they didn't want to be there (wondering if they were contractually obligated); they weren't all that great characters to begin with and added absolutely nothing to the movie.

For her part Isabel May was fine as Sidney's daughter and Joel McHale had some okay I guess but, and this goes to the laziness, it was obvious they made basically no changes to the script when Patrick Dempsey (wisely) turned the role down.

But perhaps the most shocking thing is how bad the script was. Sure, Kevin Williamson was never an amazing writer save for the 1996 original Scream, but I thought the dialogue was so bad and the ultimate reveal was so dumb, with one being patently obvious and the other just laughable especially with the reveal of the haphazard motives.

Before this, it was a tie between Scream 3 and Scream 6 of the worst in the series, but this one puts both to shame. No amount of nostalgia could save this. I have absolutely zero desire to see it again and hope they just let the franchise die. **1.75/5**

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're supposed to hate this because the left is boycotting it for.... reasons that make no real sense, but that's sort of the drill isn't it? If it ain't woke, review bomb it.

And, to some extent the hate is a bit justified, it's not much better than Scream 3, but it's not as bad as Scream VI which, let's be honest, was yet another political lecture pretending to be entertainment. And that lack of politics in 7, that is probably the cause of the hate and the boycott.

And it being about as good as Scream 3, well, when Scream 3 came out it SUCKED. But it's 2026, and in 2026 a movie like that is actually pretty pretty good in comparison to the absolute preachy lecturing gutter trash that has been nearly every movie for the past decade in a half.

So what do you get? A pretty basic by the numbers horror movie with a twist you see coming like most every other pretty basic by the numbers horror movie. But you just get a horror movie, and it's just made to entertain. And in the era of politically partisan shreiking in absolutely everything, that is sort of a breath of fresh air.

Too splatter in my opinion. The suspense level is quite good but the ending has been quite disappointing to me.
It could have been much better.

I had very low expectations for this, so maybe that’s why at times I was surprised to find it was quite good. Scary? Well no, not really, and of course “Ghostface” has all the nimble dexterity and immortality features of a baddie from a “Scooby Do” cartoon so you can guess that there are at least two of them operating in cahoots. Given that was all going to be pre-programmed from the start, I thought Kevin Williamson did just a little better than anticipated with this. The new target for our Munchian terror is “Tatum” (Isabel May), the teenage daughter of the now battle-hardened “Sidney” (Neve Campbell) and her police chief husband “Mark” (Joel McHale). “Sidney” gets a series of threatening video calls from “Stu Macher” (Matthew Lillard) promising vengeance on her and her family. Isn’t he meant to be dead? Well regardless, soon the body count is starting to mount up and nobody knows just who they can trust. From here on in the wheels don’t so much come off as follow an increasingly preposterous plot line that once again reminds me that if you are the boy(friend) in any of these movies, then you have no more chance of survival than the men in the red shirts did in an edition of “Star Trek”. “Gale” (Courtney Cox) shows up to offer an helping hand and some luring airtime, but adds little as we head to a denouement that is based on the least likely candidate from the few left standing as the entire town smoulders in it’s own wreckage. These films deliver what they say on the can, and if you approach this in the spirit of been there and seen that, then this is no worse than the average production-line horror enterprises that Blumhouse churn out each month and I think you can safely assume that there will be a “Scream Ate”.

As someone whose obsession with horror began with the 1996 original, reviewing a Scream film feels like critiquing a part of my own history. It is, and likely always will be, my favourite horror franchise. But love requires honesty, and the truth is that Scream 7 is a pale imitation of the sharp, subversive slasher that defined a generation.

While Neve Campbell and Isabel May bring a grounded sincerity to the screen, the film around them feels fundamentally lost. The "meta" commentary, once the serie's greatest weapon, has become its Achille's heel, resulting in a narrative that feels more like a cynical digital experiment than a cinematic event. This is most apparent in the legacy cameos. While the "flatness" of these performances was clearly an intentional creative choice to sell the narrative, the result is a jarring lack of cinematic presence. It is a paradox where the actors deliver exactly what was asked of them - an imitation of life - but in doing so, the film robs these icons of their emotional weight, leaving them as hollow digital inserts rather than the homecoming events they should have been.

The treatment of the supporting cast is equally cynical. Gale Weathers presence feels entirely "phoned in", serving as little more than perfunctory fan service, while characters like Chad and Mindy are pulled back into the fray with nothing meaningful to do. They feel less like franchise survivors and more like targets being kept on life support simply for future instalments. There is a noticeable lack of emotional continuity here; having survived such equally immense trauma, the twins are reduced to "smiles, sunshine and comic relief" rather than being allowed any real reflection on their own losses. While perhaps not essential for a slasher, the film suffers from a lack of respectful nods to the wider surviving cast - the sudden absence of Sam, Tara, and Kirby for example is left as a jarring void that makes the world feel smaller and less lived-in.

Most frustrating is the film’s aggressive attempt to outrun its own shadow. In a move designed to spite long-standing fan theories, the narrative effectively torches the series most iconic location, severing the link to the Macher house and Woodsboro in a way that feels more spiteful than symbolic. In destroying its past, the film inadvertently destroys its soul, removing the very anchor that gave the franchise its gravity.

The greatest disappointment though lies in the movies lack of weight. A Scream movie is only as good as the shadow the killer casts, and this instalment offers nothing but hollow, "pound store" antagonists whose motives lack any tangible connection to the legacy they’re trying to dismantle.

Kevin Williamson’s return should have been a homecoming; instead, it feels like a total departure from the gritty, high-stakes tension of the original trilogy. While it remains an entertaining watch for the sake of the brand, the spark is gone. Wes would be disappointed.

If the franchise is to survive, it needs to stop looking at screens and start looking at its soul. It’s time for one final, explosive showdown to close the book - for Sidney’s sake, and for ours.

**TL; DR:** A soul-crushing departure from the franchise's roots that trades cinematic tension for digital gimmicks and "pound store" killers. Neve Campbell shines, but even she can’t save a script that treats legacy characters like disposable marketing tools.

**Final Grade: C- (2.5/5 Stars)**

It's interesting that this movie came out the same year as the Scary Movie. Both of them are tail ends of tired franchises, but whereas Scary Movie is rambling and incoherent, this movie at least tries to build on its formula, try a few new twists, and make something of it. The movie isn't great by any metric, but I think it might be good enough for what it wants to be. It's a callous cash grab of nostalgia, but it is well produced and well directed. The casting is of course all stars, because that's how nostalgiabait works. But the new additions pull their weight and while I don't think any of them will be able to lift the franchise after the old guard is completely vanquished, the movie is fine the way it is.