SCREAM 7 (4K): Sydney's Back for More

SCREAM 7 (Blu-ray)

2026 / 114 min

Paramount

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

I actually stopped paying attention to the Scream franchise a long time ago, more or less checking out after the third film. In the interim, a lot has changed. Director Wes Craven has since passed on, while original screenwriter Kevin Williamson became far less involved. And of course, lots of different actors & characters have donned the Ghostface mask to assume the slashing duties.

But the biggest change? After checking out Scream 7, it’s painfully clear that it has become the very type of franchise those first few films cleverly poked fun at. Gone is the self-awareness, sly satire and much of the humor. A few allusions to past classics pop up here and there, but they feel shoehorned into the script, and aside from some of its characters and a truckload of Ghostfaces, this plays like just another slasher film…

…or maybe a greatest hits album. Williamson is back to write and direct, while Sydney (Neve Campbell) returns after sitting out of Scream VI, this time with a snarky teenage daughter to be put in peril. Then there’s Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers, who doesn’t serve much of a purpose other than continuity. Additionally, plenty of familiar faces we thought were dead are squeezed into the plot, mostly in glorified cameos (so don’t get too excited over Matthew Lillard’s return). Most of the younger new characters seem calculated to appeal to a new generation of Scream fans, while Joel McHale is wasted as a police chief and Sydney’s husband.

Sydney shares her cat pix.

Then it’s business as usual…Ghostface’s creepy phone calls, lengthy stalking sequences and lots of gory violence. It’s all competently executed, but aside from an amusing death-by-beertap scene, never particularly memorable because we’ve seen it all before. Even the prerequisite twist revealing Ghostface’s identity is underwhelming, partially because we know a twist is coming, but also because there’s no trope more boring than yet-another slasher who feels compelled to explain while they’re slashing.

On the plus side, Scream 7 doesn’t really require the viewer to be familiar with previous installments (except maybe the first one). The film may have forgotten most of what initially made Scream unique among slasher franchises, but at least the story won’t be lost on newcomers (who might actually appreciate this one more than longtime fans). Additionally, it’s been given a pretty solid 4K transfer, with excellent picture and sound.

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

FEATURETTES - Scar Tissue: The Making of Scream 7 features interviews and clips; Building Tension is about the film’s production design; Dance of Death covers the film’s stuntwork.

MUSIC VIDEO - “Twisting the Knife,” by Ice Nine Kills.

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