Scream 7 was set up with its fair share of controversy before it even showed on the big screen as boycotts aplenty were lined up ready for this film to tank at the box office on release, naturally, as always is the case with these things. It didn’t work. In fact Scream7 became the franchises biggest ever box office opening success!
The film opened to an astounding $64M weekend opening and is now on target to surpass $100M and beyond. The opening weekend was the biggest in the franchise’s history and almost immediately means that an 8th movie will be greenlit, the Neve Campbell factor is well and truly back.
Scream 7 was cheeky in its delivery with a few digs and jibes at the weak previous Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera versions which I found quite funny personally but as a whole the film didn’t lean too much on nostalgia as such but more used fan service to progress the story and to send us on a wild goose chase before the real killers are unveiled.
Now Scream 7 does a lot well. It’s clever, self aware and feels very nostalgic and retro with some epic kills (beer tap kill for the win) but at the same time the killers motives were almost non-existent so we didn’t really get that usual pay off that the Scream franchise delivers, that big WOW factor moment.
It was sadly missing in this particular instalment to the point where the tone feels somewhat different.
Neve absolutely steals every single scenes she’s in as she’s juggling the struggles of motherhood with the ghosts of her past.
It’s a nice balance but clearly the past hasn’t been too kind to Sidney Prescott so naturally the trauma she has experienced has turned into a massive over-protection when it comes to her daughter.
This Scream film also doesn’t dive into its own self-awareness like the others did. The previous two instalments went into too much detail to the point where it was explaining the entire plot of the film to the audience as though we were dumb. This instalment gives us a little credit and allows us to join our own dots together.
Starting the film off in the old Woodsboro Macher murder house was a genius touch as in the movie it has been turned into an AirBNB overnight horror experience. Quite fitting really as the real house that was used in the original movies is currently open for tours and Scream experiences, something that I really have to check out at some point!
Courteney Cox dives in with a little cameo role and whilst some blasts from the past are present within the movie the way in which they are introduced is more pandering to technological advancements of today, that’s one part of the storyline that didn’t hit home for me whatsoever and I wish they went down a more traditional route and stayed away from the world of tech and AI.
This is Scream, a movie that basks in nostalgia and retro vibes, it’s not Minority Report.
Whilst this version doesn’t compare to the originals it does give us a little wink and a nod. It keeps things simple and goes back to the roots of what made the originals so great, it’s not perfect but the fake reviews and the forced hate needs to stop.
This is a strong instalment in the franchise, the strongest for years and that speaks volumes.
Long time fans are going to thoroughly enjoy this one and it feels like a standalone film where you wouldn’t need to watch the originals to follow what’s going on.
Thoroughly enjoyed it, roll on Scream 8!
Our Rating
Summary
Ignore the fake reviews and the bitter comments, Scream 7 is a strong standalone instalment in the franchise that doesn’t lean too heavily in on nostalgia but provides a direct, gritty and quite retro style of slasher which was quite wonderfully delivered with a sprinkle of fan-service and some epic kills along the way.
One of the strongest instalments for years!
