Published: March 9, 2026
The Scream franchise returns to theaters for a seventh installment, and while it was a fun time, Scream 7 feels more like a Stab movie than a Scream movie. Some fans are even saying, “They finally made a bad one,” in reference to the fact that Scream has always been one of the more consistent horror franchises. Scream 7 dips the quality and lacks a lot of what makes the franchise special. But hey, at least we got that great Scary Movie 6 trailer in theaters alongside this release.
Let’s talk about the strengths. The opening was great. The Scream franchise is known for its iconic opening sequences, and while this film’s opening doesn’t feature particularly memorable characters, it is one of the better portions of the film. Although most of it was in the trailer. A few times throughout the movie, Ghost Face appears in the background and fades in and out of the shadows before revealing himself to his victim, making a sort of ghost effect which I also enjoyed. I honestly was having a decently good time with the movie for most of the experience, but then we got to the third act.
The murder mystery is always my favorite part of a Scream movie. Unfortunately, the mystery here is incredibly lackluster, and like most of the movie, is very predictable. The movie has some really creative kills, but takes many of them too far. Scream 7 gets super gory and violent with some of its kills. Which, I’m not against in a slasher movie, but it’s never been about the kills in Scream. A lot of people like the franchise because of the simple kills and lack of gore. This movie abandons that. Another Scream staple missing from the film is the commentary. What set Scream apart from other slashers in the 90’s was the way they parodied the art form of horror films. Scream 7 talks about nostalgia and AI, two hot topics in Hollywood nowadays, but never does anything clever to actually comment on either issue.
It’s public knowledge that Matthew Lillard returns to the franchise after years of fans hoping and theorizing that Stu may be alive. I won’t say whether or not that’s the case, but I will say that this was a waste of Stu. Matthew Lillard gives a great performance, but he does so little. In fact, there are multiple other characters from prior films that make return cameos (most of which were also publicly announced), but they have maybe 30 seconds of screentime and are nothing more than fanservice. There are just too many characters in this movie, and none of them get enough screentime. The film carries very little emotional weight because of it. Characters are getting killed off left and right, but with no time to develop any attachment, there’s little impact. Sidney and her daughter Tatum have a decent relationship, but other than that, there are no character moments or development worth our time. Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers even has a severely limited role.
Despite most people not loving it, Scream 7 is setting records and is now the biggest box-office opening for the franchise. Because of that, it’s already being said that Scream 8 will begin production later this year. I just hope it’s better than Scream 7. But y’know…I got my Ghost Face popcorn bucket, I’m still a fan of the franchise, and I’ll still be there opening weekend for Scream 8.
