Scream 7

Plot

A new Ghostface has begun a series of kills, and it seems he/she/they are targeting Sidney Evans (nee Prescott) once again.

It is seemingly Stu Macher, whose death may have been fabricated all the way back in 1996. Could it really be Stu? Or could it be someone closer to home?

Now with a teenage daughter Tatum, and husband Mark – the race is on to unmask this/these killers, before the body count gets any higher!

Direction/Cinematography

Original Scream writer Kevin Williamson is the first time director of the Scream franchise.

As he has been a long time companion of the film, he was the perfect person to take over the duties, and his love of the franchise shines through the camera.

The way Ghostface moves (within the dark and use of shadows), as well as his brutality – are much more prevalent this time around, clearly sticking to the Radio Silence version.

Cast/Characters

Neve Campbell is back front and center as Sidney Prescott, and I’ve absolutely loved her since the first film. She was somewhat missed in #6 – and was used sparingly in #5 – so it’s great that we had a focus on her again.

Courteney Cox is back (being one of 2 actors to return for all 7 movies), and she feels like the Gail of 5 again – having had so much growth (the character assassination of her in 6 still leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. Roger L Jackson is of course back as the voice of Ghostface.

Isabel May plays Tatum Evans, Sidney’s daughter – she has some great moments, and it will be interesting to see how her character progresses if there are future entries (#spoiler alert).

Joel McHale plays Mark Evans, Sidney’s husband and Tatum’s father. He is the chief of police of the small town that they now live.

Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown return again as Chad as Mindy, who now work for Gail.

McKenna Grace, Asa Germann, Sam Rechner and Celeste O’Connor play friends of Tatum (as well as her boyfriend)

Ethan Embry, Tim Simmons, and Anna Camp also play characters within the town.

I am aware that other actors appear in the film… but for the sake of this review I will not be revealing who’s back.

Breakdown

As per norm – the film begins with the standard opening kill. This time, the setting is the former house of Stu Macher, now an Air B&B – and shrine to the ‘third act’ bloodbaths that occurred in movies one and five. The kills are graphic, with Ghostface upping the ante on how brutal he is.

We then cut to the house of the Evans family, with mum Sidney (nee Prescott), husband Mark, a police officer (but not Kincaid – sorry Patrick Dempsey fans), as well as oldest daughter Tatum. The other kidlets (you know, the once Sid was pushing in the stroller in 5?) are at Mark’s parents interstate (clearly Kevin Williamson listened to the online vitriol about how many kids Sid has and added it to the screenplay). Tatum (named after Sid’s BFF from #1, who is finally being remembered all these years later) has her own BF Ben, who has some very similar lines he uses on his first scene, climbing through Tatum’s upstairs bedroom. Luckily mum has been there done that, and she is very wary of her daughter’s bf, not wanting history to repeat itself.

Not long after this (once we’ve established Tatum’s friends’ group – and which ones are red herrings, and which ones are going to cannon fodder) the kills begin, and the killer reveals himself to be… Stu Macher!! With massive facial scars.

The attacks occur in quick succession – especially those depicted in the trailer. There is a very out of the ordinary subverting expectation moment (that I won’t get into, but it left my jaw on the floor) that brings Gail Weathers into the mix. She is still suffering the effects of the attack she suffered in New York and has now taken on Mindy and Chad as her team members. Gail joins Sid in the investigation – which lead them to a mental institution, that apparently a “John Doe’ recently left after suffering amnesia from head trauma all the way back in the late 90s.  

The ‘third act’ bloodbath – is exactly that – with multiple victims happening one after another. There are once again some creative liberties that the writers were either unwilling or unable to do with ‘some’ characters. Despite the many deaths that occur, I felt that at least one out of the three survivors, should have been added to the body count.

One primary theme of the film is family, and parenthood (to quote Sidney – fuck parenthood) – and Tatum’s desire to know more about Sidney’s past. It seems bizarre that Sidney has never really opened up to Tatum about her vast… vast history – especially given Tatum’s namesake. Tatum’s finding of Sidney’s S2 jacket, which gives Sid the willy’s is a slightly redundant part of the film – but I get why Williamson wanted to include it.

Marco Beltrami’s score is back again, much missed – and I loved the inclusion of the old school songs from earlier films like Don’t Fear the Reaper and Red Right Hand.

Ghostface does feel different here, he is much more sinister in both his brutality – and how he seemingly acts like a ghost at times (coming out of the dark, and the use of shadows in the Tatum street chase sequence). There are also some great jump scares as well, that got me.

Here’s where we get to the big downer of the film. The final act. The killer reveals are… well… not great. There does feel as if there is some ‘life imitating art’ with most of the hatred of the films ending (and the film in general) due to the love the fans have of Melissa Berrerra and how her departure was handled. This is similar in nature, in how ‘one’ character feels about another here and ‘that’s why’ they did what they did…but how others came to be teamed up with them… is never asked. It is by far the weakest Ghostface reveal in the franchise, and worst motive.

I did love the proceeding scene to the final, where Sid comes “face to face” with people from her past.

Overall

The first 85% of this film is everything you want from a Scream movie. Sidney back in first place, some ingenious (and simply brutal) kills, a great subversion of expectations (with Gail’s entry) – and some generally good supporting cast who become both red herrings (or victims of Ghostface).

The last 15% is rather disappointing – with a poor Ghostface reveal, and worse motive – this is the poorest in the franchise by far.

As a movie, this is still good – and as a long-time fan I was still happy with the overall product. Thanks Team Scream!

3.5/5