SCREAM 7 Review: Sidney Prescott’s Brutal, Bloody Comeback Is a Fun, Wild, Imperfect Blast

I recently had the opportunity to watch Scream 7 and as a lifelong Scream fanatic, I’ve got a lot of feelings.

This franchise means a lot to me. The first three films are top-tier horror in my book. I rewatch them a lot with my kids, my kids love them just as much as I do.

Scream 4 was solid. Scream 5 and Scream 6 never fully clicked for me. But this one? This one brought me back. It feels like it belongs. It feels like Scream, and while it’s not perfect, I had a damn good time watching Ghostface slice his way back into Sidney Prescott’s life!

One of the smartest moves this sequel makes is shifting the focus back to Sidney and her family.

Neve Campbell returns, and she absolutely owns this movie. Watching Sidney step into full protective-mother mode adds a new layer to the character we’ve grown up with.

The film plays with themes of generational trauma, the emotional cost of being the eternal final girl, AI culture, fame, and motherhood. It’s juggling a lot, but bringing it back to Sidney grounds it. There’s real weight there. You feel what she’s fighting for this time, and that gives the carnage an emotional anchor.

And yes, this movie absolutely has that meta edge. I know there was talk about toning that down, but it’s here and it’s sharp. The humor lands better this time around, especially because it feels more in tune with the original film’s tone rather than trying to out-clever itself.

There are callbacks everywhere. Some are subtle, some are right in your face. It’s playing with nostalgia constantly and most of the time it lands the laughs. As someone who knows these movies inside and out, I couldn’t help but smile at a lot of it.

Now let’s talk about the kills, because Ghostface does not hold back. There was talk from the cast that this one wouldn’t be as gory as past films, but I have to say… the violence is brutal.

There are some genuinely nasty bloody sequences that rank among the most savage in the franchise. It also has that Halloween-style DNA where Ghostface darts in and out of frame, stalking in a way that feels chaotic and relentless.

Look, this is a Part 7 slasher movie and it fully embraces that energy. It’s wild that this franchise has gotten to this point, and this movie just wants to have some bloody fun, but also move Sidney’s story forward in a meaningful way. I think it succeeded in that.

I also have to give a shout out to Isabel May, who is great. She brings a spark to the film that keeps things feeling fresh, and she more than holds her own alongside the returning heavy hitters.

The dynamic between the legacy characters and the newer additions feels surprisingly balanced, which isn’t always easy in a franchise this deep. Then seeing Courteney Cox back in the mix alongside Campbell adds that classic flavor longtime fans crave. When those two share the screen, it just feels right.

The first two acts is where the film really locks in. They’re tense, entertaining, and driven by character in a way that pulled me right in. The pacing is tight, the suspense sequences land, and the emotional stakes actually matter.

The story takes its time setting up the central conflict, letting the paranoia build naturally before everything starts spiraling out of control. It’s easily the strongest stretch of the movie and proof that when this franchise slows down and focuses on character, it still has plenty of life left in it.

That said, the third act is where things wobble. Some of the ideas could have worked with a little more finesse, but the execution didn’t quite click in and it felt a bit far-fetched, even by Scream standards.

The script sometimes over-explains itself, and the ending in particular left me slightly deflated, which I hate to say. It’s not terrible. It just doesn’t hit as hard as it should. After such a strong buildup, I wanted something that really knocked me out.

Still, I’m mixed-positive overall. It’s not top-tier Scream, but it’s easily better than Scream 5 and and Scream 6 for me, and I think I would rank it above Scream 4. But, I’d have to watch Scream 4 again, just to make sure.

Scream 7 is a little messy, it’s a little ridiculous, but it’s also a lot of fun, bloody, self-aware, and powered by a fantastic performances from Campbell and the rest of the cast.

Kevin Williamson being back in the creative mix gives it that classic tone and flair that I’ve missed. If you’re a hardcore Scream fan and you understand the strange, beautiful chaos this franchise thrives on, I think you’re going to enjoy it.

It’s not perfect, but it’s absolutely worthy of the mask.