Sidney Prescott—now Sidney Evans—is back for this latest installment in the Scream series. And this time, she’s protecting her daughter. That’s about the best thing we can say about Scream 7, which suffers from too much blood and not enough originality. This movie should leave discerning moms and dads screaming themselves.
Poor Sidney.
Every time she moves to a new town, she’s sure to be followed by the managers of pop-up Halloween stores, hoping to make a killing (so to speak) on Ghostface outfits. The townsfolk themselves must brace for an influx of television reporters—all coming to cover the grisly deaths sure to follow Sidney’s arrival.
Still, surviving a litany of grotesque murder sprees does come with its advantages.
Business is booming at Sidney’s Running Latte Coffee Shop, located in bucolic Pine Grove, Indiana. Is the coffee good? Who knows! Many just come to gape at the famed Sidney Prescott (actually, Sidney Evans, now that she’s married the local police chief), the not-so-secret centerpiece of the Stab movie series, loads of books and more than a few made-for-TV documentaries. She’s a celebrity, no doubt, and her oft-horrific life is an open book.
Well, except when it comes to Sidney’s daughter, Tatum.
Sidney and the 17-year-old Tatum don’t talk much these days. The teen’s got a boyfriend now (Ben) and while he doesn’t look like a serial killer, Sidney’s not taking chances. She treats Tatum’s beau with something between chilly reserve and outright hostility, which doesn’t encourage a lot of mom-daughter communication. But the bigger issue is that Sidney just doesn’t want to talk much about her past. She wants to protect Tatum from those horrors.
Understandable? Sure. But when your own daughter feels like she can best get to know you by watching a sensationalist, streaming docu-drama, it’s a sign that the relationship could use a little work.
But relationship angst quickly takes a backseat when Sidney receives a call from Stu Macher, an old pal of hers from high school. Thing is, Stu’s dead—or at least he’s supposed to be. Sidney killed him herself. (Given he was trying to kill her, she had reason.) But here he is, smiling and laughing and threatening Sidney’s loved ones, just like old times.
Poor Sidney. All she wanted to do was settle down, take care of her family and sell coffee. But it looks like this Scream queen has a killer (or two or three) to deal with first.
If Scream 7 has a point, it’s this: Moms, talk with your daughters. They want to get to know you, even if your past isn’t particularly pretty. And who knows? Your own experience might help them prepare for their own trials. As Sidney’s next-door neighbor, Jessica, tells her, “If you protect [your kids] from too much, they might not know how to protect themselves.”
When it comes time to protect her daughter, though, Sidney’s in prime form. Her husband, Mark, does what he can, too—and under some very trying circumstances. And Tatum, who is accused of being just a little too meek throughout the movie, finds some inner strength as the film goes on.
As mentioned, Stu was supposed to be dead. So his appearance in the story—while not presented as supernatural—comes with the vibe of the dead coming back to life. (There’s much speculation within the film itself as to whether this apparent “resurrection” was the result of AI/deepfake wizardry, as we only see Stu on a screen.)
Tatum and Ben make out in Tatum’s room (after Ben sneaks through her window). We see Ben lie on top of Tatum, and a great deal of Tatum’s leg is exposed. But, Tatum insists to her mom, they are not having sex—even though they’d both sure like to. Tatum tells her mom that they feel like they’re not ready just yet, and she asks her mom how they’ll know when they are ready.
Plugged In would like Sidney to say, “You’ll know when you’re married, Tatum!” But she does not. Instead, she goes into her own bedroom to talk with Mark. She says that Tatum and Ben are on the verge of having sex (a reality that neither seem that concerned with), and they reminisce about when each of them had sex for the first time. (She was 17; he was 15.) And then Sidney and Mark dive into their own make-out session.
Other couples kiss and embrace. We hear a few mildly suggestive exchanges. Some midriffs and belly buttons are exposed. A guy rents out the original Scream/Stab house for him and his girlfriend to spend the night in.
This should not surprise you: People—a lot of people—die in Scream 7.
After getting stabbed several times, a victim then gets skewered in the head by a criminally pointy keg pump: Blood and beer then flow out of the dead victim’s mouth. Another victim falls on top of a knife (held by Ghostface), gets stabbed several times and then gets doused in gasoline and set on fire while still alive. (A chandelier falls on the corpse, just for good measure.) A third gets stabbed slowly through the head. A fourth, after sliding through a stack of drinking glasses, dies after a shard of glass shish-kebabs her jugular vein.
Perhaps the most grotesque death involves a victim hanging from a series of wires. As the victim swings, Ghostface cuts her repeatedly (sending blood flying and spattering) before finally slicing open her midsection. Innards fall on the ground below, and a bit of intestine hangs from her dangling body.
Several people get stabbed to death (or nearly to death). Someone gets hit and run over by a car. Someone finds a man with his throat grotesquely cut. People get shot, sometimes repeatedly, but not always fatally. One character takes several bullets to the head, turning it into a mass of meat.
Some characters get slashed, sliced and stabbed without dying (immediately, at least). One person gets attacked and stabbed with a screwdriver. Someone gets smashed in the head with a laptop. People tumble and/or get pulled down the stairs. Characters engage in fights involving fists and feet. Someone uses an electrical cord to choke someone.
We hear references to past murders. Stu’s face appears to bear the scars of his previous “death.” The original Scream/Stab murder house—now being rented out for overnight stays—contains tape outlines where the original victims died, along with some fake blood to augment the experience. (A caller forces its renters to answer questions about other slasher movies—threatening horrific death if they miss one.) Ghostface gets hit with a chair. During a drama rehearsal, one actor knocks over another.
About 40 uses of the f-word (occasionally paired with the word “mother”) and at least 15 uses of the s-word. We also hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n” and “h—.” God’s name is misused 10 times, and Jesus’ name is abused twice.
Several characters, many of whom appear to be underage, drink beer at a local watering hole. Someone describes himself as a “crime junkie.” A high schooler invites friends to a party, saying, “I’ve been stockpiling my mom’s edibles.”
A few characters mention the need to urinate, and they vacate the scene to track down a bathroom. Several characters violate the town’s curfew—much to their collective regret.
For this moviegoer, slasher films hold very little charm. The real world contains enough horrors without me paying to see more, and the charm of seeing people slaughtered in outlandish ways on-screen is a bit lost on me. But Scream, when it first rolled out in 1996, claimed to be different.
When Sidney Prescott faced her first series of killers, it was plenty bloody—but Scream was also praised for its wit. Playing with decades’ worth of slasher-flick tropes, the film felt (to its fans, anyway) new and fresh and creative. And let’s be honest: Outside of how people are killed, slasher flicks are not known for their creativity.
Thirty years later, the act is getting old.
The meta vibe of the Scream flicks has degenerated into just plain meh. The new installment cranks up the gore, but it seems dry of wit or originality.
The movie seems to poke fun at Scream’s own dedicated fanbase, too (and perhaps it always has): One superfan is unceremoniously dispatched after renting the original Scream/Stab house. Another fan becomes a prime suspect. The movie paints both in an unflattering light, as if Scream 7 is telling its audience, “Hey, does it really matter who dies in these flicks? Shouldn’t your brain be used for something more important than remembering the how the fifth victim in Scream 3 met their end?”
If that’s the point, Plugged In agrees. This blood-soaked, profanity-riddled film can be easily skipped. And if enough people decide to check out of this franchise, poor Sidney might actually get a chance to sell coffee.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
