Verdict: 2.5/5
There was an 11-year break between ‘Scream 3’ and ‘Scream 4’, a period in which the franchise seemed dead and buried, only to be revived for a new audience – and those craving nostalgia.
After ‘Scream 7’, another 11-year hiatus probably wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
It’s not that this latest instalment is a terrible movie. After all, Neve Campell returns as Sidney after missing the previous film – and it’s a welcome comeback and that drives the storyline.
The issue is that this franchise has now got itself lost in its own nostalgic bent; desperately trying to give its audience from those initial movies in the 1990s a satisfying link, while trying to stay relevant in a changing slasher film market.
In the end though it all comes down to what you’re hoping to get out of the seventh movie in a franchise.
If you are chasing a couple of hours of going down a rabbit hole with some of the franchise’s favourite characters (Gale Weathers’ entrance is one of the best scenes in the movie and literally got a round of applause in the session I attended), then you’ll likely find enough here to satisfy you.
But if you’re looking for advancement in the series, a solid motive for Sidney to be tormented again by Ghostface or a meaningful storyline, you’re likely to be disappointed.
Even the kill scenes feel a bit drab, and you barely feel connected with any of the characters to care that much about them living or dying. There’s not much appealing in the long list of also-rans in this cast (though I will say it was a delight to see ‘Landman’’s Michelle Randolph early in the film).
In the end the motive of the Ghostface for this instalment just isn’t enough to leave you feeling this was all worth it.
It has been 30 years since that iconic Drew Barrymore moment in the first ‘Scream’ film. I have had a love-hate relationship with the franchise since then, but ‘Scream 7’ only makes one realise how far the whole thing has strayed from the brilliant moments and reveals of those early films.
See this movie at Event Cinemas Parramatta.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.