I know that horror movies aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.
But, there are several franchises that have been the cornerstone of my scary movie experience from childhood to now and the “Scream” franchise just happens to keep churning out flicks.
And that only made it pure reflex to check out “Scream 7” over the weekend.
While I loved the return of several iconic characters to the big screen in a unique way, I think that the film banked too much on nostalgia instead of making a good movie.
The thing that bothered me most of all was how dark all of the shots were – and I know that it’s a horror film, but there are plenty of creative options for lighting rather than overshadowed action scenes.
Basically, outside of squinting at the theater screen over 60% of the time, I would have enjoyed the movie a lot more if I could see what was happening on screen.
Scream 7 is a slasher film that is a sequel to Scream VI (2023) and the seventh installment in the Scream film series.
It is directed by Kevin Williamson from a screenplay he co-wrote with Guy Busick, from a story by James Vanderbilt and Busick.
The film stars Neve Campbell, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and Courteney Cox reprising their roles from the previous films, with Isabel May, Anna Camp, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons, Cyle Winters, Kraig Dane, and Joel McHale also starring.
It clocks in at 114 minutes long and is rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, and language.
In Woodsboro, Stab franchise fan Scott (Tatro) and his girlfriend Madison (Randolph) visit Stu Macher’s house as part of a destination experience.
They are killed by Ghostface, who then sets the house on fire.
In Pine Grove, Indiana, Sidney Prescott (Campbell) has built a new life for herself.
She is married to police chief Mark Evans (McHale), runs a coffeehouse, and looks after her children, including her teenage daughter Tatum (May), named after Sidney’s late best friend Tatum Riley.
Sidney receives a call from Ghostface, who requests a video call and reveals himself as an aged and scarred Stu (Lillard).
Stu announces he is going after Tatum and is standing outside the theater where she and her classmates are rehearsing.
Sidney arrives with the police as Ghostface flees after killing Tatum’s classmates, Hannah (Grace) and Aaron (Winters).
Later that night, Ghostface emerges from Sidney’s attic and holds Tatum at knifepoint.
Mark quickly attacks him, but is knocked out after falling down the stairs.
Sidney takes Tatum to a safe room to evade Ghostface and uses the room’s alternate exit to leave the house.
Ghostface chases them but is fatally run over by Gale Weathers (Cox) and her assistants Mindy (Brown) and Chad Meeks-Martin (Gooding).
Once Ghostface is unmasked, Sidney recognizes him as a suspicious man who bought coffee from her earlier, and the police discover he is Karl Gibbs (Dane), a murderer who escaped from a nearby mental institution.
Naturally, Gale and Sidney don’t believe that’s the end of Ghostface and head up their own investigation while Tatum disobeys her parents’ wishes like any typical teenager and gets herself into more trouble.
Overall, this entry into the Scream franchise isn’t terribly groundbreaking or exciting, but it is a decent injection of nostalgia into the horror movies available so far this year.
Feel free to experience if for yourself on the silver screen now or wait for it to hit streaming services – either way, it’s still a Scream film.
