Scream 7

4 outta 5

Scream 7 manages to get a lot of mileage out of returning veterans, giving the 30 year series a nostalgia bump. Also, the kills are messy, even by this series standard, featuring a bar setting kill that may stand out as one of the most brutal and craziest in the series. It’s so cool to see one returning actor that the movie gets a bit draggy when they aren’t on screen. It isn’t quite as sharp a pop culture satire as the series has been in the past but it’s good enough. And Scream 7 has enough twists and splatter movie kills that gives it bite.

Thirty years after Sydney (Neve Campbell) survived the attacks in Woodsboro by Billy Loomis and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) she is living a normal life with her husband, Mark (Joel McHale) and her daughter, Tatum (Isabel May). Tatum is now the same age Sydney was when the Ghostface killings started and after several decades of surviving Ghostface killing sprees, Sydney is especially concerned for her daughter. This is warranted as Ghostface has returned and has set their murderous sights on Tatum and her classmates. Even more disturbing is now Ghostface is video calling Sydney and on the other end is Stu, 30 years older, scarred and, shockingly, still alive. Returning to help Sydney is reporter Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) and her assistants and previous Ghostface killing survivors, Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding). But even with all the help, a not-dead Stu behind the Ghostface mask is a huge problem for Sydney.

It is a blast to see Matthew Lillard returning as Stu. There is a lot of Stu on phone and computer conversations that he kind of overshadows the Voice, Roger L. Jackson. It is usually the voice that does all the threatening, but Stu’s video calls are a significant chunk of threatening. It is a good problem to have that the movie juggles two very intimidating villain performances. Stu’s return solidifies the theme of nostalgia. It’s not one of the best themes the series has done, because with the theme of the last few movies being about legacy and reboots and remakes, it feels a bit redundant. But the Scream series has always been nostalgic about its past.

Both Sydney and Gail guess that it isn’t really Stu as Sydney crushed him with a TV 30 years ago and they call out “Stu” as an AI Deepfake almost immediately. But when they visit a mental asylum and the exposition delivering orderly, a corny cliché but a sturdy one, identifies an image of Stu as a patient who stayed there for years. The visit to an insane asylum to learn backstory is hokey even by Scream standards but it gets a pass as this series does trade in horror cliches. Lillard’s return as Stu immediately delves right into Stu’s crazy mode from the third act from the original Scream, like he never left. Some of his line deliveries are just pitch perfect and he’s all scratched up in the face from the TV drop, so he is still ticked off after a three decade absence.

Bringing back Sydney after her abbreviated appearance in the 5^th Scream film and completely missing the 6^th Scream gives this film some heft. Even characters in the film realize she is the definitive “final girl”. There is a lot of Sydney moping and being apprehensive about her daughter which is a bit of a drag, as Tatum’s entire character is based around being Sydney’s kid, even being named after Sydney’s dead friend. Campbell still gets in a few good quips, like when Ghostface says that Sydney’s is just yesterday’s news and Sydney tells them ***** you.

Mindy and Chad who had big roles in the last two movies are knocked down in importance here. Mindy gets to shout out the movie’s theme of nostalgia, and then they basically become Ghostface’s pin cushions. Cox’s Gail has a bit of an abbreviated appearance, but Gail’s arrival in this film is absolutely fantastic. She finally gets to interview Sydney in an attempt to lure out Stu. Sydney calls her relationship with Gail “strained but enduring” and Gail doesn’t hold back with the questions, even though they’re on the same side.

This is probably the messiest Scream movie. The aforementioned bar killing is so absolutely insane that it draws a laugh as Ghostface uses a beer tap in a gruesome way. The opening scene has a couple visit Stu Macher’s house, a site of several Ghostface killing sprees, and it turns out horrible for them as, naturally, Ghostface shows up. The way he disposes of them is supremely nasty, burning the whole place down, probably so the audience will never have to endure yet another Scream movie at Stu Macher’s house. There’s also a scene when Ghostface goes after a girl who is swinging from the rafters as a fairy, and the result is a huge splatter.

Scream 7 may go a bit hard on hitting the nostalgia button, but a scene that features Sydney interacting with various characters from the series works well with the weight of her history. It is fun to see Ghostface vs. Sydney once again and while this may not be as savvy as the previous installments, it is still a wild ride.