Scream 7 Review: Neve Campbell Returns, But The Franchise Needs New Blood

Scream 7 (M18)

Starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown

Directed by Kevin Williamson

When Scream VI came out in 2023, the Wes Craven–initiated franchise’s signature meta-humour/slasher-terror combo had run its course — more irritating and laboured than gripping or scary. But the best thing about that movie and its predecessor, 2022’s Scream — both helmed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, a.k.a. Radio Silence — was Melissa Barrera, the new Final Girl, who might also be the monster.

Wouldn’t it have been something if Scream 7 had seen her as both hero and Ghostface? Alas, it never got that far. We all knew what happened: Barrera was fired over her divisive Gaza comments. Then Jenna Ortega, who played her sister, bailed, followed by director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day). So much for promoting new blood.

The show must go on, though. Scream creator Kevin Williamson took over the reins, with OG Final Girl Neve Campbell back as the resilient Sidney Prescott — after sitting out Scream VI because the producers were reportedly unwilling to meet her salary demands.

Good news for her and fans. For Scream 7, not so much…. but we’ll get to that.

Following a spate of Ghostface-related murders, Sidney rounds up the usual suspects. Is the killer (or killers) related to her, or hardcore fans of the Stab flicks, the movie-within-a-movie inspired by the events of the first Scream? Per the Scream playbook, maybe it’s her daughter’s (Isabel May) boyfriend or classmates. Or perhaps a familiar face long presumed dead (hello, Matthew Lillard)?

Just when you think it isn’t crowded enough, Courteney Cox is back on the case as reporter Gale Weathers, alongside Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown), the social-media savvy siblings who survived the previous two Scream requels. Their return, however, plays more like fan service than narrative necessity — nostalgic tag-ons that get in the way of the mystery, and often more cringey than exciting.

Elsewhere, Williamson dials down the meta mischief and leans into the carnage —  so brutal that the distributor trimmed the film down to secure a M18 rating instead of an R21 …box-office poison — seemingly to prove it can match the menace of recent slashers such as Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving and Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes (which happens to be co-scripted by Landon).  Even then, it feels less like a Scream movie and more like a run-of-the-mill slasher. From originator to wannabe — what a shame.

Between the sleuthing and slayings, there’s also an attempt to explore generational trauma — à la David Gordon Green’s Halloween redux (yes, it even gets a shout-out here) — and the impact the Ghostface curse has on Sidney’s relationship with her family, particularly her rebellious daughter (who has a habit of disobeying her mum’s advice at the worst possible time…f***ing kids). But the soul-searching never reaches the emotional depths of Green’s Halloween.

Three decades on, the original Scream still rocks, deftly skewering horror clichés with smarts and suspense. The satire still cuts deepest. The sequels (and one TV series) have struggled to recapture that lightning in a bottle; they feel less like evolution and more like self-parody without the jokes. And with a new Scary Movie by the Wayans Brothers due in June, it’s getting harder to watch Ghostface with a straight face. (2.5/5 stars) now in cinemas

Scary Movie opens in cinemas June 18.

War Machine (M18)

Starring Alan Ritchson, Stephan James, Esai Morales, Dennis Quaid

Directed by Patrick Hughes

By sheer coincidence, Netflix dropped this amid the US-Iran conflict. Alan Ritchson plays a PTSD-suffering soldier who signs up for the ultra-rigorous Ranger course to honour his brother (Jai Courtney), who was KIA in Afghanistan. The first act is a straight-up underdog story. So far, so normal. Then it makes a swerve into sci-fi terrain in Act 2 — hardly a surprise, considering the trailer did a good job spoiling it — where the hero and his fellow trainees get their asses handed to them by a hostile force not of this world in the form of a mecha (think Scout Walker meets ED-209). It’s Southern Comfort meets Predator! The gung-ho ending ("Rangers lead the way!") feels like the prologue to Battle Los Angeles, a sequel-baiting set-up. Clearly, War Machine is made by someone — director and co-writer Patrick Hughes, who did Expendables 4 — who’s seen tons of movies for folks who don’t necessarily watch as many, aka undemanding second-screen content consumers. At least, it’s way more watchable than that Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds.  (2.5/5 stars) on Netflix